I started out Fude Japan by helping friends with purchasing Japanese beauty products. When word got out, great interest from people all around the world followed and demand started growing – “Fude Japan” came to life. It is my goal to become a person in bringing a little bit of Japanese culture and tradition to each and every one of you.
I also write blogs here, and introduce Japanese culture, tradition and lifestyle, from Tokyo life to an interesting story of Japan and Japanese.
Online store is here
https://store.fudejapan.com/ja
Thank you!
Toshiya
I was informed that EMS postages would be raised on June 1.
I use FedEX and DHL for many countries so I hope the raise will not impact postages very much.
I used to have the image that FedEX and DHL are expensive, which is true without a contract with those couriers.
Last April, when EMS was suspended, I explored other options.
I was checking blogs written by exporters who sells on eBay, and found that those two couriers gave good prices, provided that we use them on a regular basis.
I have been using DHL and FedEX for one year, and I can see some work better for some countries and some for others.
From my experiences, I can tell these are the best.
Australia : DHL
UK and Ireland : FedEX
France : registered mail by Japan Post better than EMS ( I haven’t tried DHL nor FedEX)
Germany : EMS (I haven’t tried DHL or FedEX)
Asia : EMS but DHL /FedEX work well, too
With FedEX and DHL, the current postages are
Asia 1400 yen by EMS
USA 2100 yen by either DHL or FedEX
Australia and New Zealand 2100 by DHL
Europe 2200 yen by FedEX or EMS
Japan Post says:
There will be an extra charge to North America and Europe, effective on June 1 for limited time, not for good.
EMS to USA will be available with a new price. So DHL/FedEX will be better.
(the picture is grey squirrel brush with Echizen lacquerware – 20,000 yen)
Hi Everyone,
I was informed that KZ-04 KZ-07
were currently out of stock, and that they would be back late in January.
The Silver fox of Kihtisu price is still not known, but Kihitsu told me that it should be lower than the Makie silver fox 100,000 yen.
I will write about baseball players in Japan from overseas. Please skip it if you are not interested)
I was reading an article about a baseball player from Canada who played in Japan for eight years.
He retired and lives in Florida now. His name is Scott Mathieson.
He was asked. What does he miss after he left Japan ?
He said, ‘Food.’
He misses sushi, which he used to eat twice a week in Japan.
Wagyu beef in Tokyo
Chicken in Miyazaki..
Interestingly he misses Pizza in Japan, lol.
There are many players from USA, Canada, these days from Dominica….
Some play well some some do not. It seems that the key to success is how well they can cope with the Japanese culture. If they enjoy life, culture, food, they will likely to succeed.
Some players love Tokyo, some like Kobe, Nagoya, Hiroshima… though those cities are so different from each other.
It interests me how they live here with the cultural differences more than how they play baseball.
When I was a junior high school student, there was a book about foreign baseball players. I read it many times.
It was written by Keio University professor who focused on the cultural aspects of baseball. That was more interesting than baseball itself.
One player I have never seen but I remember very well from reading is
Viktor Staruchin
He is not from USA nor Canada, nor Dominica.
He is from Russia.
He was born in Russia in 1916, but one of his relatives was a House of Romanov, so his family left Russia in 1917 after the Russian Revolution.
After a long travel from Russia, through Siberia, the Staruchin family landed in Hokkaido in 1925. The city is called Asahikawa.
He was a very smart kid and played many sports very well. He spoke Japanese perfect.
At that time, many boys were playing baseball.
As a matter of fact, American all-star players came to Japan to play baseball in 1934.
There was no pro team in Japan. College baseball was poplar such as Waseda – Keio rivalry. So the first professional baseball team was organized to play baseball with the American team.
That was the Tokyo Giants, the first professional baseball team in Japan.
Staruchin was well known to the baseball world, and he was scouted by the All Japan team directly from school.
The American team had Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Yes, Ruth and Gehrig played in Japan before World War II.
I am not sure if Staruchin pitched against Ruth or Gehrig, but I feel the history there.
A kid from Russia played baseball with Babe Ruth in Japan right before the World War II.
Staruchin joined Tokyo Giants later. The Giants are a team of ‘gentlemen’ now (at least they say) but at the time, not everyone was nice to him.
