Hi! Hey! Remember me? Apologies for the lack of posts – I guess no-one told me how tiring working in a foreign country, commuting almost four hours a day and general culture shock/fatigue/homesickness really was. I’ll do a general three month post soon, but I wanted to drop in an announce that my life here in Japan is still going great, and regular posting will be a thang here at Ye Olde Omo!. The (very relaxed) schedule will be probably two-three times a week, with one beauty related post and one culture (film, TV, music et al) post a week. It’s a more fluid system and more me, so please look forward to it.

Above: my vanity area, which isn’t organised at all and may actually keep me awake at night. Work with what you have, right? Right?!

Let’s get the ball rolling with a post I’ve been thinking about for a while. A lot of you are aware of how sensitive my skin is, and one of my major concerns about moving to a foreign country was “how on earth am I going to stick to the meticulous skin routines I’ve carved out through the years?” Simple answer – I couldn’t. Unless I spend huge amounts importing everyday things like body wash and washing powder, I was going to have to be a little flexible and try some new stuff.

My major basics have stayed the same, especially in regards to my face (snerk): I’m still using Shu Uemura’s Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium a/i (albeit for fifty dollars cheaper. Ain’t missing those jacked up Aussie prices, man), Dove deodorant, and for a daily moisturiser, Cetaphil’s Daily Advance Ultra Hydrating Lotion. It’s the smaller things that I’ve had to go out of my comfort zone for, leaving me standing in drug stores here for hours with my electronic dictionary hoping for the best. So, here’s a look at my new essentials!

HADALABO Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion

When in Rome, etc…literally one bottle of this stuff is sold every four seconds here – I’ve pretty much stayed away from toners as a rule, due to most Western brands being extremely stripping and just not great for sensitive skin. My dear blogger friend Justine of Sakura, Lovely and I were waxing on about skin treatments – as we are known to do – and I mentioned I’d never tried it, but was finding my skin dryer than normal due to winter and the heater being used constantly. She told me to give this a burl, and well. Never looking back. It’s even helped even out my skin tone, as well as keeping the winter cornflake skin at bay. This stuff is unicorn blood in a bottle, I swear.

HADALABO Gokujyun Moisturising Cream

I’d actually first tried this product in Australia, paying the inflated prices from our import Asian cosmetic stores because this is basically the unicorn blood cousin of the lotion talked about above. I found it lost its effectiveness going into summer, but I picked it up again here in Tokyo to use as a night moisturiser, and I adore it. One of the best moisturisers for dry and cold conditions, I can’t recommend this enough. It is slightly sticky (like the lotion), but once I wash my hands it doesn’t faze me at all.

Softymo Super Make Off Sheet HA (Hyaluronic Acid)

For my lazy days, these make-up remover sheets are just perfect. They’re not abrasive and get my make-up off with ease. The only downsides are that they’re a weird shape – very long and skinny – and well? There’s not much else to say about them, to be honest, which could potentially be a downside. But they’re cheap, and don’t leave me reaching for the hydrocortisone cream, so I’ve adopted them into my Lazy Day face routine. You can buy them in a super classy diamond-shaped plastic container, but for some reason I’ve never been able to find the HA version at any of my drug stores. Pissed, man. I want that glitzy crap on my vanity! 

Etude House Lip & Eye Remover

[Crappy Joke] But…I want to keep my lips and eyes, Etude House! Please don’t remove them! [/Crappy Joke] Now I have that out of my system, this product is my absolute Second Choice. I have a very close relationship with Kate’s Eye Make-Up Remover and was looking forward to not paying jacked up G-Market and Asian cosmetic store prices. In fact, I thought they would gift it to me on arrival to Tokyo, or it would rain from the skies and I would dance, with my eyes free of Diorshow, Dolly Wink liner and irritation. Nope. I have not been able to find it in a single. Drug store. In my entire time here, and I’m almost about to storm Kanebo’s HQ in a fit of desperation. But in the meantime, I need clean eyes I guess, so I bought this one instead. It’s good. Does what it says it’s supposed to. You can shake it up and the two different bits combine, which is kind of cool. But it’s not the Kate one.

