Pins From Japan

Whenever I return to my home in California after a visit to Japan, someone inevitably asks: "Is it expensive in Japan?" As a frequent tourist, I respond with the answer: "You can spend as much or a little as you want." And indeed, we have received great pleasure from the smallest and least costly of items.

One of the things we always look for are lapel pins. You can find them in gashapon machines located near historical attractions, in game arcades, and various shops. The pins cost but a mere 200 yen.

There are pins depicting castles and other popular sites of the surrounding area; in addition, historical figures such as Sakamoto Ryoma and Ii Naosuke can be purchased. There are even train and train ticket pins from the various rail lines.

And, as silly as it sounds, there is always that small thrill - drop in your two coins, turn the handle, and the gashapon pops out. Next comes the quick inspection: Which pin did I get?

Spectacles Japan

眼鏡

Japan is one of the most myopic nations on the planet. Between 50%-60% of Japan's general population wears eye glasses or contact lenses.

With 60-72 million potential customers, competition between rival opticians and contact lens retailers is fierce. 25 years ago, each neighborhood would have a local optician, these small family businesses have largely disappeared, replaced by cut-price mega stores with 1000s of pairs of eye glasses from different makers to choose from. Styles range from cheap and functional to highly fashionable designer specs costing 100s of dollars.

Many stores make a literal spectacle of themselves to increase custom. Here outside this store in Tokyo a young man takes to rapping to draw the crowds.

The Japanese word for spectacles is megane, often seen written in katana - メガネ or hiragana めがね.

It is thought the first spectacles where brought to Japan by the Jesuit priest Francisco Xavier (1506-1552) and presented to a local feudal lord.

Early Japanese spectacles often used tortoiseshell (鼈甲, bekkou) in their manufacture and an early pair of ivory-made glasses can be seen at Daisenin Temple in Kyoto. Other historical eye-glasses are a pair that belonged to Ieyasu Tokugawa kept at the Tosho-gu Shrine in Nikko.

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Japanese Supermarkets

スーパーマーケット

Japanese supermarkets look pretty much like their counterparts elsewhere around the world. Though as fish and seafood is so much part of the Japanese diet, the fresh fish counter in Japanese supermarkets is prominent and a specialized butcher's counter is usually noted for its absence or small size.

Japanese supermarkets usually open around 10am until 8pm though some supermarkets in Japan are 24 hours. Credit cards can be used and many supermarkets offer a points card and a variety of vouchers for deductions on future purchases.

Service at the checkout at japanese supermarkets is speedy and polite. Plastic bags often cost an extra 5 yen to encourage customers to bring their own bags.

Goods stocked in Japanese supermarkets include fruit and vegetables, dairy products, dried goods, canned food, snacks, beer, wines and Japanese sake, non-alcoholic drinks, toiletries and ready-to-eat, pre-prepared foods including a variety of often excellent salads, yakitori and grilled fish. If you can't cook Japanese food, you can buy most of the classic dishes pre-prepared and just reheat them in the microwave and serve with rice prepared in a rice-cooker.

Large supermarket chains in Japan include Aeon, Valor and Daiei along with Costco from the US with several stores in Japan including those in Kobe, Sapporo, Kawasaki and Machida-shi near Tokyo.

French supermarket Carrefour sold its operation in Japan to Aeon in 2005 and left the Japanese market.

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