Category: Blog

Tokyo department store – quiet…

(The picture is MK-UM Chikuhodo)

https://fudejapan.com/product-category/limited-brushes/

Hi Everyone,

I came to a department store in Shibuya.

I have never seen this before, much more shop employees than visitors.

I talked to Hakuhodo.

Now they have a new shop in Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi, I was told.

Well, it is February so maybe a bad timing… These are four sets available in Shibuya.

It was rumored to be locked down, but as of now, I haven’t heard.

There are less people day by day, still many people are walking in Shibuya.

The lockdown of Tokyo is approaching, many people say.

The department stores in Tokyo close on the weekend.

This is the big change, and I need to be ready, whether is good or not.

The Tohoku Earthquake in 2011 caused a change or increase in SNS.
Especially twitter.

This time, a shift from work at office to home.
We will see.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Tokyo Lockdown ? Maybe soon

Hi Everyone,

This weekend was quiet.

Usually, all parks are flooded with people during the sakura season.

With heavy snow and the Corona virus, Tokyo was quiet.

Even Hachi wears a mask.

It was sakura in full bloom on Friday but it snowed on Saturday…

I know I have to work on YouTube more, LOL. I cannot make  a change from comment-off to comment-on.

Rumor has it that Tokyo will be locked down from April 1.

If locked down, the department stores will be closed as well as other shops and restaurants.

But mail order should work. Brushes from Kumano should arrive at Tokyo as well.

Here is an update of the international mail.

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0319_01_en.html

If I cannot take an order for any particular brush or makeup products, I will let you know.  Please ask me.

I can keep your products till you are comfortable if you want)

 

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Update from Tokyo, and and a new Makie brush from Chikuhodo

Hi Everyone,

Yes, Tokyo Governor had a press conference last night.

It will be a lockdown if the situation gets worse.  Now we are encouraged to stay home, especially on weekends, but it is still an ‘encouraged’ stage.

EU and North American countries are locked down, and I believe many business owners are in trouble.

Next several months, it will be hard for many people.
My clients are 100% outside Japan, so I will be trouble too.

I will be try best!

———

Chikuhodo has released a new makie brush.

It is Ume 梅 which is  Plum, grey squirrel with a makie handle, and 19000 yen.

I talked to Chikuhodo, and was told that

MK-UM brush head is the same as the one of MK-MO that was discontinued.

Please take a look.

https://fudejapan.com/product-category/brush/brand/chikuhodo/makiemk/

MK-UM is a new version of MIK-MO,  with a Ume (plum ) design,

Please let me know if interested or you can buy it on the web page.

(MK-MO has been discontinued, but I keep it there for your inf0rmation)

ーーーーーーー

Takashimaya in the Tokyo area will stop its operation in Tokyo.

Hakuhodo Shibuya will be closed, too.

Other department stores might follow.

It is only this weekend. I expect fewer Sakura watchers this week.

The decision making process in Japan is general slow. This could be either good or bad, depending on a situation.

I receive feedback from my blogs, and one is that my web page is not good yet.

I totally agree, and I will try improving it)

Sorry for your inconvenience.

Thank you!

Toshiya

How did you find Fude Japan ?

Hi Everyone,

Sakura is blooming, and still lots of people are walking around in Tokyo.

That is the current in Japan.

I have recently received an order of Chicca eyeshadows and I checked their website.

I found Chicca had closed all shops.　They sell products only on its own site, Amazon and @cosme.

(I met some Chicca employees who are now working for Kanebo, Lunasol and Sensai…)

All brands are Kanebo.)

You can still order Chicca but the number of products might be limited.

It seems that the Olympic games postponed till next year as expected.

Personally, it is better for audience and also for competitors though I know some of competitors lose an once-a-life opportunity to participate in the games. The one year delay changes player’s surroundings, especially in the medal-rich countries like USA and Russia.

As for Japan, I see some trends.

They don’t do Judo well, but have been improving the track competition. e.g. 100m.

Maybe you don’t know how good  Japanese run 100m these days, LOL.

———————

I wonder how you find me ?

I have around 12,000 followers to Instagram so maybe instagram is the SNS where people find me.

And google search. Very rarely, twitter. I do Pinterest as well.

I was reading an article about SNS.

Each SNS requires you to enter a password and makes it troublesome for people to enter a SNS.

I keep my passwords in the spreadsheet, as I have so many of them and I cannot catch up with remembering all.

The article says,

As it is troublesome to enter a SNS, people tend to use the same SNS over and over. Do you agree?

So it is important to post a picture or blog to several SNS even it is the same content.

I post a picture to Instagram first which will be automatically shared in other sites, e.g. facebook, twitter and Pinterest, etc.

I don’t know how effective it is but I try anyway and this type of article encourages me. Please forgive me if you see my posts over and over!

I guess a success rate is very low for most people.

People who can try over and over may be called ‘talented.’  Or ‘talented’ people are willing to try and make many mistakes.

In baseball, the batting average is considered good if it is over .300.

In real world, it goes down to .100, I reckon. And it is important to learn from the .900 mistakes and to improve a batting average to hit at scoring opportunities. Hit a homerun when it counts.

Maybe it is more mental than how smart people are.

I guess my batting average is smaller than .100, but someday, I may hit a homerun. And I look forward to it!

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

2020 Summer makeup

Hi Everyone,

Today it is raining, but sakura gets good  to see day by day and  I saw many people going to sakura watching (or Hanami) despite the coronavirus situation yesterday.

I think soon the Olympic Games will be decided to be postponed, which will cause some moves in Japan. Maybe a lockdown 0f some cities.

At the moment, Japanese seem to be optimistic …

Today, I introduce 2020 summer collection.

