Monthly Archives: July 2011

teeth check!

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I know I had a number of posts already on how expensive it is here in Japan. Trust that there’d be more every now and then.

So yep, it’s about teeth this time. Dental services has got to be among the most expensive here in Japan. I had my wisdom tooth extracted late last year and it just cost 500pesos in the Philippines. Okay it was discounted as it was done by my ortho and yes it was braces related. But still, I think the most you’d pay for teeth extraction (save for root canal; and well, that’s not really extraction per se) in the Philippines is 1000pesos. But. I had my other wisdom tooth extracted here in Japan back in 2007 and it cost me 10,000yen (roughly 5,000pesos). Needless to say, having your teeth corrected by braces and retainers here would cost you millions of yen.

Given that, dental services is honestly one of my worries whenever I’m here in Japan. Thankfully, dental services are included in our company health insurance and up to 70% of what we pay, including medicines, is covered by insurance.

What’s even better is that the company holds periodical health and dental checks in the office for their employees; probably because they know how their employees are such workaholics that they might not have time to have their regular checkups. Hence the health and dental check venue.

Had my first dental check earlier in the office. Yey! Teeth were declared all healthy and well taken cared for. We were also given a loot for takeaway.

And look how fast time flies! It’s been exactly one month since I joined the workforce again! Thankful for the blessing.

breakfast

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I just love breakfast. It’s the best meal of the day for me. One probable reason why I love it is because of its novelty, ergo rarity of having it; especially ever since I lived apart from my parents.

Back at the time when I was just daydreaming for my perfect man, I dreamed of him cooking breakfast for the two of us. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just a few bacon and sausages and sunny side up would be splendid for me already.

And today, I woke up to having that dream come true. I woke up to the smell of my favorite sausages and bacon; woke up to the sound of them hissing on the pan. We ran out of eggs already though but it’s ok. It was still a dream come true.

It felt all the more better because I didn’t ask him to. He did it out of his own volition.

Thanks A for making my wishes come true.

talk about home

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If you have Six Million Philippine Pesos, it would go a long way in the Philippines if you’re planning to buy a house and lot and decorate it besides.

But we’re not based in the Philippines and we have to plan accordingly based on where we are based. Now, Japan. And if you live in the city like we do, and a city close to Tokyo at that, real estate prices really do skyrocket. Our previous researches points to houses with area of ~60sq.m. that’s priced at roughly (tadaan!) 60 MILLION YEN.

And that’s just the house. You have to buy your furnitures and home fixtures and home decors right? Plus the curtains, the carpet, the rugs, the linen. And of course you need to have those home interior goodies coordinate and compliment with each other in terms of colors and theme right?

I was window shopping yesterday in Bo Concept in Queens. I was daydreaming already as I walked around the place (and I’d say they have such a huge place for their display) and wondering how much should we earn for us to have our dream home already. The good store lady gave me a brochure. Guess, I’ll continue daydreaming with that.

Earlier, I was complaining about the expensive furnitures here in Japan with some colleagues and Teof recommended I go visit Nitori in Jack’s Mall. He said though that it would be good to browse their website first.

And boy it was such a good suggestion. The website told me it’s not a bad idea to dream, alright.

Do browse. http://www.nitori.co.jp/en/index.html

I love their digital catalogues. And I most love the kitchen part. Do check out the oh-so-convenient cupboards. Even if you’re of a petite stature, you don’t have to get a chair or a small ladder just so you can access your cupboards.

Ja. It’s 11:45 pm now. I guess it’s high time to continue dreaming about our dream house.

Happy dreaming minna-san (everyone)!

on sales and sheets

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The summer sale is just so crazy this year. Everywhere you look, there’s a nice piece of garment or accessory to catch your eye, discounted at such a very reasonable price (even as low as 50%!) making it quite difficult for you to refuse. It doesn’t help as well that the city is just teeming with shops selling women’s clothes and shoes and bags and accessories. A good timing for the bargain sale as well since most companies give out half of the year’s bonus around this time of the year. Or was this the sole reason malls and shops time the sale during this period? But then again, as hubby pointed out, there are lots of sale periods in the country throughout the year. There’s the Charming Sale; The New Year sale where you can get really good bargain with them happy bags if you’re lucky enough and well the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter bargain sale. LOL.

Anyway, sale season are such a boon especially when you’re still on the look for home items to stuff your home with. Curtains for one are just so EXPENSIVE here in Japan that you’d want to wait for the bargain before buying one. I haven’t seen one that I like yet though. And well, the question really is “how do you buy curtains??”.

Anyhow, our objective this summer sale was more on linen for the bed. We need to have an alternate for our organic-themed bedcovers. Fell in love with this. Pink-themed Burberry linen. Heart.

Loved this as well!!

But alas, Burberry wasn’t on sale.

Thankfully though, we found this lovely futton/comforter cover. Just perfect for our pink and brown theme at home. When we fitted it in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the underside is of pink and brown stripes design. It’s as if underneath the beautiful chaos is organized beauty. Heart.

And bed cover!

One thing we’ve noticed though ever since changing the sheets. It’s been really difficult to wake up in the mornings. Soo sleepy yet!

Yukatas for A&M

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Thankful in that through Kamio-san’s thoughtfulness, we now have our first yukatas as a couple. And well, yes, my first yukata ever.

Yukata (浴衣) is the summer kimono. Although you’re still pretty much covered as compared to popular western summer clothes, yukata is much breezier than kimonos in that you don’t have to wear layers of cloth on you. You still have the obi though. There has to be obi to hold everything in prettily.

Blue for Atsushi. Very manly.

I particularly love this intricate detail on the sleeves.

Kamio-san chose a purple yukata for me. He said that in Japan, purple is considered as the color for nobles. As he relates, centuries ago, the material used to dye cloths in purple were very rare and hence come off expensive. Ergo, only nobles and rich people can afford it. That was then how people associated the color purple with nobility.

Kamio-san tossed in a bonus for me. Zouri (草履) or japanese slippers to go with my yukata. Yey! The slippers are yellow-themed and would go well with the yellow obi.  When I first saw it, I exclaimed that he got my size right – my shoe size is 22.5~23cm! LOL. Apparently, “23” is a well-known brand in Japan for apparels.  

Thoughtful that he is, Kamio-san also included in the package a guide pamphlet on how to wear our yukatas. We badly need it I think since we both haven’t had any experience yet on how to don a yukata, by ourselves. Although based on our experience with our assemble-DIY bookshelves, we seem to have some trouble following operating manuals. Basically, we just go ahead and then when we encounter some difficulty already, that’s when we remember the “operating manual”. LOL.

Arigatou Kamio-san for your unique and very Japanese wedding gift! 🙂