From November, the air in Japan gets dry, and indoor heating makes it drier. Many visitors and new residents find that their face feels tight. Japanese drugstores have a whole wall of bottles called 化粧水, and many cost less than ¥1,000. The hard part is…
Author: Miyabi
-
Best Japanese Face Washes 2026: 7 Cleansers for Dry Winter Skin
Winter air in Japan is dry. Many visitors and new residents find that their skin feels tight after washing. Every drugstore has a long shelf of cleansers, and many cost less than ¥2,000. The hard part is the label. Most boxes are only in Japanese.…
-
Best Japanese Lip Balms 2026: 7 Drugstore Picks for Dry Winters
Winter in Japan can be very dry. Many visitors and new residents find that their lips feel rough or start to crack. The good news: every drugstore has a wall of lip balms, and many cost less than ¥1,000. The hard part is the label.…
-
Buying a Nintendo Switch 2 in Japan (2026): Japan-only vs Multilingual
Many visitors want to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 in Japan. But there is a catch. The console in most Japanese shops is a Japan-only model. Its menus are in Japanese only. It also links only to a Nintendo Account set to Japan. This guide…
-
Best Japanese Eye Drops 2026: How to Read the Box + 6 Picks
Japanese drugstores have a whole wall of eye drops (目薬, megusuri). Some give a strong icy “kick”. Some are made for contact lenses. Some fight pollen. The boxes are almost all in Japanese, so choosing is hard. This guide helps you read the box. Then…
-
Bulky Trash in Tokyo 2026: All 23 Wards’ Fees, Booking & New Year Dates
Moving out, replacing a bed, or doing ōsōji (the year-end clean)? In Tokyo you cannot leave a sofa or a bicycle out with the normal trash. Each of the 23 special wards runs its own bulky-trash (粗大ごみ, sodai gomi) service, with its own booking centre,…
-
Ōsōji 2026: Japan Year-End Cleaning Guide & 6 Picks
In the last weeks of December, Japanese homes, offices and even temples do a big year-end clean called ōsōji (大掃除). The idea is simple: start the New Year with a clean house. If you rent in Japan, it is also the moment to deal with…
-
Osechi 2027 in Japan: How to Order, Deadlines & 6 Picks
On 1 January, Japanese families open a stack of lacquered boxes filled with small, colourful dishes: osechi (おせち料理), the traditional New Year food. Each dish carries a wish, such as health, a good harvest or many children, and stacking the boxes (重箱, jūbako) means “piling…
-
Oden in Japan 2026: Konbini Guide, What’s Inside & 5 Picks
When the air turns cold, a steaming metal tray appears by the till in many Japanese convenience stores: oden (おでん). Daikon radish, eggs, konjac and fish cakes simmer for hours in a light soy-and-dashi broth, and you pick the pieces you want. It is cheap,…
-
Best Japanese Nabe Soup Bases 2026: 6 Hot Pot Packs to Buy
From October, every Japanese supermarket builds a nabe corner: a wall of hot pot soup bases called nabe tsuyu (鍋つゆ) or nabe no moto (鍋の素). The trade paper Nissyoku puts the nabe tsuyu market at about ¥50 billion a year, and a big store can…