Makeup sold at department stores.

Celvoke  new eyeshadows will be on sale from April 24.

18, EX12, EX13 (3840 yen each)
ADDICTION – Isetan sold these eyeshadows early in March. The other shops began selling on April 4.

2400 yen

 

Amplitude liquid eyes will be sold from May 27.

4560 yen each

4,5,6

ASSHIRO Eye palette

April 30 : SHIRO is very popular in China, I heard.

8400 yen

RMK Splash color eyes

April 17

3600 yen

 

 

Decorte

Eye glow gem

April 16

3240 yen

 

 

Paul and Joe Eye color

May 1

3600 yen

Guerlain Apr 1

 

Three lip palette. 7800 yen

April 29.

Dior May 1

 

Dolce and Gabbana May 1

 

Lunasol　Gel Oil lip 3840 yen

May 15

Shiseido Shimmer Gel Gloss 4200 yen

8, 9, 10

May 1

Laduree Glittering Eye Color  3000 yen

April 24

Thank you and I will keep you posted,

Toshiya

From Sabine

#repost @sabina_beautyisunique・・・Прилетели мои вкусняшки из Японии от @fudejapan ️Уж не знаю, чего я больше ждала, Meltykiss, кисти или новую палетку Shu Uemura Chromatics Sakura Nudes По крайней мере сладости пошли первыми в ход🏿 А кисти в этот раз базовые от Hakuhodo. Как и в прошлый раз сделаю раскрытый пост. Выбирала в этот раз специально для использования кремовых текстур. Загляните в сториз, там я показываю палетку поближе.

 

https://beautyisunique.de/ru/chikuhodo-takumi-series/https://beautyisunique.de/ru/hakuhodo-brushes-basic-i/

Japanese work style will change soon – maybe

(the picture is suqqu summer, please let me know if your interested)

Hi Everyone,

I regularly talk to Dior.

Two weeks ago, my contact said that fewer people were shopping these.days.

Few days ago, she told me that the shop was very crowded. Consumers came back.

As far as I am concerned, I still go to department stores on a regular basis, and it seems that there are many visitors there.

Isetan had many Chinese before but these days I mostly see Japanese. Still crowded.

Though many people are worried, they go shopping.

This is the current situation in Japan.

I visited the Pokemon Center and Nintendo at the new Parco. First time, but yes looks busy.

I don’t know how long it takes this situation to be over. Japanese seem to be relaxed. Mass media is busy with making people worry as always, as they can get more viewers and readers.

I cannot tell what will happen in the future, but one big factor is the Olympic Games.

I think it will be postponed, till later this year or 2 years.

Once it is decided, more moves will be seen in Japan.

————

There is another thing I can see. Many companies encourage workers to work at home or avoid the rush hour.

This may be big.

Japanese are evaluated by their faith or loyalty to a company not by individual performances. They don’t say so, of course but still is.

There are so many changes introduced to workplaces, but how faithful is still important. If your performances can sh0w numbers e.g. sales, it is different, but many performances are evaluated by their superiors, and this vague ‘faithfulness’ is counted.

Now this coronavirus.

Remote work  is encouraged and their performance will be evaluated by their output or what they produce. That will be a performance based evaluation.

The coronavirus might be a trigger for many people to change their workstyle.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

How I send brushes overseas

Hi Everyone,

I was informed that  JP Post cannot send a parcel to China from Japan, due to the decrease of fights between Japan and China. Now I cannot send products to China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau.

It seems that we can still send EMS to most countries.

The other days, I found that we cannot send EMS to Kazakhstan.

In this newsletter, I want to talk about how I send brushes and makeup to your country, and some issues I encountered.

I use EMS　(Express Mail Service ) mainly. Very rarely I use registered mail.

The big difference is the amount of insurance covered by each method.

Registered mail insures 6000 yen at max, regardless of an amount put to the label.

EMS insures an amount written in the label and it is free coverage up to 20,000 yen.

If your purchase is 15000 yen and written on the label, it is fully insured by EMS for free premium, but registered mail insures only 6000 yen. If more than 20,000 yen,  with an additional charge, e.g. 50 yen to the next threshold, basically all is covered when lost or damaged.

It has been good for several years except for some delays.

I have recently had several issues and want to write about them.

I had three parcels that were not delivered last month. It was very rare to have three cases at the same time.

Holland, France and Brazil.

Those parcels were  not delivered.

When not delivered, an investigation request is submitted to the JP Post by me.

I usually bring it to a big Post. The closest one is Shibuya.

Usually, actions are taken directly the investigation is submitted.

The parcel in Brazil was delivered to a client very quickly, but there have been longer processes for French and Dutch cases.

Eventually, I was informed that the French one was lost, and that the Dutch one was returned to Japan.

It was not the end of the story for the French case.

I was requested to send a letter to seek for the insurance – 6000 yen for registered mail, but later, the box arrived at my place!

There was a report that it was lost but it actually was returned.

For several years, I have been sending parcels overseas, so far no loss of a parcel. And this time ended with no loss.

I felt sorry to my clients that wait so long…

I wish all to be good, but these types of troubles or exceptions give me good knowledge.

So I can grow.

Maybe I can be an EMS consultant LOL)

 

Thank you for your time,

Toshiya

 

Coronavirus situation in Japan, feedback on synthetic hair brush

Hi Everyone,

The coronavirus is spreading.

In Japan, schools have been closed for the last 3 weeks.

There are very few events whether big or small, professional baseball was postponed till April, Sumo is now played in front of no audience.

I walked around Shibuya today, and the Shibuya Crossing was still crowded.

But there were few people at Hachi.

