Buying Extra-Large Condoms in Japan

Chart from http://www.kimono-condoms.com/condom-size.html and therefore probably somewhat biased

Two disclaimers here:

1. If you use normal condoms in your home country, you should have no problems finding condoms in Japan that fit (if you find regular Japanese condoms tight, try XL condoms. Don Quixote or Condomania will have them if you are having trouble finding them elsewhere). This post is about condoms that would be considered extra-large in a western country.
2. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT EVER buy condoms larger than you actually need. They will not protect you or your partner. Plus, seriously, who has ever been impressed by a gift that was less impressive than the packaging? ^_~

I had intended this to be an informative post, but I sadly have to admit that even after extensive searching and asking embarrassing questions in all of my on-line Japan support groups I still haven't found a good solution for the problem how to acquire what we need in reasonable quantities without going bankrupt. I'm going to share what I was able to find here, but it is slim pickings unfortunately. If you can offer any advice (that is helpful rather than snide or vulgar, please!) I would be very grateful if you could leave a comment or drop me an email ^_^; This is not a sponsored or commissioned post, but condom manufactures, if you want to sponsor it どうぞ！

iHerb stocks Kimono Micro Thin Large at ¥ 1,331 for a box of twelve, plus shipping (depends on the size of the order but about ¥400) with no restriction on order size I am aware of and prompt delivery (often within a week). Although the kimono size chart shows these as larger than Trojan Magnums, in practice they feel smaller. On the other hand, they really are very thin.

FBC stocks Trojan Magnums at ¥3,224 for a box of twelve, plus shipping (depends on the size of the order but about ¥1000 plus  ¥1000 annual membership fee). Because they ship from the US you can only order one box at a time, and the shipments come once a month, so effectively only 12 condoms per month. Shipping takes 39-45 days from the ship sailing, but the ships come once a month so if you order right after the previous ship sailed you may be waiting over two months for your order. The Trojans are the best fit, but they are quite thick and feel rubbery.

Amazon.jp stocks:

Trojan Magnum X-Large Lubricated Condoms at ￥ 2,800 + ￥ 910 shipping for a box of 12 (more convenient than FBC if one is only purchasing the condoms, but if I were ordering food as well FBC would work actually out cheaper) and

Sir Richard's Condom Company Extra Large Condom at ￥ 1,315 + ￥ 990 shipping for a box of 12

and that's it, that is all I could find.  

Don't waste your time with these domestic brands, irrespective of claims made about size on the packaging:

They really aren't.

Although, it was kind of worth it just to have "Fist of the North Star" condoms on our possession...

Seriously, if you have any advice please share!

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10 Tips for Frugal Living in Japan

 April is all about new beginnings in Japan. A new school year (and a supply list two pages long I have to buy, all either Pokemon or One Piece, of course, no generic stationary permitted). New jobs or new co-workers at your old job (the welcome party is HOW MUCH?!). About a million kids moving out on their own for the first time to go to university are filling up the instant noodle section of the supermarket, and I can barely squeeze onto trains packed with recent graduates in uncomfortable new suits heading out to yet another interview. The air is full of excitement, stress and ohdearWTFwhereisallmymoney?

I know what you're thinking... ANOTHER how to save money in Japan article? Yawn. Yes. Seriously. This is in fact another how to save money in Japan article, but I hope it contains some ideas you may not have read about yet, even if you do hang on every word Tofugu publishes!

100 yen shops aren't that good, but hardware stores are.

I'm not just saying this because this month's tax hike put everything up to 108 yen, honestly. Nor is this a you-get-what-you-pay-for warning. It's much simpler- nothing at a 100 yen store is less than 108 yen, but because we are accustomed to seeing them as cheap stores we may not notice that many of the products they sell can be purchased for less elsewhere. Bleach, for example, is about 90 yen at the supermarket and 80 at hardware stores. ぞうきん cleaning rags are sold at my local Daiso in bags of two, the hardware store has a pack of five for the same price. Most of the things I used to buy regularly from the 100 store including note books, erasers, cleaning products and kitchen paper are all cheaper at the hardware store. What's more, many hardware stores have good point card programs, including things like "double points on Wednesdays".

