Shopping in Japan (and haul)

What I've learned over the years from manga and Japanese classes is that, as land and housing in Japan is often very expensive, most income one earns is usually spent on material items and catching up with the latest trends and fashion. This goes for both men and women, demonstrated when the fashion styles of most everyday people in Japan were almost indistinguishable, such as the women's winter look of a large coat, stockings, and boots. However, as the Japanese are often so willing to spend higher amounts for the latest looks it doesn't come as a surprise when most of the shopping available are high-end brands like Gucci, or very cute boutiques that offers variations of the general trending clothing. I, for one, am not a person who follows fashion trends, much less spend $150 on a jacket that could be offered at half the price, which made me wary of shopping in Japan.

Department stores did not help the case. What I initially thought would be a multi-storey wonderland of cheap items and good bargains turned out a building of boutique stores and name brands that made my wallet cry. On top of this was a quite specific style of clothing worn in Japan, which suited none of my family members' tastes. So much, I'd thought, for buying tonnes of clothes that fit short people like me - until my Dad (quality-seeker and bargain-hunter extraordinaire), offered the alternative of big-name, basic-fashion stores.

A quick summary of my Japan shopping go-tos (which I accumulated in the one free day):

UNIQLO

I had a fear of Uniqlo before I'd set foot in one in Japan - having visited Uniqlo stores in Hong Kong I knew it stocked casual wear and fashion basics but it had been relatively overpriced. It came as a pleasant surprise to know that in the country of origin, Uniqlo's items were priced much more fairly. Tops range from around ¥900-2,000, jackets average at around ¥3,000-4,000, and jeans about ¥4,000, depending on the style and cut. All at fairly good quality, Uniqlo comes as a good steal for fashion basics.

Shorts ¥990

Disney tops ¥990

FOREVER 21

Forever 21 came off to me as a high-end clothing store, but it was not the case in Japan. With very fair prices, even full-priced items were mostly reasonable. Forever 21 offers more of a range of clothing along with typical basics. A top choice with Mom, Sis#1 and me, as we were after a more Western clothing style.

¥1,700 (full price! - excludes tax)

Black pants ¥950 (excludes tax)

H&M

Similarly to Forever 21, the prices in Japan were much cheaper than that of Hong Kong, with a more Western clothing style.

THANK-YOU MART (390円 STORE)

A second-hand store where everything is priced at ¥390. The name Thank-You Mart is a play on words, as the pronunciation of English "thank you" in Japanese is "sankyuu", which sounds like "three-nine". Though a second-hand store sounds inconceivable when shopping overseas, Japanese people have a good eye for fashion and a constantly-changing fashion industry which means a lot of clothing is recycled into places such as these. The clothing is in good shape and almost new in quality, and all priced at ¥390 (excluding tax), it means a good steal. Also available are new shirts, shoes, and accessories.

Knit jacket ¥390 (excludes tax)

ATTAGIRL

A prominent feature of Japanese fashion is SHOES. Looking around in the short period of time we had in Japan, I noticed that everyone has high-quality, good-looking shoes. Unlike the occasional longing for someone's footwear in NZ, I had the urge to ask every girl in Japan where on earth she had managed to find them - there is no shortage of cute shoes in Japan. Attagirl is a chain store in Japan with cheap fashion footwear. Osaka in particular had no shortage of this store - there was one located every other block in the Namba area, and accompanied with a promotional sale of ¥1,000 per pair it made for an irresistible shopping stop.

Attagirl promotion - ¥1,000 (including tax!)

DAISO

Less of a clothing store, Daiso is a huge ¥100-yen store (¥108 with tax) which stocks almost everything from food, beauty products, homeware, and other basic needs and trinkets. There is an impossible variety all for the uniform price, save a few larger items that are marked on the product. A good place to look for novel items. I personally enjoy looking through stores such as these, and the sheer variation of products made for a long shopping stop.

Gift bags

Cookie cutters

DRUGSTORES AND COSMETICS

Japanese drugstore cosmetics are famous for being cheap and top-notch, and in comparison to New Zealand's $20+ drugstore collection it's a good place to start a make-up bag. I chose cosmetics according to price, as well as its place on the ranking of Japan's cosmetics ranking website, voted on by people most familiar with the products. I was unsuccessful with lip products, however, as most offered a very small range of shades, and the shades were often sheer and suited to the ideal Japanese pale complexion.

One of the best drugstore waterproof liners, K-Palette 1-Day Tattoo ¥1,200

A cheaper liner: Shiseido Cat Look Liquid Liner ¥950

Not the best, but recommended online. Kiss Me Heroine Mascara, ¥900 or so.

A must-try: Softymo pore strips ¥200 or so.

Biore pore strips ¥400 or so

Porenuku pore cleanser ¥675-900. Not sure if I'm using it incorrectly but it doesn't really work...