Yet life in Japan is not very different from usual

Differences are that people wash their hands REALLY hard ! and wear more masks than usual at this time of pollen allergy spring.

I wash my hands whenever needed, but I come to work at Shibuya every day.  Business as usual.

Department stores are still crowded.

Considering the size of Tokyo and Japan, the spread was not as rapid as expected.

I cannot explain this well, but Japanese are optimistic or unrealistic… I cannot tell.

I received feedback on my blog about the trend of synthetic hair from several people.

They prefer natural hair,and it is one of the biggest reasons why Kumano brushes are bought.

I seldom receive an order for synthetic. The only exception is I5608N.

Even if brushes are made by brush craftsmen in Kumano, as long as it is synthetic hair, they will  not like it. I was told.

I gave this feedback to Kihitsu and he said there were some long selling synthetic brush sets.  It is sold by DHC.

https://www.dhc.co.jp/search/index.jsp#q-%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B7,cs-,p-1,s-60,c-20,l-matrix,cp-1,g-,co-,in-,ca-,pr-,sc-

Just for your information.

I know natural hairs are popular among fude lovers!

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

Two trends of Kumano fude I see

Hi Everyone,

I was chatting with one of the brush manufacturers from Kumano the other day.

He talked about a buyer for a big department store. How she  perceives the makeup brush market.

The buyer said to him, ‘ many makeups products come with brushes. And most users in Japan are ok with brushes that come with the makeups. So there are less needs for brushes themselves these days’

I am not fully convinced with her opinion, as Hakuhodo seems to be selling well.  Takeda as well.

But, yes brush makers provide more and more brushes to makeup makers – big names.

Here are what happened.

Kihitsu stopped selling at Isetan.

Koyudo is not selling at Tokyu Plaza at Ginza any more.

Shaquda is not selling at Mitsukoshi Ginza any more.

I think it good that brush companies concentrate on what they need to do and stop doing what is not necessary.

That is what I try to do: Treat each client as if she is a friend. In doing so, and having a small operation, I know I cannot expand my business to a mass market.

If I can provide my service to a small market (niche) of each country, it will be good numbers of clients, I hope.

The other trend is that brush companies are moving to synthetic hair gradually.

Goat is still in stock, but kolinsky (powder and cheek) and some squirrel are barely in stock.

I know most of you prefer natural hair, and Kumano brushes are wanted especially for those hairs.

Do you still want Kumano brushes even with synthetic hair?

These two trends seem to be going on now.

Shrinking retail capabilities, and moving to synthetic hair.

Shrinking retails mean more OEM’s ( providing brushes under names of makeup companies, e.g. Chikuhodo does to Kanebo)

Regardless, there are some department brands.

Hakuhodo keeps selling at department stores. Shaquda does as well. But I don’t know who buys most. Maybe foreign people. Not by Japanese.

I buy Hakuhodo which are requested by my clients from overseas. I often see Chinese buyers at Hakuhodo desks.

Maybe more foreigners or foreign buyers buy than Japanese.

If you look at a big picture, there are big markets outside Japan, getting big every year, and the market size in Japan is shrinking. The population of Japanese is decreasing every year.

Is it a good idea to have many shops in Japan like Hakuhodo? And is it good to switch to synthetic hair ?

I personally am looking at the market outside Japan, and I don’t see the market of synthetic hair yet.

I will take a look more close and will write more in the future.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

Japanese are wasting time in explaining their names….

Hi Everyone,

Now in Japan, due to the coronavirus, big events are postponed or called off. Some companies  let their employees work at home.

Sports events are also postponed or played with no audience.

I went to Isetan yesterday, and there are much fewer Chinese tourists than usual, but still a lot of people.

I ask people who I work with or at shop about the virus.

It seems to depend on an individual how seriously they take it. I feel Japanese are, in a way, optimistic or, in another way, not realistic.

We are people who have been spoiled by the 75 years of peace. I am one of them.

At Isetan, I visited Shaquda, Decorte, and Lunasol.

Shaquda has new 3D brushes.

Decorte brushes are made by Hakuhodo.

There are eyeshadow pallets limited to Isetan.

========

I have noticed that the Japanese parents name their kids by very difficult Kanji.

I have a hard time reading those names. Some examples are:

蓮」「律」「湊」「樹」「蒼」

凛」「紬」「葵」「澪」

I don’t know how they pronounce….

My last name is Fukuma, 福馬, which means Happy福 Horse馬.

Many people mistake it for Fukushima　福島.

When I was at school, some teachers kept calling me Fukushima, not Fukuma because they are similar kanji.

I was so used to it, and did not ask them to change it.  The same happens now when I go to shopping or order by phone.

If they don’t understand, I say, “Katakana is ok” My katakana name is

フクマ

easy, right?

Well,  those kids with difficult names will have to correct or explain how to read their names for life.

If they live for 100 years, they will waste maybe 2 years of their time to explain their names, LOL.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

How do I get limited products in Japan?

Hi Everyone,

Today, I want to talk about the process of buying limited products in Japan.

——-

How do I get a limited product?

This is what I do.

First, I try to reserve a limited product in advance.  Usually two weeks or one before a sales date.

It is the easiest and I don’t have to wait in a long line on the first day of sale. 

But sometimes it is difficult.

When a product is really popular, a shop doesn’t accept a call to the representative number of a department store by which I can have them call me back. 

Some shops say that we should call a direct number only. And a phone never goes through….even with many attempts in a day.

Therefore, I sometimes call shops, outside Tokyo, have products sent by mail because local shops have fewer clients. For example, Okayama or Sapporo.  But they have fewer products available ( !) so the situation may not be much different.