Fujimoto-san, manager of the Giants, said to Staruchin, ‘don’t care about what others say if you want to be Sawamura, the ace of the Giants.’ (Sawamura, the ace pitcher, was drafted and died at the age of 27 in the battle of Philippines. Baseball was called off between 1943 and 1945. )
Under Fujimoto san, Staruchin became ace of the Giants, and won more than 300 games after the war.
Fujimoto san moved to other teams, and Staruchin followed him. ( By the way, some Russians moved to Japan after the Russian Revolution. Morozoff, very popular chocolate company, and Game company called ‘Taito’ were both founded by Russians who came to Japan after the Russian revolution)
Well, back to Staruchin,
He was killed in a traffic accident when he was 40 years old.
He was loved by people in Hokkaido, and a stadium in Asahikawa was named after him – Staruchin Stadium.
After the games in Japan in 1934, Japanese players was invited to USA to play baseball.
Staruchin was a member of the Japan team. Since he was raised in the rural city in Hokkaido, he was surprised to see many ‘foreigners’ in America. ( I can imagine that there were very few foreigners in Japan at that time, especially in Hokkaido)
He said to the manager of Japan, ‘those foreigners don’t speak Japanese.’
Kumano brush companies will be on holidays next week till January 4.
And due to the COVID-19, the Government of Japan stopped tourists from foreign countries. Yet, still no sign of ‘lockdown’ and I see people walking around as usual.
Today, I want to introduce Silver Fox of Kihitsu made by Koyudo.
The concept of Starbucks is to sell a third place, not coffee itself.
Workplace is competitive, and home is a place where you need to behave as a nice spouse in America (this is not what I say, but the book says!). Starbucks thinks people need a third place to be relaxed at.
When Starbucks came to Japan, they opened a shop in Ginza, a very expensive area. It was the first shop outside North America.
People are busy there, and need a place to be relaxed at. They opened shops in busy areas gradually.
Now that Starbucks have a shop in Tottori, the smallest prefecture in Japan, they have covered all of the 47 prefectures.
Japanese need a relaxing third place, LOL.
Starbucks sells a place where you can be relaxed. That is the concept.
I sometimes feel the same way. People love to buy makeup products or brushes, but some are more into a cultural or historial aspect behind the products, which is also fun to communicate.
I cannot compete with big companies on the same ground so I need to have something different.
Ganbari masu!( I do my best)
I want to update on several brands.
SUQQU will replace the current designing eyeshadows with new ones in January. The current products will not be available then.
Koyudo has Saibikoho with black handles.
Face L 100,000 yen
Face S 70,000 yen
Cheek 50,000 yen
Takeda will sell a limited set.
It is a set of saikoho hair (for the first 2 brushes), palmy (oronpi) eyebrow brush and itachi lip brush.
SUQQU Designing eyeshadows will be renewed inJanuary.
The price will be a little more expensive than the current 8160 yen.
It will be 8400 yen.
SUQQU will replace the current products with new ones.
Please let me know if you are interested in buying them.
I can buy 133 and 134 limited eyeshadow as well.
Life in Tokyo gets back to almost normal. People wear a mask, almost 100%.
I sometimes go to cafe to work with a computer. Many people are working at cafe, and it is encouraging to watch them.
Today, I was at cafe again. Ladies in their 70’s (?) were enjoying a conversation. They were saying that :
‘We are not worried about the corona virus much these days. Everyone wears a mask and doctors are good in general. “
They are planning to go to Hawaii or Okinawa together without their husbands. (Their husbands retired and stay home, I guess)
They enjoy life !
How about their husbands? In Japan, it is said that men, after retiring from work, don’t enjoy life as much as women. Women join a community outside work, and they enjoy the community while men don’t know other communities than their workplace.
I think it is true.
I belonged to a big gym before, and I was told by a gym worker that many women stayed all day and went out as a group after a gym.
Men exercise alone.
Japanese husbands have several nicknames.
It is funny, but it also tends to be true.
‘One coin husband’ The biggest coin in Japan is 500 yen (5 USD), and husbands go to Yoshinoya Gyudon(beef donburi) fast food chain, for a 500 yen lunch while their wives enjoy 2000 yen lunch with their friends.
