What’s in my bag?

I’ve been seeing this meme pop up a lot on livejournal, and after finding a similar feature in one of my past issues of nonno (a Japanese girls’ magazine I like to read), I thought it might be fun to do here. Perhaps this way, I can also highlight some of the things that I am using every day, since they are important for my daily life in Japan!

Here we go!

So, this is my bag. It’s from Coach’s new Poppy collection, and I bought it for myself as a bit of a self-bon voyage treat right before I left for Japan (there’s no way I could afford it here, Coach is soooo expensive in Japan!) Turns out this guy is absolutely perfect for life in Tokyo– particularly because of the little pocket in the front which gives me quick access to my cell phone and card case, even if one hand is hanging on for dear life to a train strap while being smushed against my fellow commuters! Needless to say, it goes everywhere with me, even if we take a quick trip over to the konbini for some snacks.

And then, here’s what’s in it:

1. My wallet. Where my money is kept, obviously. The Japanese use cash for almost everything, so I always try to keep some in here, even if I die a little inside every time I withdraw money from the atm and find that I lose 10% of my American money due to current exchange rates, plus bank fees. Still, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to live on a tight budget, I am a senior in college, after all! My alien registration card is also in here, showing that I am a nice, legal resident foreigner. I might end up having to get a bigger wallet, or at least a separate coin case, though. Because all yen denominations under 1,000 are in coin form, I usually end up with more 100 yen coins than I know what to do with. I can’t help it, I’m used to the $1 bills in America! At least it means that I’m getting good at the exact change game!

2. My ipod. This little guy is also new… my nearly five year old ipod finally kicked the bucket soon after school started, so I decided to sacrifice the funds for a new one. Life isn’t worth living without an ipod, right? Haaa. Oh boy, I love him though. My old ipod was the really old kind, it was black and white and couldn’t handle anything like photos and video, like the newer ones can. So I feel a little bit behind the times… I mean, this one is in color! How novel! And it makes up original playlists for you?? Love it. His name is Albert, by the way :3

3. My apartment key… pretty self-explanatory, I hope. I use it to get in our front door. The charms attached are both presents from Tatsuya’s mother. The rainbow beaded one was hand-made by her friend, and the Hello Kitty is a regional one she bought for me during our trip to Kanazawa (ie, the day I played in the ocean looking for rocks and got reeeeally wet!)

4. My cell phone. Japanese cell phones are amazing, to the point where I don’t even understand what all mine is capable of. What I do know: a) email is a standard feature; b) I can watch tv on it! c) I can exchange contact info with my friends by simply holding our phones up to each other– they have little sensors which send the information automatically; d) it has a 5.0 mega pixel camera! That’s better than my (albeit old) regular camera! And besides make calls with it, set the alarm, and use the calculator, that’s all I know what to do with it. Seriously, that’s it. I’m sure there are probably a zillion other features, though, that would blow my mind. It’s an ongoing learning experience. Oh, and as for the Minnie Mouse charm… Tatsuya has a matching Mickey Mouse one on his phone, and when you put them together it looks like they are kissing. Aww, aren’t we adorable? :P

5. My card case, with my school ID, nanaco card, and suica card. The nanaco card was another gift, but as far as I can tell it’s a refillable point card which can be used at Seven & iHoldings company stores, such as 7Eleven and Ito Yokado (a department store which we usually use for its huuuge grocery section). Suica card is one of those magical all-purpose cards, made of awesome. I turned it into my Sophia commuter pass, so it’s all I need to take the train every day. I can load it with funds to buy train rides outside of my school commute (rather than a ticket), and there are many store chains which allow Suica as a form of payment: konbinis, kiosks, and drink machines in train stations most always accept Suica, but I’ve also seen retail stores, food courts, even Ikea takes Suica! It’s one of the most versatile and handy things I have, by far.

6. Lip gloss. Yep, lol.

7. Tissues: Another common sight in Japan are the people who hand out tissues to people walking by. These tissues usually have an advertisement for some sort of company or product on it. Of course, that stuff is boring and no one cares, so while it would be pointless to hand out flyers, why not hand out tissues, which everyone uses! Yay, everybody wins! I hear that technically these people aren’t allowed to hand tissues out to foreigners, but many of them do anyway. Thank goodness, because me and my big runny nose are big fans of free tissues! :D

8. Pen. It’s pink. It’s cute. It’s disney. It has 5 different colors!

9. Mirror. Although the back of my ipod often serves the same purpose, lol.

10. Drink Bottle. Almost every morning I buy a drink from the drink machine (often using my handy-dandy Suica card!) which I nurse throughout the day. On school days it’s usually my lunch drink. I do this only because Japanese drinks are all so new to me, so I try a new one everyday to see what I like best. On the day this picture was taken (yesterday), it was a small bottle of Mitsuya Cider. That was actually the second time trying it… it’s good!

11. Oil build-up sheets. My skin is more inclined to get dry, so I only used these on the hotter, humid days. Still, they’re a life saver when it seems like your pores are breathing in nothing but water! Now that winter is beginning to settle in, I don’t think I’ll be needing them for a while, though.

12. Towel. This particular towel was a gift from Tatsuya, featuring Jiji the cat (who, as you may or may not recall, also decorates our bathroom!) Anyway, towels are yet another important thing to carry around with you in Japan. Why? 99.9% of Japanese public restrooms will NOT stock paper towels. At all. It’s becoming more common to find air dryers in the nicer restrooms, but for those times when you’re walking down the street and must duck into the nearest konbini bathroom because nature calls, the towel in your purse becomes your best friend. Unless you’re the kind of person who likes to do the “eww look, I peed on my hands!!” joke to your accompanying fiance. Ahem, not me though. Certainly not.

13. Gum! Currently there are two kinds in my bag because I bought a few different kinds a couple weeks ago to sample and see which ones I liked best. The Sweets Strawberry Vanilla gum is a good one… tastes like a real strawberry! The other one is a minty muscat (grape) flavor, also good. Either way, I decided one of the best parts of starting life in a new country is the opportunity to sample all kinds of new and different candies! I’ll probably be stocking up again soon, as I’m almost out of these two, ohohoho.

And that’s what’s in my bag! The only thing I’d say is missing is a planner… I’ve been meaning to buy one for the 2010 year, along with the New Year’s Resolution of keeping up with it! I used to keep them obsessively a few years ago, but somewhere along the way I fell out of the habit. I think tomorrow I might check out Loft and see if there’s a cute one there for me.

~ by Elizabeth on November 4, 2009.