Japanese Hobby

quality bags made in Japan

<div>On our trip to Japan I was looking for a small, comfortable bag just big enough to hold my (relatively small) DSLR, a wallet and my sunglasses. That’s all I need when I stroll around in a city. At first I decided on a shoulder bag by Drifter U.S.A with a desert camouflage pattern. I found it at a small store by the brand in Harajuku. It’s a nice little bag and because of its simple fabric, really light which makes it easy to carry around.A couple of days later my girlfriend and I visited a Journal Standard store in Shunjuku and it was there, where I first encountered a bag by master piece. I was truly amazed by the craftsmanship and the solid look and feel of the bag. Everything is done with so much care for detail and the selected materials. That these bags are made in Japan made me watch out even more for the brand. So, it was decided. I needed a second “city” bag.There are several stores around in Tokyo whe you can buy not only master piece produtcs but bags and accessoires from their several sub-lines as well. <a href="http://www.master-piece.co.jp">MSPC</a> is the name of the whole thing and the brand stores are named alike. When you visit their online-shop (shipping inside Japan only) there is also the possibility to <a href="http://mspc-customize.jp">customize</a> your very on master piece bag. Not quite sure if the possibilities are as endless as with Nike ID but the idea in general sure sounds intriguing. I’m a sucker for everything limited and unique, so I’l probably have to try this out on my next trip to Japan.After a long decision process I finally decided on a black master piece shoulder bag which I bought in Shibuya. Next time I’ll need to get a big duffle bag and maybe a wallet too. Saw one which I loved (the black one on the picture below) but quality always has its price and so I need to save up first. Life can be so expensive. Next time!Upadate 07.08.13: UK based fashion store Mr. Porter carries some master-piece bags by now. But beware. Like the UK Bape store the prices are heavily inflated for the master-piece bags as well. I wouldn’t blame Oki-Nu. The overall expensive Pound and the fact that these are imports directly from Japan don’t really contribute to a more reasonable price. My advice: <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/ultimate-guide-buying-japan/">Use a proxy and buy directly from Japan</a>. Or even better. Save up and plan your next holiday over there.Images by JapaneseTease.<img alt="DSC_0623" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-324" height="1000" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0623" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-324" height="1000" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0623.jpg" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0621" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-322" height="1000" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0621" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-322" height="1000" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0621.jpg" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0615" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-323" height="1000" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0615" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-323" height="1000" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0615.jpg" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0614" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-325" height="1000" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0614" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-325" height="1000" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0614.jpg" width="1500"><img alt="master piece japan" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-321" height="1147" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="master piece japan" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-321" height="1147" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0617.jpg" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0645" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-326" height="1000" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1500"><img alt="DSC_0645" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-326" height="1000" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0645.jpg" width="1500">Notes: 30.01.2015 Found another couple of pictures I did back then when I bought my master piece bag and thought I’d love to share them with you guys.And here is my girl unpacking my awesome master piece bag in Harajuku which still looks incredible after 2 years of nearly daily usage.<img alt="DSC_0650" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6654" height="800" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1200"><img alt="DSC_0650" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6654" height="800" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0650.jpg" width="1200"><img alt="DSC_0647" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-6655" height="100" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="150"><img alt="DSC_0647" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-6655" height="100" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/DSC_0647.jpg" width="150"></div>

quality bags made in Japan

On our trip to Japan I was looking for a small, comfortable bag just big enough to hold my (relatively small) DSLR, a wallet and my sunglass...

TRY! a JLPT grammar guide series

<div>There are a couple of different JLPT study books out there and I’ve already peaked into the <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/nihongo-so-matome-review-jlpt-reading-comprehension/">Nihongo-so-matome</a> series. I’m personally a big fan of the study books by the Japanese publisher Ask publishing who are steadily releasing quality material with a good eye for design (among The Japan Times (Genki) of course).The Asian Students Cultural Association (ABK) developed the series TRY! which wants to give you a quick but comprehensive overview of the main grammar points which you need to pass each JLPT level. I’m still extremely interested in taking the test but probably won’t be able to until after I’ve finished my exams in mid-2019. Still, a long way to go but doesn’t hinder me from studying and finding out which JLPT books work best for me.I always prefer a quick condensed look at grammar with a couple of example sentences and not overly sophisticated explanation. The <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/how-i-learn-japanese-my-essentials/">Genki textbook series</a> is great but some of their grammar explanations really weren’t so spot on and quite hard to grasp. I like to use the <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/dictionary-basic-japanese-grammar/">Dictionaries of Japanese Grammar</a> for these cases but a simple google search of the term with “Japanese” attached works like a charm in most cases as well.TRY! is pretty straightforward in this case and just gives you a quick glance on each grammar term and lots of tasks are following right after. So just take it as a neat little grammar repetition book, highly condensed, with grammar points selected after JLPT difficulty.Bought N5 for my cousin in Berlin and will probably buy the rest of the bunch for me personally. I still have the Nihongo Challenge N4 books lying around, waiting for me to get properly worked through. I bet using those study books together with <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/bunpro-grammar-srs-system-waiting/">Bunpro</a> will work like a charm.<ul><li>Buy TRY! JLPT N5 at <a href="http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/aff/click.cgi/PytJTGW7Lok/4756/A148868/product%2FNEOBK-1686932?s_ssid=e454865b2f41a11bad">CDjapan</a> (If you buy the book through my link, I’ll get a small referral fee which will be used to buy even more awesome books for review.)</li></ul><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8907 size-full" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8907 size-full" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3924-2.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8917" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8917" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3927-2-1.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8918 size-full" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8918 size-full" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3926-2-1.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8908 size-full" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8908 size-full" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3925-2.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8915" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8915" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3928-2-1.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8916 size-full" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8916 size-full" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3929-2-1.jpg" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8914 size-full" height="3264" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="4896"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8914 size-full" height="3264" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dscf3930-1-1.jpg" title="" width="4896">Who is studying for the JLPT or has already done a level? Would love to hear some impressions about this. Some readers already told me in the comments that taking the JLPT was the best thing they ever did for their Japanese studies. Probably the push one needs to really sit down and cram that grammar.</div>

