Ramblings

I've decided to have no real theme to today's post....I'm gonna ramble and I talk about pads and tampons so be warned.

Last night I stayed up late watching the Olympics between episodes of The Sopranos (series one on DVD) - thanks Jen - and I am suffering today. It's my own fault, I know. I did get to see the Thorpedo win a bronze medal tho' (it's his first as he usually wins gold and silver). It is 36 degrees in Tokyo today, so I avoided going outside at lunch. Sometimes at my work we have big sales during lunchtime. Sometimes they sell clothes, shoes, candy, gift food, scarves and gloves, hats, but today was one of the most popular sales apart from the J Crew sale - they were selling sanitary napkins!! Oh I know that it is kinda taboo to mention menstruation, but damn this is an interesting phenomenon here in Japan. Many Japanese women don't like tampons - they are not popular and are not widely used, which kinda sucks for us foreign gals as it doesn't leave us with many local shopping options. Of course everytime I travel overseas I stock up, but recently I ran out (how did that happen!!). Anyway I would say hundreds of women in my company building line up to buy 6 months to a year's supply of sanitary napkins. The way they have it set up is hilarious. There is a really long table and a sample of each type of pad for sale is taped in a row along the table - it's kinda weird. Anyway I wish I'd taken a photo, but I was too busy shopping for....yeah you know what I bought. It was really cheap (I guess that's why it's so popular) - 60 for 420 yen. bargain. As I said though tampons are not popular and I did not see a single woman among hundreds pick up a box of tampons (they were kind of sitting off to the side of the pads looking very lonely and unloved!!!).

ANOTHER INTERESTING JAPAN FACT is that many Japanese companies (including mine) provide extra days off for female staff suffering badly from their period. Very ludicrous. You can take one day off a month and they are in addition to your paid leave - you just have to call in the morning and tell them the cramps are just too bad. I admit here that I have taken advantage of this cultural difference and I did abuse it a little considering it wasn't even that time of the month.

So my goal this morning was to find a way I could get my hands on some NON-APPLICATOR tampons here in Japan. They are NOT available in the shops. After some very lengthy research via google, I came across a e-conception - a website run by a Japanese lady living in Australia. She sells aromatherapy products and 100% pure organic GMO free cotton Natracare tampons. Score. If you spend over 3000 yen, then shipping is free. Score. A 20 pack costs 800 yen.

Another score at the lunch sales were some ziplock hello kitty lunch bags!! I think I am going to use them to store crafty stuff - I'm not even a big hello kitty fan, but they are cute!

I think that people visit my website for a number of reasons: the knitting/crafting thing is probably the biggest reason; and the next biggest reason would be the lure of mysterious Japan. I've never really categorized my blog and listed it as a knitting blog as I would feel to much pressure to produce FOs constantly, and the main reason I started pinku was because it is such a great way to record your experiences and memories when living overseas and an even better way to stay in touch with family and friends. The most unexpected benefit from having the site has been the amazing number of new friends that I have made (virtual and real) - I love it!

That's all for today! Rambling ends here.

p.s. Best web discovery today (there are always so many) is a cool site called Watashi to Tokyo about Tokyo in English by a Japanese girl. It's great - full of lots of content and links - check it out! Welcome to the blog world, Mari!!!!

Comments

[gleek]

damn, i don't know what i would do without tampons. they are the savior of all periods as far as i'm conerned. pads are like wearing diapers. i'll have to remember that if i ever live overseas. oh, and cute hello kitty sandwich bags! we don't get those in the states :)

[ashley]

ooo paid period days
how amazing is that?!!@
i would take a day off every month

IDEMANDITINTHESTATES!
no tampons?!
pads arent any fun.
they should make hello kitty pads and tampons.

[Jenna]

It does seem like the japanese have a very different conception when it comes to periods and all. When I was there, I picked up a women's magazine to use the pictures for collaging. The one I got had what was apparantly a rather lengthy article about menstrual cycles (I'm guessing as I know no japanese). The illustrations accompanying the article were a uterus with a face, arms and legs! They had her in quite a few different poses- reading a book, sick in bed, crying, happy. They're hilarious, i've since used them to decorate a box.