‘Seven – Eleven’ It is a convenience store name but in Japan, some husbands are called Seven Eleven. Husbands work from 7 to 11 pm so that their wives have free time at home.
‘ATM Bank machine’ Wives can withdraw money when they need it, but they don’t usually need it.
All are jokes ( or maybe real for some couples) but it speaks well about the situation.
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Those ladies next to me might have noticed that I was smiling subtly and writing this blog. I felt their eyes were directed to me.
It is November, and people wear clothes for winter. Yet, it is 20C today so not too cold.
I read books at a bookstore every day. There is one in Shibuya on my way to the station.
It is called Kinokuniya. I try to read books for one hour as it is easier to decide which ones to buy than checking at Amazon.
Hard time for the book store industry.
The other day, while I was reading, I got a call from my mother.
She just got back from a walk with her dog, Jack Russell. She is a very very active dog.
I said, ‘it is getting dark, you should walk with her before the sun sets. ‘
She said something strange, which I thought she was joking about.
It was getting dark, and when she was walking, a young couple she didn’t know drove her to her house.
That couple were totally strangers to her, and she said they were very nice.
But she usually walks only within 100m so I wonder why they drove her to home…
Well, it might happen in the countryside, but she lived in the north of Tokyo, and it was never heard of.
Japan is a safe country but still I did not quite understand what she told me.
Besides Jack Russell is too friendly to protect her, LOL.
I say this, it would never happen to me!
Maybe she was smiling. It is important to have a calm and friendly face. People talk to her.
I have rarely been asked a direction when walking in Shibuya by a foreigner.
Once, I was walking in my neighbor, and a Caucasian guy asked me a direction. But he spoke Japanese fluently!
Here are some November limited.
This time, Amplitude Holiday kit was incredibly popular, fully sold out on the first day. it is popular brand, new. They seem to be successfully market its products.
I mainly buy products in Shibuya Tokyu and Shinjuku Isetan.
Those department stores are still quiet, compared to ‘ Before Corona.’ Yet I see some Chinese buyers who speak Japanese very fluently. They seem to be residents in Tokyo, so not many tourist yet.
Whatever the reason is, Japan COVID situation did not get worse. The Government of Japan has decided to accept foreign travelers of short-time stay now.
I reckon Japan will accept tourists in general soon.
I observed one Chinese buyer who was buying lots of SUQQU eyelash curlers. Do they sell SUQQU eyelash curlers in China very well? It is about 20USD. There may be some secrets in marketing. I need to learn how to sell it)
I don’t think I am good at advertising a product. I take a picture and post it to instagram and online shop.
The other thing is that I don’t do makeup so it is hard to know what people want.
So I talk to shops and Kumano brush makers, and get as much information as possible.
Mostly importantly, I value your feedback. Thank you)
Yesterday, I visited some brands who was displaying holiday collections.
I received interesting feedback to my blog from my clients yesterday. I wrote about people sitting next to me at cafe.
I like people watching, especially over coffee.
( I guess my concentration is low.)
I love doing so overseas, as everything is new and people behave differently.
I spent six months as an exchange student in Helsinki. I made some Finnish friends and they took me to a coffee shop after school. Almost every day, we went to cafe and watched people on the street.
To me, that was so interesting as I was able to ask my Finnish friends many questions.
I wish I could do that again in Helsinki.
Haruki Murakami, a novelist, says that when he writes a novel, he goes abroad. He can concentrate on writing outside Japan.
Once, he went to Greece to write. He still wants to eat Greek steak from time to time very badly.
I am not sure if my Finnish coffee is equivalent of Murakami’s Greek steak, but that cafe scene makes me relaxed.
I received three orders for a set my client introduced to her freinds. It is a set of Kihitsu.
Sokoho goat and Kolinsky
Maybe it was made more than five years and now on sale at 30,000 yen. Older hair is said to be better.
They can customize brushes. That is unique as a fude maker.
They say the business is small, and they try to cope with customer needs.
You can contact them directly or you can use me) Please let me know.
It is difficult to write a blog every day. You see I don’t write a blog daily even though I want to.
I find it easier to write every day than to write e.g. weekly. It is easier if I make it a rule.