If I cannot talk to a shop, I call them on the first day of sale. 

And if a phone doesn’t still go through, I go to a shop in person. 

That is how I usually do.

I try to avoid to buy on the first day. Even if I am at a shop, they limit the number of products per person. 

I find Chinese tourists come with family members so that they can get more. That is how it should be done….

I do only by myself.  So I sometimes come back on the second day.

The most difficult one  was Shu Uemura Pokemon. 

I waited in line for one hour and got nothing. 

I explained and apologized to my clients at the time. 

I really felt sorry for my clients because my clients reserved one month in advance. 

One issue here is that makeup shop employees are not evaluated by an individual performance for a commission except for some foreign brands  – Dior and Chanel evaluate individual performance more, I reckon.

Most of the cases, Japanese shops are evaluated on a shop basis  so it is hard for me to ask a special favor. A member is not motivated by getting more sales. 

Regardless, I  know some people who know me and what I do, and are willing to help me.

It must have been a moment when their perception changed from a strange guy asking a swatch and taking a picture to  a Fude Japan business person (LOL).

If they trust me, it gets easy. Trust is a key.

Well, these days I get more and more comfortable in getting limited.

I am always amazed that my clients get information on limited products earlier than I do.

FYI, if you look for limited products on the web,

limted is 限定

makeup is メイクアップ

makeup brush is　化粧筆

thank you for reading!

Toshiya

 

 

Masks are in high demand in Japan

Hi Everyone,

I visited the Amplitude shop in Shibuya the other day.

Amplitude is a brand that belongs to the THREE group.

Both are owned by POLA.

Rumiko, which RMK was named after, now create products for Amplitude.

I recognized that many ex-RMK employees are now with Amplitude. They are in love with Rumiko. Amplitude is expanding more and more, starting from Isetan.

I was told by a Laduree shop that RMK has excellent foundations, and Amplitude should be the same as it is created by Rumiko.

This time, I bought the limited eyeshadows.

———————-

I found an interesting blog about masks, which are sold out all over Japan due to the coronavirus.

The blogger is saying,

‘If masks are bought more than needed and sold out, people who are infected might not be able to buy them. Those infected, if not wearing masks, might give the virus to other people.’

He is talking from a different viewpoint where masks should be sold to. People who need a mask are those infected.

Japan sends many masks to China. I am sure that some Japanese think it important to distribute them in Japan first.

It is not only liked by Chinese social media, but it may make sense with a view to preventing more from being infected.

This reminds me of ‘Giver’ theory.  A Giver contributes to others, and by doing so, the Giver eventually gets more from an increased base.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

 

 

Dior Limited – is it Japan only?

Hi Everyone,

I received a question if Diorskin face powder and eyeshadow are limited to Japan.

When I reserved them at Dior, I asked this question. She is a makeup artist.

She thought it was Japan limited, but not 100% sure. She has not been informed.

This is what she thinks:

Peter Philips, a top makeup artist in Dior, was inspired by an idea of a Japanese garden, especially Gingko, and created these ‘Gingko’ imaged products.

Besides, Diorskin has developed the whitening product line, targeted to Japanese women.　These are Diorskin products.

But it could be sold later in other Asian countries as the Diorsnow products were previously sold.

What I think is that Dior decides later if they expand a product to another country or not.

By the way, I wrote about which brands I like to visit, which ones I don’t.

Dior is one of the best because I know 4 or 5 makeup artists and those are very easy to talk to.

Some of them will take a trip to Malaysia Dior. It must be interesting if you have a chat)

Dior seems to have one or two makeup artists in each shop, and their backstage has not only MA’s but other kinds of specialists – e.g. skincare.

That is different from other brands. Chanel has MA’s but they don’t work at a shop every day. Only at events.

She told me that a person who wants to be an MA studies at makeup school, then studies at Dior and takes some Dior tests to be MA’s.

It sounds like Dior is more open to people who want to work as an MA.

She gave me other information:  the cushion foundation with this special case may be resold in April.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Limited products – Dior, Laduree, Celvoke

Hi Everyone,

It is said that the Japanese love saving money. Is it true?

Japanese like saving money?

People want to be assured lifelong or long, to say the least.

This ethics ? was taught  in the Meiji Era( 1868 – 1912 ) when many countries tried to increase weapons to use in wars. 

Saving is good for the government to increase power at that time.

The concept of saving has since been loved by people in Japan. 

There is an argument.

If people spend money, of course, in good ways, it will increase economic power in general, and people will get more wealthy, many economists say.

Of course,  ‘good’ ways are hard to come up with.  

Anyway, it is one of the Japanese traditions.

I talked about Yu Darvish, a baseball player in Chicago, who challenged the traditional way of using a chopstick. 

It is another traditional way which could be challenged.  

It seems to be similar to the ‘Giver’ concept,  where the money is given (?) to people and it eventually increases the money of other people. 

My  father loves saving, my mother loves spending, LOL.

Maybe changing)

————

I checked the limited products today. 

This is Celvoke eyeshadow 2400yen.

Yokohama Takashimaya will open the first shop, and this is limited to Yokohama.

This is Laduree limited 3840 yen. It comes with a kit.

These are Dior limited.

Lip Maximizer 4440 yen

Face powder 6960 yen

Eyeshadow 9360 yen.


This is not limited. A client of mine sent me a nice picture of Chikuhodo Silver fox brushes.

Thank you. 

Please take a look more.

https://fudejapan.com/product-category/limited-brushes/

 

Thank you, 

Toshiya

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chikuhodo Silver Fox new eyeshadow brushes

Hi Everyone,

I wrote that shop employees wore a mask in my previous newsletter due to the Coronavirus.

