It has grown on me!

Thursday, January 26, 2023

How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at Zoff

Zoff

As I mentioned in my previous entry, Must Go to Place in Japan - Affordable Eyeglass Stores, JINS and Zoff, if you wear eyeglasses and are planing on going to Japan, you should go to eyeglass stores in Japan. It's because many stores sell very affordable stylish eyeglasses in Japan. Unlike the U.S., buying eyeglasses doesn't need prescriptions in Japan, so you don't need to see an ophthalmologist nor an optometrist to make new eyeglasses there. If you want to try affordable ones, I recommend you to check JINS and Zoff, which have so many branches in Japan.

About five years ago, he purchased two pairs of eyeglasses at JINS. You can check out my previous entry, How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at JINS. This time, we decided to go to Zoff to purchase his new eyeglasses because one of Zoff branches is located in Alpa, the shopping mall connected to the hotel we stayed, so it was very convenient location for us. Zoff has 237 branches in Japan. In Tokyo, there are 58 Zoff branches, so if you are in Tokyo, it's pretty easy to find Zoff.

Zoff

Zoff (Ikebukuro Sunshine City Alpa)

2nd Floor at Alpa shopping mall

3-1-1 Higashi Ikebukuro

Toyoshima-ku Tokyo, Japan

How to Purchase Eyeglasses at Zoff

Zoff

1. Choose your favorite eyeglass frame.

There are many eyeglasses you can choose from. The prices of most eyeglasses are 5,500 yen, 8,800 yen, 11,100 yen, and 13,300 yen.

Zoff

2. Take the frame to the register.

A staff asks you about the lenses. There is no charge for regular lenses and blue cut lenses. If you want special lenses such as lenses with UV protection, there is an additional charge.

Zoff

3. Take an eye exam in order to make the accurate lenses.

They don't charge eye exam fee.

Zoff

When we were at Zoff, an Asian foreign customer was taking eye exam. One of Japanese staffs was trying to speak English for the foreign customer. If you only speak English, I think that they will be able to help you at some branches.

4. Make a payment.

・ You can pay with cash or credit cards at Zoff.

・They offer Tax Free Service (10% off) for tourists. You need to show your passport with a valid entry stamp at the store where you want to apply for a tax refund.

When my husband purchased eyeglasses at Zoff, they were offering a trade-in promotion, which was that when you dropped off your old eyeglasses at Zoff, you got a 550 yen discount for your new eyeglass purchase. He was able to purchase two pairs of eyeglasses for 9,500 yen (5,500 yen + 5,500 yen - 550 yen trade-in discount - 950 yen tax free discount), which was equivalent to $67.38.

5. Wait until your eyeglasses are ready.

It usually takes for 30 minutes. If there is no stock in the store, you need to wait for several days.

The staff told him that his new eyeglasses would be ready in 30 minutes. Meanwhile, we enjoyed shopping and having lunch at Alpa shopping mall.

6. Pick up your eyeglasses.

The staff will adjust your eyeglass arms for you. You can receive your new eyeglasses, an eyeglass case and a lens cleaning cloth.

When we arrived at Zoff for pickup, he dropped off his old eyeglasses he was wearing because he got a trade-in discount. The staff adjusted his new eyeglass arms. There were some eyeglass cases he could choose from. He ended up choosing these black eyeglass cases.

Zoff Eyeglass Cases

He also received these Zoff lens cleaning clothes.

Zoff Eyeglass Cases

His New Eyeglasses

These pairs of eyeglasses look pretty alike but are slightly different.

His New Eyeglasses

He is really satisfied with his purchase. 😊 I know that eyeglasses are very affordable in Japan, but we were really surprised that his new two pairs of eyeglasses were $67.38! (One pair of eyeglasses only cost $33.69!) When we were in Japan, Japanese yen price was pretty low (1 USD was 141 yen at that time.), so everything we saw in Japan looked an incredible bargain to us.

These are entries related to Japanese affordable eyeglasses.

■Must Go to Place in Japan - Affordable Eyeglass Stores, JINS and Zoff

■How to Purchase Japanese Affordable Eyeglasses at JINS

These are also my entries you might like.

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Japanese Beauty Haul - 2 Japanese Beauty Serums I Purchased in Japan

These are Japanese beauty serums I purchased in Japan.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I visited Japan in November, 2022, and I purchased a lot of Japanese beauty products! You can check out my entries related to Japan Haul.

■ 8 Products I Purchased at Muji Store in Japan - Muji Haul

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 5 Face Mask Products I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 5 Makeup Removers I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 3 Japanese Facial Lotions I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 2 Japanese Beauty Serums I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 2 Japanese Emulsion Skincare Products I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - 3 Japanese Makeup Products I Purchased in Japan

■Japanese Beauty Haul - Panasonic Hair Dryer, Sunscreens, Toothbrushes and More!