Plus, they have these. Lots of them.

 

Point cards, charge cards

 I carry a card case these days, because I have too many point cards to fit in my wallet. They are worth getting, even for places you think you'll visit only rarely. Not only do you accumulate points, many businesses offer discounts or special offers for point card holders. Tully's coffee gave me free coffee and ice-cream on my birthday. A local onsen gives free spa treatments to card holders on their birthday. Some of the most rewarding point cards belong not to specific stores but to groups. The T-Point card for example is linked to Family Mart convenience stores, Tsutaya book shops and DVD rental stores, Kitamura Camera, Eneos gas stations, a bunch of restaurants and so on. Every time I rent a DVD at Tsutaya, I get a hand full of coupons for other stores in the T-Point family (discounted photo printing, free deserts and all sorts of random stuff).
Charge cards can also offer some surprising benefits. In addition to the point card, I also have a Tully's charge card. I get 30 yen off each drink I pay for with the card. If I put 3000 yen onto the card at once I also get a free drink ticket. Best of all, I earn a stamp for this free drink ticket that counts toward the "buy ten get one free" point card. I'm not trying to spruik Tully's particularly, by the way, just an example of how reward cards can add up and interact. My bus card also gives bonus credit versus paying cash.

Email memberships, discount days and refer a friend

In a similar vein, becoming a メール会員 can have some good benefits. A clothing store I like sent all the email members a message recently saying that everything in the store with a yellow sticker on was 40% off for members. Non-members would have had no idea what the stickers meant, which made it quite fun.
I already mentioned that some stores offer regular double-point days, but another thing to keep in mind is discount days. Karaoke places often have "ladies' day" and "men's day", with the room fee waved or similar discount if you happen to have the matching gender. Some cinemas also have these gendered days, and sometimes "couples' day" as well. Almost all supermarkets have take-home fliers listing their discount days and you can save a decent amount of money if you pay attention to these. My local has 40% off all frozen vegetables and ice-cream on Wednesdays, for example.
Refer a friend discounts aren't quite as common, but can be very good savers. My hairdresser gives me a 50 % discount on my next visit if someone I've recommended the salon to comes in for a cut, and the friend gets 10% off too. The gym I used to go to offered discounts on the monthly fee on a sliding scale for each friend who signed up, and the discount applied to everyone in the "group". It was also good motivation to keep going to the gym; if I quit all my friends got a price hike!

 

Be a regular

 In many ways, what every point card or membership system is trying to replicate is just the system of "regular customers" that small local businesses have naturally. There are so many benefits to becoming a regular, not only financial but social as well. At one of my regulars, I get free coffee every time I visit and the odd free desert~ not because of accumulated points, but as an expression of the relationship that exists between regular patrons and the business they support. At an okonomiyaki place we used to frequent, we always received free extras and had the opportunity to preview new dishes and offer our feedback before they made it to the menu. The social benefits for me personally have been so great that they probably deserve a separate post.

There has ended up being more coffee in this post than I expected...

 

Supermarket co-op sections

 I don't know if this holds true in bigger cities, but down here all the supermarkets have a separate section for local produce that is unrefrigerated and simply presented in plastic crates. One can purchase these (often completely unpackaged) products at the same register as the supermarket's own produce, but usually at much lower prices. For the same price as a packet of six shiitake nicely packaged and branded, I got a plain bag of shiitake the size of my head.

