HOW TO: Find organic/natural personal care products in Japan

You may have read a post on this blog a while back about how to find haircare products in Japan. I have yet to write a post about skincare and cosmetics, mostly because all the sources of haircare I listed also offer skincare, and I'm still looking into cosmetics (namely, face/foundation colors, etc).

For those of you who glanced at the title and may have thought, “this isn’t for me; I’m not into all that hippie stuff,” I hope that at least one of these resources may still interest you. Of course, some of you may also wonder why this is necessary, as most drug/daily goods stores supply more beauty and body products than anyone will probably ever need. No, most of the products are not natural or organic, though recently I have noticed a change and have seen more of these types of products being sold at regular stores. It gives me hope! Anyway.

I won't go into that argument entirely, but I do strongly encourage everyone to examine what they are using on their bodies, and decide for themselves if those are risks they want to take or not. To read up on what is used in Western products, the Environmental Working Group has a lot of information and rates ingredients on it's scale of possible harm, from 0 (none) to 10 (very harmful/toxic). Though some products in Japan use different ingredients, I've also noted many similarities as well. Nonetheless, it is informative and kind of fun to check out.

With that said, for those of you out there who love and prefer using organic/natural products, or even those that wish to try, and want to know how to find them in Japan, here's what I've got so far.

download a .pdf for "how to do a furikomi (bank transfer)"

Today I'm happy to announce a .pdf I created based off of a previous, and popular, post: how to do a furikomi (bank transfer).

Ever since writing that post, I have noticed "how to furikomi" and similar search terms are commonly googled, and thought that perhaps something more "portable" might be useful for those of you who either want a printed guide or an easier way to pull up the guide on your iPhone (or smartphone of choice).

Please let me know what you think - if it is readable enough for you or if you have any other feedback or ideas.

You can view and download the .pdf for "how to do a furikomi (bank transfer)" to your computer from Google docs here. Or download the .pdf here. (The latter works better for smartphones).

Enjoy!

translate medical terms - part 2

I stumbled across something in The Japan Times today that was too good NOT to write about. I've already scheduled it out on Twitter, but wanted to write about it here as well. The Center for Multicultural Society Kyoto along with Wakayama Universisty recently put together a multi-lingual medical service website for foreigners in Japan (The M3 Mediated Multilingual Medical Communication Support System). They recognized a need among the foreign population, not just residents but also students and travelers as well. The idea is to enter your symptoms in your native language, and then have the option to print it out (or view on a mobile phone if with a QR code reader). Then you take it to show the doctor.

how NOT to get a diagnosis at the doctor

Not long ago I wrote a how-to for translating medical terms – handy if you are in a bind or without a human translator. Now, whether you go and try on your own or take someone along with you, I’d like to offer a few points from my own exasperating experiences.

I’ve read about others’ great experiences at the doctor or hospital, indicating no problems whatsoever. Good for them and good for you too, if you are also so fortunate (no sarcasm). Though not all of my visits were traumatizing, the good majority were. And just to clarify, I have gone to several different hospitals and specialist doctors over the course of two years. By several I mean at least once a month if not more, such as during my long stretch of labrynthitis last winter (full story here) - something that only my doctor in the U.S. was able to diagnosis after three months of trying to get a diagnosis in Japan (Shizuoka).

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of my visits are in and around Shizuoka prefecture, so of course things may vary depending on location (and probably much easier in Tokyo or another metropolis).

How NOT to get a diagnosis at the doctor