Huge Japanese Beauty Haul

When I was in Japan, Japanese yen was pretty low (1 USD was 141 yen at that time.), so everything I saw in Japan looked an incredible bargain to me.😂

Muji Aging Care Wrinkle Care Beauty Serum, Moisturizing Essence (無印良品エイジングケアリンクルケア美容液)

This time, I purchased two very popular Japanese beauty serum products at Donki in Tokyo. In addition, I also purchased one more beauty serum, Muji Aging Care Wrinkle Care Beauty Serum, at Muji. In you are interested in Muji products, you can check out my previous entry, 8 Products I Purchased at Muji Store in Japan - Muji Haul. Anyway, today, I'm going to share with you two Japanese serums I purchased at Donki in Tokyo.

2 Japanese Beauty Serums I Purchased in Japan

1. Kikumasamune Skin Care Essence (菊正宗日本酒の美容液)

Vitamin C and Ceramide Beauty Serum

Purchased 150 ml for 1800 yen ($12.77) at Donki in Tokyo

Can be also purchased at many drugstores in Japan

Kikumasamune Skin Care Essence (菊正宗日本酒の美容液)

　 I always wanted to purchase this beauty serum in Japan. This Kikumasamune Skin Care Essence (菊正宗日本酒の美容液) won beauty award, LDK Beauty of the Year, in Japan. According to LDK, this is the most effective moisturizer and has a lot of active beauty ingredients. It contains 12 kinds of amino acid, arbutin, placenta extract, three kinds of ceramide, and two kinds of vitamin C derivatives. Many Japanese beauty experts say that this affordable Kikumasamune beauty serum works better than many high-end beauty products do.

2. Rohto Melano CC Premium Essence (ロートメラノCC しみ集中対策プレミアム美容液)

Vitamin C Beauty Serum

Purchased 20 ml for 1480 yen ($10.50) at Donki in Tokyo

Can be also purchased at many drugstores in Japan

Rohto Melano CC Premium Essence (ロートメラノCC しみ集中対策プレミアム美容液)

This beauty serum was also one I really wanted try! As I mentioned in my previous entries, Rohto Melano CC beauty serum has been very popular in Japan these years. Last year, Rohto also released this Premium Essence beauty serum and many beauty experts impressed the effectiveness which prevents dark spots.

These are also my entries you might like.

♥All Beauty Products I Purchased in Japan in 2022

♥My Shopping List for Japanese Beauty Products - What I Want to Get in Japan

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Hotel Room Tour and Review - Sunshine City Prince Hotel - Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro, Tokyo

In November, 2022, my husband and I visited Tokyo. This time, we were planing on having a complete medical checkup, a preventive medical checkup, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. In Japan, a complete medical checkup is called ningen doc, ningen dock (人間ドック). In 2017, we had ningen doc at a hospital located in Ikebukuro, so we decided to go to the same hospital this time. We ended up choosing this hotel, Sunshine City Prince Hotel, because it pretty closes to the hospital we would go to, and it's very convenient location for shopping and dining.

Sunshine City Prince Hotel

3 Chome-1-5 Higashiikebukuro

Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-8440, Japan

Sunshine City Prince Hotel has a convenience store, and there are shopping malls connected to the hotel.

One of the reason why we chose to stay at this hotel was that it's very convenient location for shopping and dining.

Family Mart Convenience Store (1F)

Family Mart, a convenience store opens 24h, is located on the first floor. We visited there to purchase some snacks and freshly brewed coffee.

Freshly Brewed Iced Coffee of Family Mart Convenience Store

Freshly brewed coffee from Japanese convenience stores tasted so good. This medium size iced coffee from Family Mart was only 180 yen.

Alpa Shopping Mall (B1 to 3F)

Alpa

You can access to Alpa shopping mall from the first floor of this hotel. We visited Zoff, 3COINS, Francfranc, Lattice and some restaurants.

Zoff at Alpa

It was very convenient to pick up eyeglasses he purchased at Zoff, which is located on the second floor of Alpa. He purchased two pairs of eyeglasses for 9,500yen ($68) there. I will write about it in my future entry.

Tsukiji Tamasushi

We enjoyed fresh sushi and kaisen bowl at Tsukiji Tamasushi (築地玉寿司), located on the third floor of Alpa.

Tuskijidon (築地丼)

This Tsukijidon (築地丼), kaisen bowl and miso soup, was so fresh and good. It was 1628 yen ($12).

There are more of great restaurants you can enjoy at Alpa shopping mall. In addition to this mall, there are many great stores and restaurants you can go to by walk from Sunshine City Prince Hotel. I went to Muji (無印良品), Uniqlo (ユニクロ), Donki (ドン.キホーテ), some drugstores, Starbucks, Sukiya (すき家), Nakau (なか卯) and so on.

Sunshine City Prince Hotel

1F Sunshine City Prince Hotel Lobby

The staffs at Sunshine City Prince Hotel were very nice. After checked out of hotel, we asked a front-desk clerk if they could store our heavy luggage, so we were able to walk to a hospital for a complete medical checkup.

City Floor (17F - 24F) - Semi Double Room