 

Yahoo auctions and second hand shops

Although big chains of second hand stores like Hard-Off are certainly cheaper than buying new furniture, an even cheaper option is your local independent second hand store. They are often located in run down neighborhoods and can be hard to get to without a car, but they are worth the adventure. Although we have primarily used them for furniture, I have also bought some gorgeous kimono for as little as 500 yen. Likewise, while Rakuten and Amazon have some great deals, for seriously cheap second hand goods try http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp , the e-bay equivalent more popular in Japan (bonus: also connected to the T-Point card!). We recently bought a 42-inch (106cm) wide-screen plasma TV for 10,000 yen (about $100).

 

Facebook groups

Similarly, check out facebook to see if there are useful groups in your local area where people swap or sell. In my city we have fairly regular clothing and shoe swaps between the international women, for example. Japan Garage Sale is a nation-wide group, and Frugal Living in Japan is another where people share coupons, details of sales and general tips. If your local area doesn't have one, why not start one?

 

Public gyms and sports associations rather than for-profit gyms

In easily accessible distance from my home there are four gyms run by either the city or the prefecture that offer entry for next to nothing. They have different equipment~ the man-person will only go to one because the others don't have big enough weights whereas I prefer a different one because it's the only one with cross-trainers~ but even with a bit of fiddling around to find the best match for what we want to do it's a world less expensive than a private gym. There's no subscription, you just pay per visit (around 200 yen, more or less depending on what areas you want to use) and they are quieter and less crowded (weirdly) than the for-profit gyms. Two of the gyms have pools, and I took Tiger in the school holidays- 40 yen for his entry, 150 for mine, and there was virtually no one else there so they let him take his kick-board into the big pool.

 

Big Government Does it Cheaper  

OK, I just wrote that to annoy some of my American friends ;) Gyms aren't the only thing the government provides at discounted rates, though. You probably receive some kind of monthly magazine or news letter from your city or prefecture. I spent a couple of years putting these directly into the recycling thinking they were junk mail before I actually took the time to read one. Ours lists local events and festivals and services (as well as a fair bit of annoying spam from the city council). Some of the services I learned about only through this news letter included discount dog vaccinations offered at a local park (very good for my vet-phobic puppies), free dog training workshops, flu vaccinations for humans, free cooking classes, hiking groups in the forest reserves near our house, flea markets and even one random event where 1000 potted plants were given away.

 

Eating: Cafeterias

I feel a bit silly including an "eating out" bit because every "save money in Japan" post on the internet talks about it, but let me finish before you roll your eyes!
Spoon and Tamago did a great post recently on cheap and delicious university cafeteria meals that the public can buy. My local uni is particularly good for me, because it has each dish separate and you grab what you want and pay rather than getting a set combination of dishes. That means I can pick out the vegetarian options and not have to waste money on the "main" I can't eat. Universities aren't the only places that have amazingly cheap dining halls open to the public, though. In the basement of my City Hall building is a cafeteria most people probably will never know exists, where you can order a huge multi-dish lunch that will be cooked fresh to your order for a couple of hundred yen. On the top floor of the prefectural offices is an all-you-can-eat dining hall that again only costs a few hundred yen to get into. The branch government offices (usually in the same building as the local library) all seem to have extremely cheap dining halls, too. My local (which we visit regularly to borrow kids' books from the library) even has bottomless coffee.

 

Bonus: Know what you want 

We have wasted probably close to $10,000 because we didn't have a clear idea of what was possible in terms of housing when we first moved to Japan. Consequently we moved house twice, and that devastated our finances. If we had been clear about wanting a house from the start we would have put more effort into researching whether it was possible instead of dismissing it and renting the second apartment. One of my old co-workers knew right from the start that she was only staying a year. She rented a tiny apartment, barely furnished it and saved her money. She knew what she wanted, and didn't get bogged down in wasteful indecision. Another friend arrived excited about living "Japanese style" and bought a complete set of floor furniture including table, chairs and computer desk before realising that he actually found it really uncomfortable to sit on the floor. While you never know where life will take you, it does help one's budget to have a basic plan.