Shiseido Beauty Up Cotton

“But,” I can hear you saying, “they’re just cotton pads. Get them from Daiso or something!” No. No, dear reader, you’re wrong. These are wondrous face pillows spun from the cotton fields of the gods. I bought them after needing to replace an empty package of Daiso ones – they were on special for ¥120 (RRP ¥220) and I will never go back. Ever. I will pay that extra ¥115 and cry with joy every time I put these plush cottony delights on my eyelids to remove the day’s crusty mascara, before sighing with happiness. Now, if only I could find the Kate Eye Makeup Remover, it’d be Christmas every damn night.

Shiseido Super Mild Shampoo & Conditioner and Naive Peach Body Wash

I’d been using the same shampoo, conditioner and body wash for literally years before moving here, and I’ll be honest – these where the things that were freaking me out the most. My body skin (…bad term) is probably more sensitive than that on my face, so much so that when I wash my hair I have to do so like I’m at the damn hairdressers – crouched over the bath with nothing touching my face. I’d used the Super Mild when visiting here in the past, so after SALA gave me a rash around my hairline, I swapped back to this. I found that in the beginning, it made my hair quite heavy; but now it’s a lot smoother, and it doesn’t irritate my skin. And the body wash? Talk about a lucky dip that paid off. I love this stuff. No heavy fragrance, and I haven’t reacted to it one bit. Wrapt. (I do react to YesStyle.com charging $35 for it – the above refill plus the bottle I’m still not through three months later was less than ¥300. It’s gonna be hard to move back home.)

Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil

In the great Search To Replace the Kate Eye Makeup Remover Quest of 2013, I picked this up after reading great reviews on it. Plus that #1 jazz up top and Ueto Aya’s happy face couldn’t steer me wrong, right? No. I hate this stuff. Actually hate it, yet for some reason it’s still sitting on my vanity. It smells, it’s soapy, it made my eyes blurry – just a whole world of no. I want to say more, but it would just equate to a lot of  ”nopes”, so. Nope.

Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturising Lotion

Adding this into the post because this is the one product I have realised I cannot live without. Growing up with severe infantile eczema, baths/water/the air generally was hell on earth for me. I found this stuff when I was well into my twenties, and I can’t lie – I actually cried when I used it for the first time, because it worked. So this has found its way in to many care packages and whatnot, as I can’t buy it here – but it goes to show, that even in a whole new exciting world of cosmetics and skin products, somethings just work for you, not matter what.

There you have it – my new essentials. I hope this was interesting – and I want to know! Have you ever had to try something out of convenience, and found it’s perfect for you?

I love fukubukuro. It could possibly be my favourite shopping time of the year, other than that day Easter eggs are 80% off. For those who don’t know, fukubukuro (lucky packs) are where retailers package up goods and sell them for super cheap prices – so you could pay 10,000 yen and end up with 50,000+ worth of merchandise. The catch being, you don’t know what is inside the bag until you purchase it – leading to frenzied scenes out the front of Shibuya 109 and LaForet in Harajuku of people sticking the goods they don’t want in the air, hoping that someone wants to trade.

TokyoFashion.com did a great series of posts this year, so you can see the madness in action.

As I can’t fit the clothes here, I tend to only be interested in accessory and makeup fukubukuro, but they were both a bit lacking this year. A week out of New Year’s, however, I managed to spot the Canmake fukubukuro in Loft – and snapped it up quickly!

For 948 yen, I must say – I’m pretty impressed. It’s basically the perfect starter pack for anyone wanting to try Canmake products. The pack includes:

+ Shimmer Light Base UV clear base in 04
+ Colorful Nails nail polish in 51 Blood Orange
+ Powder Cheeks blush in PW24 Caramel Orange
+ Cheek & Cheek duo blush in 04 Love Blossom
+ Jewelstar Eyes eyeshadow in 05 Mirror Purple
+ Maxi Volume Rouge lipstick in 01 Red Cherry (love this!)

How good is that?! And because it is the season for giving, I wrestled the NYE crowds and picked one up to give away to you guys!

