Bag up Your Junk!

I’ll be the first to admit, girls haul around a lot of junk! Here’s what’s in my purse: wallet, keys, tissue, lip balm, tweezers, medicine, umbrella, two cell phones (one for the office), Wetnaps (just in case), a Trader Joes ‘eco’-saving grocery bag, digital camera, hand lotion, cough drops, oh and did I mention a bowling ball? That’s what friends assume is in there. Oof! =P

And if you’re a girl armed with heavy load, you know what a pain it is to take stuff out. It’s while I’m driving when I get the sudden urge to moisten my chapped lips. At a red light, I reach my arm to the passenger seat, running my fingers around the bottom of my purse until I feel something plastiky and cylindrical. Out comes a water bottle! Try again. …a mini-can of hairspray! Darn, darn, darn.

The people at MUJI are ingenious, thinking to make a bag for one’s bag. I’ve seen a similar product advertised on American TV, but MUJI’s is far cuter — cute enough to make it your main purse.

I bought my grey, cotton MUJI ‘bag in bag’ in Tokyo for only $12. I couldn’t stop staring at it through the window. It’s the texture of soft sweatpants and the inner lining has thin, white-and-grey stripes. Very cute. There’s at least 10 pockets, including one mesh and a couple pen slots. It also comes in other color schemes and fabrics, ranging from $7 to $15 — the ideal price for a bag you may never ever reveal to others.

Seems they’re selling like hotcakes in Japan. Some other friends happen to buy the same bag! I guess we were all thinking the same thing: How do I organize my junk without having to get rid of anything? Heehee.

Himawari

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Handbags So Sweet Celebrities Are Lining Up to Endorse Them

What do Beyonce, Posh Spice (okay, Victoria Beckham, but I like typing “Posh Spice”), tennis hottie Maria Sharpova and Penelope Cruz have in common? They love Samantha Thavasa handbags. The Japanese company, founded by Kazumasa Terada, is a global powerhouse with several celebrity fans and spokeswomen. Paris Hilton also likes them, but don’t hold that against them 😉

Never heard of Samantha Thavasa? A huge hit with college-age and young professional Japanese women, the high quality but affordable bags were created with 20-30-year-olds in mind and are known for their chic, pastel-colored fabric, often with heart design motifs. There’s a seemingly endless variety released per season — upwards of 200 — featuring different rhinestones, ribbons or fur as additional eye candy. At $150-450 a pop, there’s a bag for every mood and price level.

With hundreds of locations in Japan, a store on Madison Avenue in New York City, a new ad promotion starring Beyonce and Japanese pop star Takuya Kimura, and million of dollars in sales, Samantha Thavasa is sitting pretty.

Sarah S.

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more

Bag It Up!

Eco-bags are big in Japan right now, but before supermarkets were even invented, Japanese women were slinging their knick-knacks in a huge handkerchief called a furoshiki. They’re intricately weaved from natural material like cotton or silk and come in sizes big and small. Every time I’m in Japan, friends hand them to me as gifts because they’re classy-chic and haul a load of junk with only a faint trace of a carbon footprint.

Back in the day, ladies used the furoshiki to carry their unmentionables down to the public bathhouse (Furo means ‘bath’). Though after World War II, cloth bags were replaced by plastic disposable ones. (Imagine a time when it was all the rage to throw away your bags.) Now that we’re far more aware of our environment maybe furoshiki will make its mainstream comeback. Check out this clip to see how you can actually use a furoshiki.

Here’s the site that not only sells furoshiku ($9-$16~) but tells you how to wrap things like wine and watermelon. You Have fun! \(^_^)/

Himawari

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
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Coin Purses: Buy Them, Trade Them, Gift Them or Make Them

You may have noticed I’m obsessed with shopping in Kyoto. It seems like everything there is adorable – especially gifts and souvenirs. Whether it’s face-blotting paper, candy, charms, stationary or snacks, I’m a sucker for cute and useful items that I can buy in bulk and hand out to my friends and family. Included in this category are Japanese coin purses.

Unless you need it for laundry or parking meters, change is a pain to carry around. It makes noise and gums up the bottom of your pockets or handbag. So I try to make the most of the situation and give my coins a place to shine in a little coin purse that fits inside pretty much any bag and gets lots of attention whenever I use it. Most Japanese coin purses have a beautiful flower design and a “kiss clasp” (awww). The one I got from Kyoto, however, is a bit different; it’s a soft fabric vintage-looking Hato Hasi with a frog charm snap to keep it closed.

Shizen Creations has some lovely pieces to check out. Feeling crafty? Channel your inner Martha Stewart (or MacGyver) and make your own Japanese coin purse with these simple household items: knitting needle, fabric, glue, pliers, purse frame and a paper bag!

Sarah S.

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Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
japanizmo, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
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