Bonus #2: Buy wine in bulk when you find something good. And yes, that's a bus stop and yes, I did in fact take 24 bottles of wine home on the bus. Shut up.

This post is my contribution to the J-Bloggers' Carnival "New Beginnings". Other contributors are:

Zacky Chan of Gaijin Explorer (A blog about practicing Japanese archery, exploring Japanese wilderness, traveling around spots of interest, and other creative meanderings based in the southern Japanese island of Kyushu) with
http://gaijinexplorer.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/new-beginnings-from-one-inaka-to-another-japan-blog-carnival-entry

John Asano joins us with http://japan-australia.blogspot.jp/2014/03/best-cherry-blossom-spots-in-gifu.html
John Asano is a blogger, web developer and freelance writer living in Gifu, Japan. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, he writes about the must see sights and attractions in Japan at Japan Travel Advice, as well as about Japanese culture and events on his blog Japan Australia.

Ishikawa JET Blog, the official blog for the Ishikawa JET  community (writing about living and working in Ishikawa and Japan in general) offer http://ishikawajet.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/cultural-gap-jinji-ido

Autumn Widdoes of English Bento Box (Art, Okinawa and Gluten-Free in Japan) joins in with http://eigoinnihon.blogspot.jp/2014/04/new-beginnings.html

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Budget Vegetarian in Japan: August Edition

Previous Editions of Budget Vegetarian in Japan:
June

Summer is here for real now, with scorching sun, temperatures in the mid-30s and cicadas trying to send you deaf everywhere you go. I'm craving cold, fresh, crispy food that doesn't require much stove time. I apologize as always for the photos. I am not cut out for food photography...

In season this month we have: Capsicum (bell-peppers in American), cucumber, okra, bok choy and other leafy vegetables, and 新しょうが new ginger (no need to peel because the skin is so thin and mild enough to eat raw~ I munched on some like a carrot while cooking today).

Tofu and Herb Cream Cheese

Adapted slightly from Recipes of Japanese Cooking, replacing the gelatin with agar*.
Wrap 1/2 a block of silken tofu in kitchen paper, microwave for 1 minute then wring dry either in robust kitchen paper or a cloth.

Microwave 100g of cream cheese for 30 seconds. Mix with 1/4 of a red onion, finely diced, chives to taste and green herbs to taste.

The agar needs to be dissolved in boiling water, this is just to show you the ingredients

The recipe says three sprigs of Italian parsley but I used about 1/2 cup of basil and Italian parsley combined (what I happened to have in the garden). Stir through a little salt, sugar and the agar, and chill for two hours in molds.

These quantities made four muffin-liner sized cheeses

Savoury Tofu Jelly

Also adapted from Recipes of Japanese Cooking.
I used the remaining half of my silken tofu, cubed, with a small quantity of diced mixed-colour capsicum as the filling. Coloured capsicums are often quite expensive but I got a good deal on these, 30% off!

For the jelly itself , bring 1 2/3 C of stock to the boil, remove from heat and add soy sauce, mirin and cooking sake to taste (I used 2 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 each of the others). Mix through the agar and pour over the fillings. Set in the fridge for at least two hours and garnish with the chives left over from your cream cheese.

Cucumber Three Ways

1. Spicy Yuzu and Daikon Cucumber Salad

Cut new ginger into sticks and flash-fry in very hot olive oil until crisp. If you cook it too long it will become chewing not crispy. Very finely slice a your cucumber and daikon and add the ginger and frying oil when cool.

Use any tangy dressing and toss through with an equal quantity of lemon or other citrus juice. I used this spicy green-pepper yuzu dressing and it matched wonderfully with the sharpness of the daikon.

2. Fresh, Simple Cucumber Salad

On the left, the one on the right is #3

Shred cucumber and mix through some garlic, lemon juice, black pepper and a tiny whisper of olive oil. That's it. 