I haven’t come to this stage yet.
I try, and I try to write when I find a chance.
I tried to write a blog at cafe last night.
Two groups sat next to me in turn.
Though I tried not to listen, some words were heard, lol.
The first one was a business group.
An old guy, seemingly an eyeshadow manufacturer, was asking a lady, who seems to be a seller, for her opinion.
She put several eyeshadows and was telling him her opinions. And she was happily telling him that she had recently gotten married.
She was saying to him,
her husband is a Spanish. He is 195cm tall. He is a lawyer. He asked her father first for his permission, not to her. (the old guy said, ‘wow really?”) He left Japan without any decision, but later they met in London. Now they are married in Japan.
The second group are two ladies. One lady was asking the other for her opinion on how she could have her boyfriend propose to her. She and her boyfriend live together. She was not happy that it took long for him to make a decision.
It was a strategy session, lol.
I came back home and did some search. I thought I could write something as a blog.
I found some numbers. In Japan, 24 % of men at 50 years old have never got married. (14% for women)
Kihitsu has some inventory of fu-pa01 at 5000 yen now.
After it gets out of stock, Kihitsu is planning to continue to order fu-pa 01 from Koyudo. But, with hair getting expensive, the fupa 01 with saikoho this time, will be more than 10,000 yen.
I told Kihitsu that the 10,000 yen fupa 01 would be expensive if the same handle is used.
Kihitsu’s image of new fupa01 is fuwafuwa, but with the current fupa 14 handle, with a flat bottom.
I had several requests to get fuwafuwa but it is currently out of stock.
Would you like a new fupa01 with fuwafuwa handle at more than 10,000 yen?
I chatted with Chikuhodo. They will have limited sets in mid November.
They don’t call them Christmas sets or Noel, rather ‘limited.’ So they can continue to sell those limited sets as long as they are in stock.
This is Evergreen set of Hakuhodo.
I will keep you updated.
Speaking of limited, I have recently sold many ‘old’ products of Kihitsu made by Koyudo.
What Kihitsu does is that they change a little (color or handle shape or logo) to Koyudo products and sell as Kihtisu brand.
Sometimes more expensive, sometimes less expensive. Kihitsu can choose what they like as it is own product.
Kihitsu Fupa01 is 5000yen while Koyudo one was 5520 yen. Kihitsu Fupa13P is 3800 yen while Koyudo one is 5040 yen.
These are old stock but Kihitsu keeps the prices the same and did not raise them. Old hair is generally better.
Kihitsu CEO, Nakashima-san, seems to be enjoying selling brushes purely. Of course, it is business so money is important but he puts client satisfaction first.
I feel old Japan from him. I respect it, and it will benefit him in a long term.
Speaking of old or new,
he and I lived in different decades so our lifestyles are different.
This is me, and I don’t try to generalize here.
I have noticed one thing about him :
I don’t watch TV at all, while he does a lot.
Well, I used to watch baseball of Hiroshima Carp, my home team, on TV. This year I stopped watching baseball even when my team is on TV.
I only check the results, especially rookie players, as they will be main player in years to come. ( I have given up Hiroshima Carp this year and next LOL)
I watched TV long when I was a kid, but with internet, my TV time has been decreasing. It is almost zero now.
I heard from a friend that TV has a screen to search a program of YouTube in Thailand or VietNam. I reckon that most of your countries have a choice between internet or TV.
Japanese TV only airs the same channels. It hasn’t been changed.
I suspect Japanese TV companies try to protect their vested interests.
One example of ‘old’ Japan.
Old vs New
Maybe TV vs Internet
For young generations in Japan, TV will be only a device by which you watch youtube (or netflix whatever )content. I think your countries might have developed this trend more. Japan is late.
I can get information as much as I like on the web while TV sends viewers information selected by TV produces. We cannot select information on TV. TV selects and controls information for viewers.
It is a problem.
We can select politicians but we can’t select TV producers. I have been watching TV-selected information for a long time since I was a kid.
This issue, with internet at home, is getting exposed to many Japanese.
Now, It is my humble protest to TV stations or the vest interests not to watch TV.
Fude Japan (Makeup brushes from Japan) 