Now some brands stopped touch-up. They cannot touch the skin of a client.

Those are Kanebo and Shiseido groups.

So SUQQU, RMK, Lunasol, all in the Kanebo group, and Shiseido, CDP, NARS, IPSA,  all in the Shiseido group,  stopped touch-up. You can try products by yourself, but shop employees only give you advice.

——-

Chikuhodo released new Silver Fox brushes.

Eyeshadow round/flat

Eyeshadow candle type


each 2800 yen

I also visited Hakuhodo today.
Here is a monthly set. 17160 yen

 

Thank you for reading!
Toshiya

Now most shop employees wear masks

Hi Everyone,

Due to the Coronavirus, department store employees now wear masks. The only exception was Lancome. 

On the subway, it is 50% of passengers that wear masks, I observe.

By the way,
in Japan, many wear masks even before the Coronavirus.

The purpose is to prevent flu, of course,
but some women wear them when they don’t do makeup)

Did you know?

—————————

It is February, and February is a month of entrance exams.

In Japan, school starts in April.
February and March (national universities) are the months of exams.

It is hard for students as it is one-time match. The new system of essay and recommendation started several years ago, but still not finalized.

Junior high schools’ exams start from February 1, and then high schools, private universities, and national universities in March.

Good junior high schools are believed to be better routes to good universities and a good university was a ‘good’ life in Japan.

But now kids want to be something else.
‘YouTuber.’ 

The value of Japanese is changing.

I read an interesting article.
Yu Darvish, a baseball player in Chicago, tweeted,
‘my way of using a chopstick may not be traditional to Japan, but there are many ways.’ 

Some Japanese criticize that he needs to correct his way. Some say it depends on an individual.

Darvish responded that it was his way.
Some believe it should be a traditional way, which is fine for him.

Actually, I like him. 

I like his way of initiating discussions. 

But yes, I know Japanese and some foreigners respect the Japanese tradition and think we should follow it. I respect the tradition. And He is fine with others following the tradition, but he is just doing his own. 

He is saying it is not the only way. 

I guess I am trying to say,

Whether students pass or fail, there will be an interesting life with a value they believe.

Ganbette! (do your best!)

After I graduated from high school, I came to Tokyo, but…

Hi Everyone,

I went to a barber yesterday.

My purpose to go there is only to have my hair cut short. So I usually go to a 1200 yen hair cut that takes only 10 minutes.

A person who cut my hair spent more than 10 minutes and did a good job. She dyed her hair blonde, looking fashionable.

I guess she felt,
‘This guy just came to have his hair cut, and what a waste of my time. I want to work for a sophisticated place in Omotesando…..’

————
The other day, I talked about my high school days when I lost my motivation to live proactively.

Actually, it lasted for another 2 years at university (this picture is a university I attended) in Tokyo.

I know you travel to Tokyo and enjoy Tokyo fully. But, Tokyo did not change me. What a waste again…

Students in the junior year had to take a seminar for two years. 　Among the classes I took, I chose ‘marketing.’

(Actually, I did not go to school much except for exams…)

I was not into marketing but into the professor.

He was a professor but more like a motivator.
There are many good things I learned from him, not about marketing.

He talked about his story when he studied at Harvard. He was not good at English. Harvard is known for a case study where you need to discuss a case with other students.

He had a strategy.

He was not able to understand and speak when a discussion progressed as he did not understand English well.

He sat in front of a professor and asked a professor to call him to speak firsr. He arranged it with a professor before a class started.

That way, he did not have to understand deeper discussions in the middle of the class.

Today, I was watching youtube.

A researcher in the youtube was talking about how to be a leader.

It is a simple way.

Speak first.

If you speak first, others regard you as an extrovert person and a potential leader.

You actually don’t have to be an extrovert. You can be as you are. But speak first.

If you speak first, others evaluate you as a leader, and you will get more tasks. Those tasks make you study or work, so you will be working at another level.

I just recalled my professor after I watched the youtube.
He might have used this strategy,

thank you for reading,
Toshiya

Are Tom Ford brushes made with natural hair?

Hi Everyone,

The other day I was asked if Tom Ford still makes brushes with goat hair.

I received a similar question for Shu Uemura. They use to make Kolinsky brushes, but don’t make brushes with natural hair anymore.

The Shu synthetic brush prices are similar to those of natural hair, which I reckon disappoints some brush lovers.

As Tom Ford brushes look very similar to Hakuhodo brushes with goat hair, I had imagined that it was goat hair.

Tom Ford opened its first shop in Shibuya so I visited there.

A salesperson did not know so she went somewhere to check. And she came back with the other person.

This person was so open that she told me that their brushes used to be made by Hakuhodo with goat hair. But not anymore.

It is not made in Japan either. Actually, it seems to be a trend. Dior told me that their brushes were not made in Japan anymore.

Still, Kumano brushes provide many brushes to cosmetic companies.

Chikuhodo makes brushes for Kanebo and its group companies.
e.g. SUQQU, RMK.

But, most companies don’t reveal which cosmetic companies they provide with brushes. In most cases, it is a secret.

But, sometimes it is obvious.

Personally I think RMK sells good natural hair brushes for the values while most makeup companies sell brushes with synthetic hair. (the picture above)

It is true that I rarely get an order for brushes of makeup brands. People prefer Kumano brand brushes.

Also, makeup brands’ brushes are probably more expensive with advertising and personnel costs than Kumano brushes.

SUQQU has an interesting situation.
SUQQU at UK department stores sell brushes less expensive than in Japan, I guess, due to the currency exchange rate.

Some of you know this but you may want to check it)

I will ask more about brushes when I visit makeup brands.