3. Chili-Fried Cucumber

Growing up I ate cucumber in salads and sandwiches. It was never cooked and never eaten hot. Not so in Japan. This tasty dish is just cucumber fried with salt, sesame oil, garlic and some dried chili~ simple but tasty.

Take care when frying because the high water content of the cucumber makes for lots of spattering. You can eat it hot or let it cool.

Noodle-Stuffed Grilled ピーマン

Cellophane noodles are super cheap, easy and perfect for summer.

Just soak for a few minutes in hot water and it is ready to use

How massive is this eggplant? It's as long as my arm!!

Cost about a dollar

I fried some eggplant with  油揚げ tofu skins that came cheaply in a big bag and added some really good texture contrast with a bit of left-over red capsicum and grated ginger and garlic in sesame oil.

After browning the eggplant I added some kombu dashi, soy sauce and the noodles. Once the stock had been absorbed/evaporated I stuffed the mixture into some crispy Japanese green capsicums

and grilled them until the skin burned. I chilled them in the fridge for a few hours and the flavours matured as they cooled (be careful not to over-season because it will taste much saltier cold than hot).

Mint Ice-Tea

I have an abundance of mint in the garden so I thought I'd have a bash at a minty spin on iced tea.

I ran a cup of fresh mint through the food processor with 3/4 C coarse brown sugar and dissolved the resulting mix into 3/4 C of boiling water.

I made about 8 C of tea using four regular tea bags and 4 Earl Grey. Once it was cool I mixed through the sugar syrup and 1/4 C of lemon juice. It was delicious but I want to try it again with orange juice to compliment the Early Grey. I didn't strain the mint leave out because I'm happy to, as my husband puts it, "eat twigs and leaves", but if I were making it for guests I would strain the syrup before adding it to the tea.

*Agar is called かんてん （寒天） and is available from most supermarkets quite cheaply. Read about how to prepare it at here.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click then buy the item I get a small commission. It does not mean that I am being paid to promote a particular product or opinion. I will only include affiliate links that are directly related to the subject of a post. If you want to know why I have begun including affiliate links you can read about it here.

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Advertisments as (Post-)Adoption Fundraising?

It's pretty well known that adoption comes with some hefty initial financial costs. There are entire online communities dedicated to sharing adoption fund-raising ideas. We've never been comfortable asking for money, but I did look into some of the more innovative corporate partnership arrangements. Just Love Coffee sounded like a perfect match for us~ we love coffee, people could buy something pretty much everyone buys regularly anyway, we'd get some of the profits and the coffees are all farmed sustainably and purchased under fair trade conditions. Perfect! Unfortunately, however, the company at present only operates in the US. So that was that. There are also companies like Zoe Clothing Co, Olive Tree Promise and Scarlet Threads that offer both adoption fund-raising packages and their own charitable works. All great stuff, but it wasn't for us. We don't need a specific sum in order to finalise our adoption. We have all the fees we need. We'd just like a bit extra to cover things like buying furniture for his room, new clothes so he doesn't go to his new school wearing clothes he brings from the orphanage, and so on. Swimming lessons. A bicycle. Not the kinds of things you do fund-raising drives for. So to cut a long story short, I'm thinking about trying to generate a little bit of extra revenue through unobtrusive advertising/affiliate links. I'm not even sure if there are advertisers out there who would pay me, but we'll see!

The reason I am posting about it now is that I have occasionally seen readers on other blogs get very upset about advertising and I'm curious whether it's something anyone who reads this blog would be upset by?  Let me know.

Edit: Holy cow, I take that "we have enough money" thing back o.0 A significant number of flights across the country and a couple of weeks of hotel bills just got added on that we had not budgeted for. Things are going to be tight.