HOW TO ENTER & THE DEETS:

1. Tell me: What brand would you most like to see have a lucky pack? Pop your answer into the handy dandy Rafflecopter widget below to enter.
2. Follow @lostinomo on Twitter and bonus: retweet or post about the giveaway.
3. This giveaway is open internationally and will end on Sunday 20th January 2013. I will email the winner within 24 hours.
4. I purchased this prize with my own moolah, and am not affiliated with Canmake. All products are unopened and unused, however, I did open the bag to make sure everything was still inside.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Just before New Year’s and Christmas, my sister asked me to go to the Hagoita-Ichi in Asakusa to buy her a paddle. The paddles are traditionally used to play a game called hanetsuki, but are mostly bought as good luck charms for the New Year. The Hagoita-Ichi is held at good ol’ Senso-ji Temple - aka, That Temple Everyone Visits in Japan – and despite the maddening crowds, I managed to secure a paddle and all my limbs. Best result!

To get to Senso-ji, you first pass through the massive Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, before you hit the swarm that is Nakamise-Dori, the shopping street. You want souvenirs? Baby, Nakamise-Dori is your place. In amongst the traditional, you’ll find stalls selling Johnny’s crap (not that I was interested in those *eye dart*), fake handbags and ice cream burgers. It’s a weird mix of the old-and-the-new, and sadly seems to act more as a tourist trap these days. It’s still fun to experience, though, especially when it’s a beautiful day and the place is buzzing with people.

Kids hard at work painting their own paddles at Hagoita-Ichi.

Needless to say, the paddles themselves are magnificent. Elaborate, beautiful and breathtakingly detailed – and expensive – the work that goes in to each of these is obvious. The stallholders are a heap of fun, teasing passers-by and generally giving Hagoita-Ichi an amazing atmosphere. If you get the chance, go – just be aware that you’ll be ducking past photographers left and right, and be prepared for the crowds.

Now to New Year’s Day! After a lovely night in with my housemates, three of us headed out to the Narihira Santosen Temple (Narihira-san Tosen-ji) here in Katsushika to pray for the New Year. I’m not religious, so bare with me as I stumble over some of the terms and Gods (feel free to correct me!), and I was worried that I would be encroaching on a ritual that was, basically, not for me. But Rie, my housemate, insisted I come, explaining that Japanese Shinto and Buddhist gods are pretty much open to everyone (so no-one is being struck down by mighty forces). The Narihira-san Tosen-ji is famous for its Bound Jizo, and the practice of which you tie a rope around the Jizo to hold in bad energies (as well your “wish”), and at the end of the year, a priest cuts off the ropes to begin the New Year fresh.

Eunyoung tying her rope around the Jizo. He’s a pretty cool guy, to be honest – present in one form or another in most East Asian Buddhist texts, have a read of the Wikipedia page if you’ve got a couple of minutes. (Sidenote: he’s also wearing a knitted hat under the ropes, as per the Six Hats for Six Jizos story, so his noggin doesn’t get cold! I love this story, a lot. Kindness is important, yo!)

The day ended with some traditional Fan Dancing and Taiko (drumming) – to be featured in an upcoming Omo! in Tokyo vlog, as photos cannot do either of them justice.

Rie and Eunyoung, my wonderful company for the day! We also bought Darumas, and painted in one of his eyeballs as per tradition. I learnt a lot, to say the least, and felt it was a wonderful start to my new year here in Japan. Here’s to 2013!

I have terrible taste in music. But still, here! Have my top tracks of 2012 anyway! (Like in my drama post, I’m usually behind on everything – so some of these weren’t released in 2012, but were on high-rotation these past months and may not all be Asian music.)

ARASHI – FACE DOWN

Let’s get this one out of the way first. Any thing I say about this particular song would only be a keyboard smash of incoherence, so here is a series of gifs that explain how I feel about Face Down and Arashi’s unwanted presence in my Proper Fancy Lady with Taste and Style life.