Thank you for reading,
Toshiya

Do you know the second highest mountain in Japan after Mt.Fuji?

Hi Everyone,

Do you know the second highest mountain after Mt.Fuji in Japan?
(The picture above is Mt. Fuji)

Actually,
Mt. Fuji is so famous that many Japanese don’t know it.

I didn’t know, either.

So,
I checked Wiki and found out it is Mt. Kita.

It is not as beautiful as Mt. Fuji, but looks good, right?

That makes me think this :

Important to be No. 1.

Many people can tell the gold medalist of a 100m competition, but who is the second?

What is the largest country in the world?
What is the second?

—
Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal, says that it is important to start a business in a small market and win it. And grow from there.

PayPal focused on the heavy users of eBay first.

It has grown by taking a good market share by focusing on the small market.

Now PayPal is huge.
——
When I was a high school student, I lost my motivation to study. I spent very lazy and worthless three years. No dream, no plan, and no fun.

And I have found myself in trouble that I will not be admitted to any university.

The problem is not that I don’t go to a university, but that I cannot find what I want.

Very hesitant to say this but I need time to think what to do before being on the job market.

What a negative motivation to go to a university!

It was too late to study all subjects,
English, Math, Japanese, World History, Japanese History, Chemistry, and Physics for national universities.

So I began to search for universities with fewer subjects.

Keio University has only three subjects. English, Math and World History.

The good thing was also that the English scores account for 50% of the total.

I kept studying only English as I was interested.

It was November. The exam was in February.

I tried scoring the minimum score to pass. English first and World History second. Studied hard for three months by my standard, lol.

In the end, I was accepted to a school I targeted.

My presents still say to me, ‘it is such a waste of money to send you to a prep school.’　I quit attending the prep school after the first week…

I wish I could do three years at high school again….

Since that time, it has been my direction all the time to focus on and excel in a small market.

To find a small market and invest my time.

Looking at Fude(brush) market, it is not the largest of all cosmetics, but I feel the enthusiasm of the Fude lovers. This market has the depth.

I want to focus on the fude market!

By the way, the largest country is Russia.
Canada is the second.

Thank you for reading!
Toshiya

Have you eaten ramen at ‘Ichiran’?

Hi Everyone, 

Thank you for your feedback on this newsletter) I will continue to write more about Japan as well as makeups)

I found a new subway station today – for Ginza Line. 

Ginza Line station in Shibuya was very hard to find but this solved the situation well.

By Ginza Line, Shibuya is only two stations away from the new National Stadium where the Olympic games will open in July.  Or you can enjoy walking from Shibuya to Omotesando/Harajuku and to the stadium. 

Today, I want to talk about Ramen shop ‘Ichiran. ‘

Ichiran  shop owner walked around Japan  to taste many types of food and decided to open pork-based ramen. Ichiran ramen is only pork soup based. 

And the taste was improved continuously. That is important,

but

there are many other aspects of marketing to attract people and improve efficiency.

I will write the secret of the Ichiran success here.

The shop is ‘divided by partition.’  Many Japanese women don’t want to go to a ramen shop alone. Ichiran provides private space by a partition.

About 40% of clients are women, which is much higher than other ramen shops.

The partition also works to improve the turnover rate of seats as they don’t talk at seats.

Besides,  they have no choice but to share a picture at Instagram、LOL.

There is also paper at the seat to write an order on so no mistake is caused by communication with an employee.

Ramen shop is manually operated so that it causes mistakes between a shop and client. 

Elon Musk of Tesla Motors ordered ramen at ramen Jiro, which must have been difficult)

When people enter a shop, the machine automatically says ‘Irasshaimase !’ so that shop employees can easily say this welcome word. 

Moreover, shop employees don’t have to communicate with a client due to the partition. It is said to be hard to hire an employee for a restaurant but it is easier to hire an employee at Ichiran. Employees feel more comfortable.

Please take a look:

 

Maybe you can try ramen at Ichiran when you travel to Japan ?

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Today I want to talk about Mikimoto Pearl cosmetics

Mikimoto Cosmetics

Hi Everyone, 

I may have been talking more about ‘Japan’ or ‘Japan culture’ than cosmetics or brushes these days. 

The number of newsletter registration stays about the same. 

I have one or 2 ‘unsubscribe’s each day and I get the same number of ‘subscribes.’   So I lose my newsletter clients daily.

Your feedback is appreciated and your question is also welcomed so that I can talk about them in my blog (newsletter) whether it is about Japan or makeup.

So

Today I want to talk about a cosmetic brand,  called Mikimoto. 

(I will do write about ‘Japan’ later.)

Have you ever heard of Mikimoto?

It is a company that makes pearl accessories.

Mikimoto succeeded in culturing pearl in 1893 the first time in the world. 

It has developed its business of accessories and added cosmetics later.  So many people outside Japan don’t know their cosmetic brand yet. 

They have a shop in Ginza Mitsukoshi so you may have visited it. But they don’t have many shops.

Their products have a pearl ingredient that moisturizes skin and works for anti-aging. The pearl works under the skin to produce more collagen, I was told. 

They have makeup products as well. 

Here is a link.

https://www.mikimoto-cosme.com/en/skincare/series/

And I get the following from the web page.

—

Pearl Collagen® is a fascinating ingredient that creates a moisture veil with exceptional moisturizing capacity and sustaining power.

And from the nacreous layer, we extracted Pure Pearl Minerals® This ingredient, which focuses on creating a protective barrier, regulates your skin’s regenerative cycle and supports healthy skin.

—

Thank you for reading!

Sorry that this is rather short ! I am writing about Ramen Ichiran now for my next blog

Toshiya 

Learning Japanese is good for your skin?

