Hello Kitty Contacts

http://wackyjapanese.pandemonium.de/

So I was looking through this website called "Wacky Japanese Stuff" and one of the featured things was Hello Kitty contacts.

Where else would come up with these kind of things?

I find these outrageous, cool, and questionable at the same time.

Outrageous- out of all things, Hello Kitty contacts.
Cool- Hello Kitty!
Questionable- Why and who would wear this!?

I just think that this is pretty cool but it would freak me out of I looked at somebody and 2 Hello Kitty faces were staring at me...literally.

Bizarre Ramune Flavors

http://gastronormous.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ramune-with-marble.jpg

So there is this famous Japanese soda called Ramune.

It is famous for its unique taste and bottle design.

There is a little marble inside that stop the air from going into the soda at first. But when you push it down, it opens the soda!

It has this unique soda taste that American sodas do not have.

But they also come in flavors such as:

1) Pineapple

2) Kiwifruit

3) Melon

4) Strawberry

5) Orange

6) Lychee

7) Blue Hawaii

8) Peach

BUT

They also have these flavors:

1) Kimchi

2) Curry

3) Wasabi

4) Bubble Gum

http://www.cscoutjapan.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/curry_ramune.jpg

What other kind of sodas has these flavors?

I think these are pretty bizarre

I mean drinking sweet curry? Or fizzy wasabi or kimchi?

Bubble gum I can understand but I just find the other 3...interesting.

You can find the original fruit flavors in any Japanese produce store. But the others are kind of hard to find. They are mostly sold in Japan since Americans have not acquired that kind of taste yet. But if you go to Japan and want to try it, there is this amazingly huge 10+ story department store all around Tokyo called Tokyu Hands. Most of them are connected to the JR system (above it) so they are pretty easy to find. But I know that Tokyu Hands carry these "other" flavors.

Are you brave enough to try these?

Mitsuwa Express

http://media.photobucket.com/image/mitsuwa/doombunnie/Mitsuwa.jpg

So there's this awesome place that has a food court that you'll most likely know about: Mitsuwa.

The reasons why I love it:
1) Cheap
2) Yummy
3) Fast
4) Japanese

The noodles are my absolute favorite. When my parents ask me where I would like to eat dinner, sometimes I say Mitsuwa's food court.

The only thing I do not like from Mitsuwa is the sushi rolls and raw fish.
It's average.
I've had better, fresher, better quality fish.
Like other places like sushi boat, Miyaki, Hama Sushi, and Kiko sushi.

Raw fish is only fresh up to 1 hour from the package/fridge.
In places like this, and especially sushi boat, the fish has been sitting out there all day.
So it turns bad. And the rice turns hard and it gets soggy.
And they try to sell off the unfresh fish before making more.

That's my only complaint.

But besides the sushi, walk a little farther to the meal section.

Where you can find:

1) Udon (hot and cold)
2) Soba (hot and cold)
3) Tonkatsu (tempura fried pork)
4) Doburi (egg, meat, vegetables over rice)
5) Curry Rice
6) Tonkatsu Curry Rice
7) Ramen
8) Many more

My personal favorites: Curry udon and beef udon

The meal size is huge and the price is low.
But not overly size.
Just more than you would expect with that kind of price.

Plus, the food court is in a marketplace.
So you can do your shopping and grab dessert on your way out!

Kahoo Ramen Review

http://eat.tanspace.com/photos/Kahoo_Ramen-shoyu-ramen.jpg

http://static.px.yelp.com/bphoto/bSCSeuoit8uP7l1LXgst3g/l

Kahoo Ramen is a small but delicious Japanese noodle house. (but they have other food besides noodles)

It is right next to Mitsuwa (hiding in the back corner)

I went there once and I absolutely loved it.

If you are the type of person like me who hates it when the noodle soup is 90% noodles and 10% "the other stuff," you will like this restaurant.

In "the other stuff," I mean things like green onion, eggs, pork, bamboo shoot, seaweed, etc.

Kahoo Ramen's noodle soups are about 60/40.

So you are actually paying for something. Instead of paying $10 just for noodles.

