Happy New Year 2013! Gay Asia

Happy 2013! Wishing everyone a healthy, wealthy and beautiful start to the new year...
2013年ハッピー！新しい年に誰もが健康で、裕福で美しいスタートを願う

It has been my yearly resolution to travel somewhere internationally each year. I love experiencing new cultures and creating exciting memories. Currently researching different countries to visit, especially in Asia. On the top of my list are Tokyo and Taipei, my Mom and Dad are from here, respectively. It just feels more familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Familiar in the sense that if I do not speak, the locals assume I am one of them, and unfamiliar because my Mandarin is only basic and Japanese is basically nonsensical, so communication can be hard, but figured out. Hand gestures, pointing to photos or putting together English and patches of Mandarin or Japanese that I know to form a statement or question. Most of the time it results in a few laughs or confused looks.

My last visit to Japan was 2006 and Taiwan in 2005. It would be fun to revisit as a full fledged adult as opposed to a college kid who was scraping by. It's time to enjoy the finer things in life! While researching some places that caught my eye, especially in Japan, was the city of Beppu on Kyushu, one of the southern islands of the Japanese archipelago. According to Wikipedia, it is known as a spa city and hosts the "eight hells of Beppu" (別府八湯).

(Courtesy of sasimi.jp)

(Courtesy of kanpai-japan.com)











This would be an ideal place to getaway and relax after hitting up the beautiful chaos of Tokyo. Another facet of travel I am curious about is the gay nightlife in Japan, especially Tokyo. I found a very helpful and interesting video on logotv.com from their Round Trip Ticket series. I should probably create an original piece for visits to Kyoto or Osaka, which I also hope to visit. 

Watch Reality TV, Video and Movies - Logo TV

Japanese guys can be super handsome, but very shy too. I've got to brush up on my Japanese asap!

MUJI SF

The Muji San Francisco store opened November 30, and luckily there was no line due to the heavy rain! They have a beautiful 2 story space with the interior having a natural look. I especially loved the cash wrap area where kitchenware like pots and pan covered the backwall. They sold clothing for men and women, personal care, travel accessories and luggage, and upstairs housed kitchen and houseware.

They have a few kinks to work out such as price labels missing on the product, and not posted on the shelf. Also they lacked small sizes on some clothing. Come on Muji it's opening day!

I definitely enjoyed the refreshments provided for the Opening Day such as daifuku (mochi with sweet red bean), strawberry cookies, and tea. I bought a really cool clear briefcase made of plastic for work and face wash. They had a 30% off promotion on clothing, but am not sure how long it will last. Check it out!

Muji
540 9th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

UNIQLO SF

Konnichiwa! It's been a while, and wanted to share my experience at the new Uniqlo San Francisco store that opened in Union Square. I do not know how I managed to wait in line for 1.5 hours at 9am without any coffee! (For those who know me, they know I need coffee to start my body motor.) Got in and it was organized chaos. Whoever trained the team did a good job of having energetic and helpful salespeople. I also appreciated the "Japanese sales style", which involved 1 salesperson shouting their product promo to customers. Reminded me of these different boutiques and competing salespeople attracting people to their tiny clothing shops in Tokyo's Harajuku district.

I totally scored on colorful $9.90 denim, which they will alter for $5. Say what?! YES, $5! For denim over $20, the alteration is free! The price promo does not last long. I basically bought all colors, whether I liked the color or not because they could be gifted or whatever. They had $20 Merino wool v-neck sweaters, $40 fleece lined hoodies, and 6 pairs of colorful socks for $9.90. My bag was full and I walked home with a tote bag.

HOWEVER, do note when you plan on returning or exchanging go straight to the top floor, registers 13 and 14. Do not waste your time on the main floor only to be told by the register guide person that you need to go upstairs.

For alterations:

First, get your denim pinned in the fitting room. Upon checkout, ask the cashier to print you an alteration receipt, then keep an eagle's eye on the alteration drop off tables. One is on the right side of the main floor, which is basically a portable kitchen island type table, or on the top floor on the left side of the cash registers. They've quoted anywhere from 1-3 hours, which is really not bad for a store that just opened. I wore my new favorite, altered turquoise denim a few hours after purchase. Super happy!

So go shopping nowwwwwww!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/uniqlo-san-francisco

Japan and Brazil connection

I was web surfing on NHK's news site and found an inspiring article about Titi, a Japanese-Brazilian graffiti artist who is creating art throughout areas devastated by the tsunami, and how his art is lifting the people's spirit and encouraging interaction. This article definitely put things in perspective for me, and I am going to persevere and attain my goals too! Gambatte Japan!

(wochikochi.jp)

(Urbanartcore.eu)

(arrestedmotion.com)

MUJI COMING TO SF 2012!

My friend Jenny emailed me about a report that Muji plans on opening in Soma, a district in San Francisco known for industrial style buildings, EndUp (an after hours club), and now MUJI! I love this store because of their simple store design and products. Their focus is homeware. Plus, they like to use organic ingredients in their products. I use their olive lotion, which smells quite nice and a facial toner every morning.

Check out the story about Muji in SF!

(Image courtesy of Muji.com)

Prepare your skin for moisture with our lightweight toner and save 15% until 7/31.

TokyoFashion.com

My new favorite website for the latest and greatest in Japanese fashion. The island country is literally an incubator of far out, creative, eccentric fashion you cannot find elsewhere. Find me on Twitter too!

Asia 2012! アジア2012！

I am finally back and settled into life after a much needed vacation in Asia! Destinations- Philippines, Thailand and Hong Kong. There was so much food and amazing sights to see. Even though, I could not visit Japan, I did my best to seek out Japanese products. I went shopping at Muji at Mall of Asia in Manila. It is a huge, big, GIGANTIC (you get it?) mall. Muji is a lifestyle store selling houseware, clothing, personal care and snack foods based on minimal design and organic materials. Their store layout and products are layed out in a clean, orderly fashion. I enjoy the simple product packaging with neutral colors of olive green, light pink, white milk or granite gray. While in Bangkok at CentralWorld, a beautiful shopping complex near Chit Lom Skytrain station, I visited Uniqlo. I bought a pair of dark blue denim for about $50 USD, and they hemmed it for free! Can you get this kind of service in the States? Yeah, I didn't think so either... I am super excited to learn Uniqlo is opening in San Francisco Union Square this fall. Hopefully they do an opening party, which I would love to attend. Also in Bangkok, I ate at MOS Burger, a Japanese fast food restaurant, in Paragon Mall. I ordered a pork burger, but wished they sold melon soda as they do in Japan. The trip was a nice blur of eating, drinking, laying at the beach, and getting drenched at the Songkran festival, which celebrates the Buddhist New Year in Thailand. I had white mud caked on my face and ice cold water splashed on me by complete strangers. It was refreshing to walk around in the heat and seeing people at the train station or mall kind of drenched and happy about it. Last leg of the trip was in Hong Kong, which I left in 2005 from my study abroad program. Lots of good eats there too. I also visited the most affordable Michelin star restaurant called Ho Hung Kee in Causeway Bay.

All in all, it was a great trip and I will return to Asia in the near future... Check out the food pics below.. drooooolll...

 MOS BURGER!

EATS in Hong Kong