I think I’ll make a “I Hate You Arashi” playlist and share it – because…yeah. I actually kind of like them a lot. [Insert oblig "I'm a grown woman" statement here]

TEXTURE LIKE SUN – BOTTLE

Vlog the second! This time around, I burn down the hotel, get myself registered in Aoto, head out to Daiba to visit Fuji TV for a not-brush with Arashi (and waffle crazily to myself about Heiress/Butler) and hit Rich People: The Mall.

DRINKING GAME: a shot everytime I say “creepy” or “random”. Fun for New Years!*

Or you can view it at YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl0FgsEL0yo if you’d prefer!

_{* Lost in Omo! says: “drink responsibly, folks!”}

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day – I had a hot date with a bento box and teeny tiny can of Asahi, which make perfect companions to my first ever Top 5 Dramas Watched in 2012 post. I couldn’t rank them – so, instead, I’ve broken them down in to categories, and aren’t neccessarily dramas made this year, but ones I have watched in 2012. Because I’m completely behind the times 98.4% of the time.

Click the cut and let’s do it!

MORE OMONESS »

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas to you all – I hope you’re all having a wonderful day, filled with love, laughter and ridiculous amounts of food.

Thank you for your support this year – it’s been one filled with ups and downs and some of the biggest decisions I’ve ever had to make; unemployment, singledom, a new language to learn and a whole new country to discover. I hope you’re looking forward to Omo! growing and evolving throughout 2013 – and yes, regular posting! – and I cannot wait to get to know you all better.

In closing, 2012 was mostly about big moves and meeting some wonderful new bloggers I can now count as my friends (awwww bless). And…well, let’s be honest – my odd obsession with an Heiress and a Butler from a not-very-good drama.

So from them, and from me - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

As a foreigner in Japan, I have to inform the local ward office of my residential address within fourteen days of my arrival or…I guess I get in trouble? Anyway, being the square I am, I wandered over to Aoto on my second full day to make a visit to the Katsushika Ward Office.

Needless to say, I got horribly, grossly lost. “Just go down this street!” said Google Maps. “Nope!” said Aoto’s Not-So Mean Streets (actually, let’s be honest and blame my useless-with-directions brain). Eventually I stumbled upon the Ward Office – which didn’t have any information in English thus forcing me to run around the hallways whispering “gaijin!” until eventually I found the right place – and got my good self registered, all with the added bonus of discovering the hidden gem that is Aoto.

Before the pretty pictures of Aoto, however, we take a break in proceedings for this Omo! Public Service Announcement – two handy pictures for those future Katsushikians looking for the Ward Office and know zero Japanese:

1. Go in this door. It’s near the post office on the right hand side of the building.

2. Get in the elevator and go to Level 2 – section 17.

3. Ask/show the ladies with clipboards and armbands your Resident Card or utter the magic word – “gaijin”*. You’ll get a number because bureaucracy is bureaucracy in any country. Wait, go when called and Bob will hopefully be your uncle.

4. Wait some more as they process your address, wait until you’re called (again) and voila! You’ve become a registered with address foreign-type person!

_{* As much as this is considered a “bad” word now, I’m finding – at the very least, here in Katsushika – that it does get my point across. So use/don’t use, ’tis up to you!}

Now! Aoto! During my travels being lost, I wandered past a gorgeous hand-pressed coffee shop called Toho Coffee (6-1-8 Tateishi, Katsushika-ku; phone: +81 3-5698-6375; open daily from 11am-6pm except Mondays [closed]) and rewarded myself with a cup for only ￥240. Perfect companion for my wanderin’s.

The Aoto area has its fair share of temples and parks, but is probably most well-known for housing the headquarters of Takara Tomy – the toy manufacturers. But there’s so much more to this little part of Katsushika-ku, and most of it is within ten minutes walk of the train station (Aoto, on the Keisei Main Line).

There’s a distinct European feel, especially around the performing arts complex, Katsushika Symphony Hills, where you’re greeted by Mozart himself (I’ll pop this into the next Omo! in Tokyo vlog, stay tuned!) and these lovely dancing nymph-things.