The only complaint I have is that the spicy noodle soups have this huge layer of oil sitting on top of it.

Besides that, everything else is delicious, traditional Japanese, fair price, and quick. A nice fast meal.

It is perfect for if you don't really have time and you don't want to grab regular fast food or something wrapped up in Mitsuwa.

It is between fast and sit-down dining.

They have rice bowls, little appetizers, combo meals, and of course their famous large variety of noodle soups.

Store Hours:

Mon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m then 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Sat-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m then 4:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

So if you want to eat dinner with your friends, instead of walking/driving to a restaurant far away or not eating a proper sit-down meal (like going to Lion market, Gloria's, Mitsuwa) I highly reccomend trying this place.

Japanese iTunes

http://www.jpopasia.com/

So I found this site which is practically the iTunes of Japan.

I don't think you can actually buy it.
But the format and gist of it is just like iTunes.

So if you like iTunes and its format, and love Japanese music, this is for you.

Plus there's Chinese and Korean music there too!

And it's not just JPop.

There's:
1) J-Rock
2) J-Rap
3) Anime
4) J-Pop
5) R&B
6) J-Trance
7) C-Pop (Chinese)
8) K-Kop (Korean)

And there's not just music. There are also music videos, news, charts, lyrics, forums, journals, photos, play lists, etc.

It's easy to follow and I just wanted to share that with other Asian music lovers.

Okayama Gakugeikan Symphonic Band

52 years ago, San Jose made a sister relationship with the city of Okayama in Japan and established the Santa Clara International Exchange Concert.

From this city, a group of middle and high school students from Japan traveled to the United States to perform.

The Harker School was one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to see them.

During the assembly today, we got to experience this amazing band.

It was hard to explain what it was like. But it felt like you were in a Disney movie. You know the scenes where something magical/ lovely/ happy happens and you hear this whole orchestra. It was like that. And surround sound.

It was different than a regular orchestra. A group of girls put on glittery boas and started singing and dancing to a song. And there were featured musicians. And they got out of their chairs and came off of the stage and started to play in the audience.

They played from classical to popular songs.

Here is a video of one of their performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eI54-pOUa8&feature=channel_page

After the performance I got a chance to talk to some of the members of the band. With my limited Japanese, I was able to ask simple questions.

They say the tour is long and somewhat tiring but very fun since they get to travel with friends. They also said that they love America but it's hard since they do not know much English. They phrase they say they use a lot is "Sorry I don't know much English."

It was actually fun to use what I learned in the classroom to talk to them!

Anyways, this band is amazing and I reccomend you go see them. They perform in many different places so if you search in google, I'm sure you can find a performance.

They tour to San Jose, Santa Clara, and San Fracisco.

Kose Sofytmo Facewash

Kose Softymo is a Japanese department store face wash line.
(Kose is the brand and Softymo is the line)

In my opinion, these are amazing.

I have pretty dry skin and these products work wonders for me.
It's like a face wash and moisturizer all in one.
And it works on day 1 and stays that way.
They work better than the expensive $40 ones you find in other stores.
These range from $5-$10.

Out of all of them, this one is the best:

http://www.webichi.com/en/details/83844

This one is the best for the teenage age group but there are many more kinds.

1) Hyaluronic Acid (for anti-aging)
2) With makeup remover
3) Deep cleansing
4) Oily
5) Amino Acid
6) Etc.

The one above is for dry skin.

I have tried almost all of them and loved each one. Except for one:


It has little beads in it so it's for exfoliating. But I end up breaking out more for some reason why I use this and my skin becomes very rough. It worked really well on the first day. But it just went downhill from there.

Then again, that is just me.

It really depends on your skin type. If you have dry and sensitive skin like me, use the one in the first picture and avoid the second.

But experiment!

I just like this line because it is the line where most of the products work for me. Plus they are cheaper and better than the expensive ones!

You can find them in any asian department store like Mitsuwa.

When you first see them, it's all in Japanese. But don't worry because if you look on the back, they conveniently provided a sticker with English on it!:

I just wanted to share that with you so that you don't need to keep looking for and switching facial products to find a good one.

Hope these work for you too!