A good suggestion for women, especially those who travel, is to use the keeper. www.thekeeper.com It's a reusable rubber cup that you insert like a tampon but wash out yourself. It's a bit expensive at first but saves you a ton of money in the long run, is better for the environment, has almost no risk of TSS, and when you buy them you support a woman-owned company, not a corporation that profits off of women's bodies. I love mine, you should check it out!

[karen]

as for why people visit your site - i came upon it via the knitting blog world and it's become a regular visit for me. it's true that japan (and australia too) are kind of novel for americans like me, but mainly your blog is just reliably interesting and fun to read. and you always have really nice pictures and tasteful projects.

i often prefer blogs that aren't 100% categorized as knitting-related because that means that there are no apologies for content that doesn't relate to knitting. even blogs that never stray from knitting as a topic end up being about other things and about the person writing them because it's all part of their life and way of thinking. you may as well be explicit about not being all about knitting. and hardly any of us can really afford the time, money, and effort to come up with a new FO every other day, not that i'm not impressed with people who can.

[rebecca]

perhaps some of us could send you some obs or something? i'd be more than happy to do so (non-applicator, preferred absorbency) in exchange for anime pictures or knitting patterns or something (and I don't read your blog because it's all about knitting, either).

The local farmer's market in Atlanta has "scented" sanitary napkins. This is not lavender scented. This is like, pineapple. They claim to come from Asia, but I think it's more Korean.

[moska]

hmm... well i'm obsessed with reading japanblogs (i'm an overzealous japanese student), as well as knitting (addicted to craftster), so I love your site!

My friend would complain about horrible cramps in PE and the teacher was like "you seem to be complaining about this EVERY MONTH" like that was suspicious behavior...

[chris]

i hear ya on the "where the hell are the tampons!" situation. luckily, there's a market right across my work that sells "O.B." brand-like tampons, Non Applicator. Exactly what you're looking for, no? i considered this a HUGE find since i stock up on tampons everytime i come home! lemme know if you want me to pick up a few boxes for you! i can bring em to the next SNB -- conveniently wrapped in a a brown paper bag. :D

oh and thanks for the info on the jp companies giving extra time off for women for these monthly episodes! gotta look into that at my company! i think i feel some cramps comin' on!

lemme know! stay cool! it's a hot one today! ~c

[Kinki]

I don't know where you're shopping buddy, but I didn't have any probs finding non-applicator tampers in Tokyo. Sure, the applicators are more popular (why this is so, I simply CANNOT imagine) but I had an unwrap-and-plug non-applicator supplier at my local Senkawa Pop-o-chan and Raifu Supa(aka "Life"). Do you have one near you? Surely things cannot be that bad in Kichijoji?

[kat]

Kinki!! Actually I have bought non-applicator tampons in Japan before (so I guess that makes me a liar), but I have never liked them. I guess I meant that you can't buy foreign brands here. I am now keen to try out the organic cotton ones - ordered some on the Internet and should be here next week. Also found a hidden stash in my suitcase - was soooo happy!!

[Mariko]

I never had any problems finding Tampax tampons in Japan, thank goodness! I LOVE the Hello Kitty lunch bags! Any sort of novelty lunch bag is okay in my book.
That's very interesting that you have sales at your work. Trippy!

[maia]

hello--enjoying your site...I found watashi to tokyo recently too! It's such an amazing world, this world of blog.
:)maia

[Julie]

I got my lovely Girly Knit magazine! I absolutely love it. I'd seen scans from it somewhere online and that's got the cutest patterns of any Japanese knitting mag I've seen. Thanks for the candy too, yumm! :)

I hope you get your package soon... I mailed it out ....I want to say a week ago.

Thanks again, and I hope you like your magazines. :)

[Denise]

You are right - the lure of the mysterious Japanese - and their great packaging gimmicks! Thanks for all you share with us here in the states. I'm a knitter and portrait artist/oil painter.
denise

[Charlie]

Thats strange about the tampon thing. My best friend goes yearly to japan (as her Dad lives there...) and she says she ALWAYS stocks up on japanese tampons because they are so much better than the ones you get over here in the UK. Once she gave me one to try (strangest gift she has ever given me!) and I have to agree, theyre much better.

I just wish she brough me other stuff back from Japan when she goes - known her 5 years and she never gets me anything lol. So I think I'll go alone and do my own shopping when I can afford it!