And, much to my excitement, you can also find a 100 Yen Lawson Store there. Aw yeah, cheap bentos are go.

If you do find yourself in the area, it’s worth spending an hour or so wandering through the streets near Aoto Station and the Ward Office. The atmosphere is very relaxed – but if hardcore shopping’s more your thing, the train station its self houses a sizeable shopping district with a Daiso down one end and a massive book store.

As I’ve probably mentioned, I will be vlogging my adventures here in Tokyo with and without gusto (depending on whether I’ve had coffee or not). It was suggested to me as a way to combat loneliness - let me get a little emotional, just for a moment – and I think it has helped – I do still feel a bit conspicuous talking to a camera in public, but I’m sure I’ll get over it. Mainly, because I want to share this country and all its hilariousness, beauty, wonder and style; all with my aggressive Australian strine over the top for that silky smooth Omo! experience.

Here’s Vlog 1: The Week Before. Possibly the most boring of the lot, it encompasses the ten days to a week before I left Australia, including my trip to Brisbane to see my family before jetting away. You’ll also find boring packing tips, my excitement over a skip, puppies!!!111, Harvey (or: The Cat I Left Behind), kabana, a hippy rave, my terrible music choices and much, much more.

Watch here:

Or in SUPER HI-DEF (well, 720p) here at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3WLswy0YPU

Let me know what you think, or if you have suggestions/places you’d like me to visit/please stop talking, Marti, your accent is like nails to my ears etc.

Greetings from my new home in Tokyo! Now I’m here, the posting should go back to normal – as normal as it ever was – and I hope you won’t all get too bored with the new expat slant of the blog. I am also going to be vlogging my adventures, as well as the usual beauty, culture and Omo!ness you’ve come to know and love. Thank you to everyone’s kind words and support via Twitter and Instagram – you’re all ace.

But! Down to the nitty gritty. The path here was long and winding; full of bumps and panic and general “WTF am I doing?!” moments – but I got here. I’m sitting in my gorgeous room in my adorable sharehouse, which currently has myself and four Japanese ladies under its roof. I flew Jetstar – much to my chagrin – but I ended up getting two seats to myself, and the trip was uneventful for the most part; reading House of Leaves (is there a user guide? Seriously?) and watching Yokai Ningen Bem (more about that later) made the time fly by.

The food was interesting, though.

Appetising, non?

I cleared Customs and Immigration quickly, where I was given my Resident Card – oh yeah – and managed to get out of the airport in less than forty minutes; the Universe must have sensed I was on the road to Cranky Town. Someone should have told the Mercure Narita Airport, though – their directions seemed easy enough for even me to follow: go out of West Exit at Narita Train Station, and we’re right there! Nope. Firstly, no signage for the exits (bizarre for Japan) and after lugging my stuff down 2382932 flights of stairs and almost having a breakdown in front of a pachinko parlour, a kind American pilot (no really) helped me find the damn place. On the other side of the train station. Around a corner.

Despite my almost-rage coma, the hotel was lovely – I think I paid ￥4,600, which equates to roughly AUD$52. Not bad!

Plus they fed me and put me into a nice comfy bed, to ensure I was my sunny shiny best when meeting my new landlord/the whole of Japan. I headed off early the next morning towards my brand new home!

I’m located in Katsushika – originally I was concerned about being outside what I considered “Tokyo” – but I’m literally ten minutes from the Yamanote Line and, being an Australian, the idea of being on public transport for an hour is nothing but normal. It’s a lovely, semi-suburban area, with lots of restaurants, flower shops and sushi stores.

Today is a rainy one, but here’s the view from my bedroom window:

I’m so happy with this house and its location. I’ll post some more about the past week and pictures of the local area soon – I don’t want this post to go on forever (that’s for the 17 minute vlog I’m currently uploading - get excited, people).

Whilst you wait with bated breath for said 17 minute vlog, you can follow my adventures IN REAL TIME [/news announcer voice] adventures via Twitter and Instagram (@_keudaeyeo). I even have a hashtag – #omointokyo – because I’m a classy, savvy user of social media/egotist. #truedat