Tenso: Get Your Own Japanese Shipping Address

 

 

Tofugu has a great post on how to ship things from Japan to you, if you happen not to reside in the Land of the Rising Fun.

What Tenso is doing is one of those ideas where you think “dang, I shoulda thought of that.” It’s simple, it’s helpful, and provides a really good service. I tried it out recently, and they let me pick out a Japanese t-shirt and ship it via their service, so that I can give it away to one of you. More information on that at the end of the post.

Metropolis Magazine’s Best of Tokyo

Everyone has their favorite spot in Tokyo but be sure to check out Metropolis Magazine’s Best of Tokyo. There are more than a few places that I will need to visit! Have any favorites on the list? Know of others? Let us know!

For Metropolis’ first annual Best of Tokyo poll (which appeared online from August through November), readers inundated us with thousands of responses on topics ranging from brunch to beer to books. The results clearly show that not only is Tokyo the world’s most populous city, but also the most exciting. So kick back and enjoy this, the first comprehensive snapshot of what English speakers love most about their city. But make sure you get back out there and hit the streets in 2008: we’ll need your help again for the 2008 Best of Tokyo poll, later in the year.—Eds

Kimono Girl

The 963 Group, LLC of Pebble Beach, California brings you one of Japan’s top selling cosmetic gift items, Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissues. Kimono Girl is 100% natural, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and powder-free! Each Kimono Girl package is an actual hand-drawn Kagayuzen Kimono pattern. No two are the same!

The Kimono Girl concept was developed by Nakahama-san, the co-founder of The 963 Group. She is a veteran of the fashion and cosmetics industry with over 15-years experience in Tokyo’s upscale boutiques and in companies such as Shiseido, Chanel and Za Ginza. She says:

“People should use a quality skin (and lipstick) blotting tissue. Too often I see women and men wiping the oil off their face using their hands, a tissue or handkerchief! This actually spreads the oil and bacteria to other parts of their face. This can also potentially create skin rashes and blackheads, especially if the person’s hands or handkerchief are not clean.

In Kanazawa and other parts of Japan, women and men use a high-quality and affordable blotting tissue to keep the oil off the T-Zone. This really helps prevent breakouts. Additionally, women do not worry about lint or other residue from tissues when they blot their lipstick. Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissue has been pressed the old-fashioned way which means the fibers has been pounded over 10,000 times. This makes our product super-absorbent! Commercially produced blotting tissues do not utilize this old-style Japanese technique and thus are not as absorbent as ours! Actually, the process to make Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissues is the same technique used when we in Kanazawa make the gold leaf paper found on many beautiful Kanazawa products and on the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto, Japan. We get it right the first time! Whether you wear make-up, lipstick, or keep the natural look, Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissue will help keep your skin looking healthy!”

Each $12.00 order includes six (6) Kimono Girl packs. Each pack contains 30-sheets of Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissues. In Japan, one (1) pack of Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissue costs 350 Yen (approximately $3.50). As a special introductory offer, we are offering the six (6) package set at a $9.00 discount and with FREE SHIPPING in the Continental USA, Hawaii and Alaska.

We hope this great value will introduce our wonderful product to people around the world. Thank you very much for shopping with The 963 Group, LLC. Be sure to follow Kimono Girl on Twitter. Sayonara!

Manufactured and imported from Japan by The 963 Group, LLC

     

Kimono Girl Gift Set

6 package set (180 sheets) $12.00

Free shipping in the USA

   

AskMen.com: Top 29 Best Cities to Live In

AskMen.com presents the inaugural edition of the AskMen.com‘s Top 29: Best Cities to Live In. This comprehensive roundup of the year’s most inhabitable cities for the everyday man was determined by seven unique guy-centric rating categories. The Top 29 Best Cities follows the footsteps of the AskMen extensive library of travel articles and destination guides which have been a staple on the AskMen site since 1999 and have gamered international media recognition from major news sources across the world.

Kimono Girl Gift Pack

Japan’s number one cosmetic gift item is now available in the U.S.A. and for shipment worldwide. Kimono Girl Aburatorigami (oil-blotting paper) is made from super oil-absorbent, 100% natural, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and powder-free rice paper.