Hi Everyone,

I talked about ‘Morning’ service the other day. 

It is a free food service when ordering a drink in the morning. You can pay only for a drink and food comes free.

I was told it was invented in the city of Ichinomiya near Nagoya. Their free food is too good there (please see the picture below)

The reason I found it was a bit funny.

I go to a makeup shop on a regular basis to buy products for my clients. And I can remember much better where she or he is from, rather than her or his name.

Because I can relate a person to a special product to the place  or  food or sports team.

The other day, I asked an employee of Albion where she was from as usual) She said, ‘I am from Ichinomiya’ ‘ Ichinomiya is a city where ‘Morning’ service was invented. ‘

Now I will never forget her.

Besides, I got something to write for a blog.

My world expands that way, LOL.

If she is not a Japanese, more interesting. 

Department stores  have many Chinese employees nowadays. I asked them where they are from, too,  so that I can get to know more about China geography.

There was also one employee who is from Ukraine at Panasonic Beauty.   Luckily she is from Kyiv.  

I like remembering the capitals of countries all over the world.

I confirmed that my method works. Pola cosmetic taught me the concept of ‘being interested in something’ or ‘being curious.’ is good for skin.

Their product stimulates a part of the brain that is in charge of ‘being curious.’ The more we get curious, the younger our skin gets. Pola told me.

I was thinking about it too.

Something new or new place or new language, etc.

Maybe you can learn Japanese. 

That gives you a new stimulus and a benefit to your skin. 

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Many Japanese have Sazae-san syndrome?

Today is January 5. 

It is the end of a long vacation for most Japanese. 

And tomorrow is Monday…. 

And people feel gloomy… I think many do.

It is called Sazae-san Syndrome. 

Sazae-san サザエさん  is a long-lived TV anime program that starts at 6:30 on Sunday night. 

You see how people feel at that time when thinking of Monday. 

 I used to feel gloomy, so I avoided watching Sazae san, lol.

I just recall a conversation in the parliament. 

Prime Minister Abe was asked,

‘do you know how old the Sazae-san’s father is? The father’s name is Namihei’

Abe-san answered,

‘ I believe Namihei-san is 54 years old’

They don’t discuss anime all the time, I believe, lol.

I think they were discussing the issue of declining birth rate.

So Sazae-san. Namihei, 54, has 3 kids and one grandson.

The manga, Sazae-san, started in 1946. I guess it is a typical family scene at the time.

Now many of 54-year-old’s are not even married. Also very few kids.

Anyway…

in the Anime….

Namihei is still 54 years old now with the same family members.

No thrill, no drama, no crisis.

The ideal TV program that people can watch with peace, and feel gloomy)

Everyone in Japan knows ‘Sazae-san’ but they may not look happy if you ask about it. Please understand it)

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Japanese convenience stores are better than Izakaya?

Hi Everyone, 

Have you eaten and drunken at Izakaya? It is a very Japanese drinking place, with good food and a reasonable price of a drink. 

A place to go while you are travelling in Japan.

Now they have competitors.

Convenience stores.

We call them ‘Conveni.’ コンビニ. They are Lawson, Family Mart, Seven Eleven etc.

And Yakitori and Oden are very good at a convenience store. 

*”Oden” consists of boiled eggs, radish(daikon) and fish cakes, etc.

Some people say Yakitori at convenience stores beat that of Izakaya. Yes food is good there.

The problem was that there was no space to eat. People buy food and eat it at home.

But you see now more and more convenience stores have an eat-in. 

So Izakaya is in a crisis. 

Maybe a convenience store takes over the position of Izakaya soon? It is possible.

But there are things about Izakaya. Why do the Japanese go to Izakaya?

After work, they need a place to be drunken, and talk about work or complain about their companies. 

Izakaya allows them to be drunken. Almost everyone is drunken.  Sometimes noisy.  So people can be comfortably drunken.

Japanese can show a different face at Izakaya because everyone there is drunken.

You cannot do it at a convenience store.

None of the people shopping there are drunken. What if they see drunken people with red faces at eat-inns? I think those drunken people would feel embarrassed.

So it is a cultural thing again. Japanese don’t want to stand out or to be different or unique. And they behave within the socially allowable boundary.

Izakaya will still keep its position.

At least now.

Thank you for reading, 

Toshiya

Do you know ‘Morning’ ?

Hi Everyone,

Have you heard of ‘Morning’ when you travel to Japan?

It is a free service of toast at cafe in the morning. If you order a drink e.g. a cup of coffee, you can get light food with it.

Many coffee shops had this service before.

But these days, with more coffee chains, family-owned coffee shops are vanishing. And the ‘Morning’ service is vanishing, too.

When I was a boy, I met my father during his break, he brought me to a coffee shop. It was in the center of Hiroshima City, near Mitsukoshi. Yes, Hiroshima has a Mitsukoshi department store, LOL.

Time seemed to be passing so slow that I was able to be relaxed with having ‘Morning’ service, I remember.

The prices with those coffee shops are higher than those of current chain shops, and people are moving to less expensive options, it is natural.

I will not say it was a good time. It was just my good memory.

This makes me wonder.

In Japan or maybe all over the world, many old people complain about current society and young people.

If young people are not different nor advanced, we cannot enjoy the convenience of this society. We would still live in the same world as 1000 years ago.

I am talking about Japan. I cannot generalize this on a world basis.

My parents lived the TV age, and they still do. They don’t have an iPhone, and they read the newspaper in the paper.

Young people in Japan are not attracted to TV. They use the iPhone to watch YouTube/Netflix and also get information from twitter. The number of newspaper subscriptions is decreasing dramatically.

