I love you google

The geniuses at google came up with something that is perfect for blog readers. When I'm procrastinating I have a tendency to check blogs all the time to see if my favorite bloggers have updated their blogs. But now, the wonderful people at google have taken care of that for me. They have created Google Reader. All of you have to do is input your favorite blog sites and it'll tell you when they have new entries. It doesn't e-mail you and fill up your mailbox, you have to have gmail (best e-mail service ever!) and specifically click the reader to check. Then this window pops up and has all the blogs you subscribe to on the left with the blogs that have updated in bold, with the number of new entries as well. In the middle it has the name of the blogs and the first couple lines of the new entry. This is what it looks like.


You can also look at the entry directly through Google Reader (you can't comment though). It does makes it easier but you don't get to see the fancy background. If you want to go directly to the blog just click on the title on top.

Part VIII of Travels: Stores

Of course there are hundreds of stores in Japan but these two caught my eye and they're pretty opposite ends of the spectrum. Hirofu and Uniqlo.

The first is called Hirofu which basically looks like an Hermes copycat. They even stamp a big H (in the same font as Hermes) on the bottom of their bags. I really like the layout of the store with all the colors arranged together (notice the orange, Hermes' signature color). The items are actually pretty plain but the leather quality is fantastic. I think the purses run from $500 and above, mostly $1000 and up.





Now on to my FAVORITE store I found in Japan, Uniqlo. It was hard for me to shop in Japan because the women there are TINY and I am, um, not. When I say tiny I mean Nicole Richie size. For example, stores carry a lot of size 20-22 jeans because that's what people wear there. I've never even seen a size 20 -22 in the US. But anyways, Uniqlo had lots of different sizes so it was easier to shop. They're like a way cooler version of Gap. Their clothes are stylish, really good quality and very reasonably priced. Their cashmere sweaters are under $100 and fantastic quality. They also have high fashion designers design lines for them. When I was there it was Lutz and Patmos but Phillip Lim had a line there in April and Alice Roi has a line there right now. I'm so jealous I can't check out the Phillip Lim line.


Here's a picture of the Lutz and Patmos line.


Uniqlo just opened a store in New York City on Broadway, hopefully they'll come to LA soon!

Only in Asia?

So I'm in Taipei right now and I've started noticing this commercial that is always playing for new contacts called Acuvue Define. I'm pretty sure that they are only on sale in Asia because when I looked online they weren't on the American Acuvue website. Here is Acuvue's description:

"Acuvue Define is the 1st daily disposable designed to enhance the beauty of the eyes in a subtle and natural way. It makes the eyes look bigger, brighter and more beautiful so naturally that nobody will know your secret. It features a unique and defined circular ring that enhances and darkens the iris (the coloured part of the eye) thereby making the eyes bigger, brighter, and better defined. Its every woman's secret to having more beautiful eyes naturally."

Here are the example pictures and descriptions from the website. Do you think the women look better with the contacts?
"Dark limbal ring enhances and defines the iris for an elegant look"


"Delicate brown spokes enhance the natural pattern of the iris for a livelier look"


On the bottom of the website it says:

With the average Asian Horizontal Visible Iris Diameter being 11.2mm*, hence the outer diameter of 1•DAY ACUVUE® DEFINE™ was designed to enlarge the eyes.

*Average diameter of Asian Eye (Horizontal Visible Iris Diameter) Data file, J&J Vision Care, 2005

I really don't know how I feel about this. In Asia, eyelid surgery to create double eyelids to make your eyes look bigger is very popular. I think that is why Acuvue makes a point to say that these contacts make your eyes look bigger "naturally." Eyelid tape is also very popular because it creates a fold and has the same effect. Even though Asian people naturally have smaller eyes, is it the Western ideal of beauty that is making them (and me also, since I'm Asian American) feel that we need our eyes to be bigger? I'm not gonna lie, when I get my make up done I always ask what can I do to make my eyes look bigger. It's also one of the things I'm most self-conscious about.

These contacts are only sold in Asia, is that because Acuvue thinks that Asian woman are the only ones who want their eyes to look bigger? Also, I always thought that if your irises look really big, won't that end up making your eyes look smaller because the irises are too big for your eyes? These are mostly rhetorical questions, do any of you wear these contacts, do they work? This is a very controversial subject and I still don't really know how I feel about it. However, for some reason I find these contacts kind of disturbing. What are your thoughts on the eyelid surgery issue?

Part VII of Travels: East vs. West

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I didn't even realize it until I checked my stats and realized it's been a while! Anyways, back to my travels. One of the greatest things about Japan is how diverse it is. Tokyo is a modern crazy busy city while there are other rural areas that are still very traditional and old school. My hotel experience is a perfect example of that.

"West" (even though Asia is west of Los Angeles and not the East, we'll call the more Americanized modern hotel "West")

In Kyoto I stayed at the Hyatt Regency, a beautiful, new and pretty modern hotel (especially for a city like Kyoto which is more historical and less modern than Tokyo).

I loved this room, it has beautiful amenities and also a hint of the "east" with the Japanese cloth above the headboard.

"East"/Traditional

On the way from Kyoto to Tokyo we stopped by an Onsen for a day and night. Onsens are Japanese hot springs and are very popular in Japan. Many hotels are are built around these hot springs where the entire experience is centered around soaking in the natural hot spring which is supposed to be very good for you (something about opening the pores and sulfur, etc . .). The hotel I stayed out was very beautiful and relaxing.

The hotel room does not have a bed, it's a large room where during the day there is a table a few chairs and at night they move everything and put down futons. You also eat in the same room on the table. We had this very cute lovely lady who took care of us and brought in the food, changed the beds etc . . (In Japan you don't tip either, we gave her a tip and she used it to buy me a present).


This is what it looked like when we slept.


You also eat in the room (food is included in the price) and it is a wonderful meal that is several courses. This is only dinner!






Here's breakfast

Pretty different from Western hotels huh?

Here is a picture of one of the hot springs, most hotels have more than one pool. The hot springs are HOT, hence the name, and yes, you don't wear any clothes in them. I could only soak for about 15 minutes at time before I had to go rinse off with some cold water.


At the Onsen you also don't wear regular clothes, they provide you with Japanese style robes which is what you wear all the time. They are very comfortable and it's pretty awesome to basically spend 2 days in your robe. You even get a little jacket (right).


Here is the outfit for men.


Instead of shoes they give you slippers with special socks to fit specially into them .


Pretty cool huh?