Kimono Girl oil-blotting paper will not remove your make-up or lipstick. It only removes excess oils. This makes it perfect for those that prefer to go make-up free. Unlike other oil-blotting papers that contain chemicals or fragrances, using Kimono Girl can help reduce breakouts.

Every Kimono Girl package is unique. The one-of-a-kind hand-drawn Kagayuzen kimono pattern design shown on the package is often collected by women in Japan and used to make origami.

Kaga was the name given in the Edo period (1603-1868) to the territory centered on Kanazawa, which lies in what is currently called Ishikawa Prefecture. One of the best known dyeing crafts in Japan, the traditional techniques of Kaga Yuzen, which have been handed down since that time, produce elegant colors with an exceptional sheen. From the 16th century to the early 17th century, the techniques of what became known as Kaga dyeing were perfected. These consisted of using persimmon or plum extracts to dye unpatterned cloth. In the second half of the 17th century, Kaga Yuzen is said to have been started by the painter Yuzen-sai Miyazaki who incorporated the Kaga dyeing process in producing Kaga Yuzen.  

Zurui’s Japan via Flickr

 

I have a ton of pictures and video on Japan and never took the time to upload them to Flickr. Now that I revised the website, I have a good reason to share my various pictures of life in Japan. I will try to upload new pictures and video a few times a month!

Click here to view the slideshows. Enjoy!

Japan’s Good Design Awards 2008

I love architecture and design. Business Week has a great story on Jun Aoki, winner of the 2008 top design award in Japan. Check out his story and the stories on the other 15 best designs in Japan.

Every year since 1957, the government-funded Japan Industrial Promotion Organization (JIDPO) has lent its prestigious Good Design logo to a list of new products. Most people tend to associate design with aesthetics. But while high-tech products perennially sweep the top awards—known as the Best 15—the 74-member committee of designers, architects, writers, and academics doesn’t limit its picks to whiz-bang gizmos and good looks. Often, it’s the products with tiny improvements that win the highest praise. This year’s grand prize went to Toyota’s iQ, a small car whose roomy interior is a marvel of engineering and space-saving design. Past winners were Sanyo’s Eneloop rechargeable batteries and Mitsubishi Motors’ “i” compact car.

JIDPO says winning products should “improve lives, foster industrial development, and promote export and trade by enhancing the quality of products on the market.” That vague objective only seems to encourage selection committee members to scour a broad array of sectors. This year’s winners reflect “images of life in the near future and designs that lead the way to next-generation lifestyles,” JIDPO said in a press release. The Best 15 and the winners of four other award categories get the lion’s share of media attention. They beat out a field of 3,023 entries. But ultimately more than 1,000 products in this year’s competition will get to carry the Good Design G-mark symbol, a decision that, critics say, dilutes some of the award’s prestige. Be sure to check out the Best 15.

Fashion Trends of 2008 in Japan

Check out the Mekas website to learn about all things fashion in Japan. Below, Jean Snow gives a quick wrap-up on 2008 fashion trends:

Looking back, 2008 was not a particularly dramatic year for Japanese fashion. There was some good news: the industry did not succumb to total meltdown and panic, and some brands like Uniqlo, Cher, and Journal Standard managed to pull off impressive growth. But there was also the inevitable bad news: Japanese consumers’ seemingly-unflappable passion for European luxury goods took a major hit. Demand for import goods had been slowly thawing over the last decade, but the global economic crisis this autumn guillotined most lingering desires for conspicuous consumption.

Vogue Japan’s Black Model’s Beauty & Power

Photo: Firstview/VOGUE.com

Check out Vogue Japan’s Model Watch on beautiful and powerful (popular) black models here. I hope to see more positive images of Black women in Japanese publications (and elsewhere).

I also hope that the models put on a few more pounds/kilos!

Ping Mag Make

Introducing Ping Mag Make. Here is a blurb from their website:

ingMag MAKE is the sister site to PingMag. We use an interview format to put the spotlight on a wide range of people active in rural areas. We document the voices of these unknown heroes and broadcast them to the world. It’s the Japan-based magazine about people and making things, coming out once a week. We’re passing on the passion, ideas, skills, and life stories of people who are building today and exploring tomorrow: craftsmen, engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors. Stay tuned!