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Budget Vegetarian in Japan: June Edition

I’ve wasted a lot of money on food in Japan. I spent a fortune on olives and cheese and pesto and other things I like to eat regularly that are once-a-year luxuries out here in the sticks. I am not a big fan of Japanese food. I know, I know. I don’t like sea weed or slimy textured food, and that cuts out 90% of what Japan has to offer that is vegetarian. Because we have been so very busy the past few years it was easier to just fork out for the pesto and olives. It takes ten minutes to boil the pasta and voila, delicious dinner and left-overs that taste good enough cold to pack for lunch. What could be easier? Except, of course, that it is also not particularly nutritious, cost a fortune and is full of “empty” calories. So as life is finally beginning to slow down a little, I thought I’d share some recipes for cheap vegetarian dishes to make with ingredients that are easy to source in regular Japanese supermarkets that don’t taste like fish food or take six hours to prepare.

Unless you are pretty far north, June is likely to be humid, wet, hot and generally nasty. People often get food poisoning in June because of the sudden heat and humidity. You need to store your food carefully and check everything for mould before using it. Seasonal ingredients will vary by region, but down here June is great for fresh peas, beans, bamboo shoots, shiitake, tomato and eggplant. It’s hot enough that I want to eat something cold, but too rainy for anything that invokes “soggy” like cold noodles or chilled soups. I want fresh, crisp and colourful food to counteract the grey skies and my perpetually wet socks.

Fresh Legume and Herb Salad

Vegan and mostly free... the peas and beans were a gift from a teacher's garden

This is so simple but really tasty and versatile. I get given bags of beans and peas at work all the time, and this salad/side works with anything at all. You can even use frozen edamame /peas / rehydrated white beans and make it in winter. It’s basically just blanched legumes in lemon juice/zest, vinegar and whatever herbs you have on hand. No matter how small your apartment is, you can always grow fresh herbs! But supermarkets stock them as well. 

I had mint and some slightly gone-to-seed coriander in the garden, but parsley, dill, or anything really would be tasty!

I fancied this up by replacing the lemon juice/zest with diced Moroccan-style preserved lemon (*home-made: easy to make, cheap, lasts forever and makes everything more delicious, see below for how to make them), feta cheese and some artichoke hearts from Costco. That makes it much more expensive, but really really good. The leftovers make a solid lunch just with some crusty bread.

 Spicy Eggplant Gyoza

Could be vegan depending on the wrappers used

When eggplants/aubergines are cheap I don’t feel bad treating them a little badly. These gyoza are not that healthy but really delicious, and take advantage of the cheap fresh ginger you can get at this time of year too.

These ingredients made 12 gyoza and cost barely anything

Mince and fry in sesame oil with some garlic and a little soy sauce if it dries out, then stuff the wrappers. A bit more time consuming than the other dishes and quite fatty if you fry the gyoza, but really yummy ;)

Bamboo-shoot Rice

I'm not going to make bamboo shoot rice from scratch, but it takes about two minutes to stick a packet and some rice into the rice cooker and it's tasty, locally made and this brand is actually vegan as far as I can tell.

Crispy Tofu, Tomato and Basil Salad

Usually you press the tofu, dust in flour and fry but I had leftover gyoza sheets and I thought it'd try wrapping the tofu in them instead. It worked really well.

Tomatoes are cheap right now and my garden is full of basil, so the only question is what to put them on. The answer in this case is tofu, weird though it sounds. I promise it tastes good! I like it cold but hot works too.

I would usually use balsamic vinegar not dressing and red onion, but I was out of both

*Making Moroccan preserved lemons

Day 1: The jar eventually fills up entirely with juice

I bought a bag of lemons from Costco and couldn't get through them in time so I tried to find a way to make them last and got the instructions for preserved lemons at davidlebovitz.com

I used a nice cheap jar from Muji and threw in coriander seeds, chillis, cloves and a cinnamon stick then sat back and waited. They're delicious mashed into butter on asparagus and other vegetables, but I've also used them in frosting for banana muffins and mixed into vanilla ice-cream. I only use a little at a time and over a year later they're still just as tasty.

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