And Information sources get diverse. I can talk to people all over the world so that I can get a different view from the ‘news’ published by media.

I like this society.

But I like the ‘Morning’ service, too)

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

Hakuhodo Mitsukoshi sets

Hi Everyone,

It is almost 2020. Most companies entered into New Year holidays.

Dec 28 to Jan 5. It will be more than one week.

It is said to be the record number of people flying from Japan to overseas. You will see many Japanese in your country)

As people can take a long vacation, it seems they go on a long trip, according to a big travel agency. Here are where the Japanese go.

  1. Taiwan
  2. Italy
  3. Spain
  4. China
  5. Egypt
  6. Germany
  7. Austria
  8. Viet Nam
  9. France
  10. England

I remember Hawaii was No. 1, but maybe it has changed.

I made a short trip myself. To Ginza, LOL.

Ginza, as you may know, is a shopping street of high – end brands.

I visited Hakuhodo and here are four sets they have now.

Please reply to this email, if you are interested.

Elegant set – 15600 yen

Make set 26040yen

Compact light pink set 10800 yen,

J601, J5523, G5514 and push up lip PmA and cloth.

Beauty set 20400 yen

F3210, J110, J5523, J5529, K005, K015, Cloth and Soap.

Thank you for reading,

Toshiya

Doing every day is easier than doing three times a week

Hi Everyone, 

I have been writing this blog (newsletter ) every day for a week.　

I am getting used to writing it)

Someone told me it is easier to continue daily than e.g. 3 times a week. 

I feel that it is true. 

It becomes a habit and I don’t have to decide if I should do today. If three times a week, I have to come up with a good reason to do it or not to.

Another daily thing is to go to a gym and walk (sometimes run ) for 30 minutes. That is getting easy, too. 

Besides, when I walk, I can come up with something to write for a blog.  Walking gives me a new perspective.

It is still so difficult to come up with an interesting subject, as every day is every day, and I don’t usually have anything special daily.

The good thing about working in Shibuya is I can see something in the town. 

Today, I found oyster udon at Marugame at 690 yen, LOL. It was new.

It would have been difficult if I still lived in Hiroshima, my hometown. I can only write about baseball and my home team Hiroshima Carp, but how many of you would be interested in the subject? lol

I try to add my thoughts to daily things or Japanese things. I hope to improve my skill)

I usually mix something about Japan with makeup topics.

I know many of you are interested in both Japan and makeup, but not all of you. So if you are only interested in makeup, please skip my Japan subjects.

(Today’s brush ) this is Hakuhodo 7 brush set.

Now January makeup products’ reservation starts this week.

Today I want to introduce the SUQQU lineup. Please email me or DM me in instagram.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Designing eyes (8160yen)

15, 130 (limited)

Rich lipstick (6000 yen )

01 to 10 and 101, 102 and 103 (limited)

Glow touch eyes 

4440 yen 

07 and 08, 108(limited)

Eyelash mascara waterproof 

5160 yen 

103 and 104(limited)

Pure Color blush

6600 yen 

118 and 119(limited)

Shimmer Liquid Highlighter

4680 yen 

02 

When a man goes shopping in Japan…..

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Eve, and shops and restaurants are the most crowded of all year. 

I walked around a department store on Sunday.

I saw many men there. Usually, 90% of visitors to the makeup floor are women, but at this time of the year, men come with women.

I enjoyed observing them shopping. 

Because I always had a hard time when I was waiting in line, I wanted to know how men behaved! People watching is very interesting!

I have products in mind when I am at shop.

I get an order and go and buy it there,  So my visit could be done in less than one minute. 

When I see customers waiting in line, I go to another shop to spend time. But when I have only one shop to visit, I will wait there. 

That waiting time gives me  ………… total agony.  

I have nothing to do but to take a picture. It is done in less than one minute so I work on iPhone or pretend to do so…

So I was curious about how men wait. 

Some men are sitting next to their partners.     Some are waiting outside a makeup counter.

But what do shop employees think of the couple ?

I asked this question to two employees. 

One shop person did not like it. They are just flirting and not buying. Yes, it is one way to look at….

The other person loves it. It is likely that men pay and that women buy it more often than usual.  That employee tries to talk to a man to keep him involved.  More conversations, more fun, and they will buy. Clever.

This reminds me of one joke ( or true). 

Man is a bank ATM to get money from. A popular joke in Japan.

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya

Here is how Shibuya looks today.

I paid a visit to ADDICTION and Louis Vitton.

Do you know Japan is an aging country ??

Hi Everyone, 

Do you know Japan is an old country ??

I meant that

Japan is an aging country. 

The median age of Japan, which divides the population equally, is 46.  This is the highest in the world!

The median age of the Philippines, another Asian country,   is 23.  You can tell how old Japan is.

We have a fewer marriages and kids year by year.

There are several ideas under discussion.

One of the ongoing polices is to take immigrants with special skills – 350,000 immigrants over five years. 

Regardless, the population of Japan has been decreasing, and Japan’s aging seems non-stop.

It is a personal preference whether to get married and have kids so the government policies seem to have a limitation.

So what do we need to do? 

Well, there is another way to look at it. 

If you want to do business in Japan, the market of old people is huge. And they have more money than young people.

It is typical that two kids have 2 grandfathers and 2 grandmothers. 

They want to spend money and time on grandchildren.

There is a big ‘want to take of grandparents’ market here in Japan. 

And another way to look at this:

We have many tourists in Japan. I know one guy, who is around 70 years, is always helping tourists in trouble at the station. There is a market that ‘ I want to help ‘tourists.’

My afternoon thoughts))

Thank you for reading!

Toshiya