TRY! a JLPT grammar guide series

There are a couple of different JLPT study books out there and I’ve already peaked into the Nihongo-so-matome series. I’m personally a big ...

These T-shirts are a must for every manga fan

<div>You may know by now that I’m, not the biggest fan of recent Shonen JUMP releases but there is still a very big, warm spot inside my heart for Dragon Ball. When the last chapter of that legendary title was printed, the next issue of JUMP had a huge decline in sales. A huge drop of 800k. No wonder that everybody bought the phone-book-sized magazine just for this one incredible manga (on the picture above you can see my girlfriend casually rocking my Dragon Ball Tee).But there were some other fantastic series printed in Shonen JUMP which fit my taste as well. Just thinking about how much fun I had reading Kochikame or City Hunter. Good times. I should really pick up some nice manga again and just start reading before bedtime instead of spending my time watching Netflix shows of questionable quality.<a href="https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/ut-graphic-tees/jump-50th">Uniqlo UT</a> is a line of T-shirts managed by Nigo, the founder of the legendary Japanese brand A Bathing Ape. He is now doing Human Made, but that’s another. Apart from that he is selecting different artists and curating the T-Shirt line UT for the Japanese fashion chain Uniqlo. If you’re not familiar with their brand, they offer very nice quality items for their price point, have very cozy light down jackets and a lot of technical clothing. Let’s call it the toned down H&M or Zara of Japan but with better quality and all around timeless pieces. I really like to shop there.Kaws already released a couple shirts and will be back with a Sesame-Street styled collection. But today we are much more interested in the Shonen JUMP 50th anniversary collection.To celebrate that birthday a nice selection of T-shirts has been released. I picked up two already but some will probably follow soon. Don’t be mislead by some of the comments which said the fit of the shirts was off and the quality just not there. The fit is absolutely decent and the quality excellent for the price. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.<img alt="uniqlo ut shonen jump 50th anniversary" class="wp-image-8821 size-full" height="1184" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1776"><img alt="uniqlo ut shonen jump 50th anniversary" class="wp-image-8821 size-full" height="1184" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0769.jpg" width="1776"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8819" height="1184" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1776"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8819" height="1184" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0770.jpg" width="1776"><img alt="" class="wp-image-8822 size-full" height="1184" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1776"><img alt="" class="wp-image-8822 size-full" height="1184" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0771.jpg" width="1776"><img alt="uniqlo ut shonen jump 50th anniversary" class="wp-image-8815 size-full" height="1184" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" width="1776"><img alt="uniqlo ut shonen jump 50th anniversary" class="wp-image-8815 size-full" height="1184" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0772.jpg" width="1776">Isn’t that an awesome Tee? There love for details went into this. Normally I don’t wear shirts with prints. Or let’s say I very rarely do. But I just couldn’t resist buying these two.Uniqlo even made a short promotional video for the collection. Just have a look:What are your opinions? Already picked up something from the Uniqlo UT line or are you planning to do so? Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about the graphics.</div>

These T-shirts are a must for every manga fan

You may know by now that I’m, not the biggest fan of recent Shonen JUMP releases but there is still a very big, warm spot inside my heart fo...

A Japanese hostel that looks like a manga store

<div>Book and Bed is the Japanese dream hostel for every manga and book aficionado. With locations in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Fukuoka you can sleep behind a wall of comics and choose from hundreds of various titles. The actual sleeping cabins are behind the bookshelves and are available in two different sizes.The standard size measures a cozy 110x220cm, the compact size (which is just a tad cheaper) is even smaller and will grant you 85x220cm. If sleeping behind books isn’t quite your thing you can choose a “room” with a river view as well (in the Kyoto location at least). Surprisingly without a price difference and pictures. Really intrigued how this “river view” looks like so if anybody has already been to a <a href="http://bookandbedtokyo.com">Book and Bed</a>, please share your experiences.The Tokyo locations are located in Ikebukuro, Asakusa, and Shinjuku. A busy district with lots of business hotels and places to shop. It wasn’t exactly my favorite part of the city but it never hurts to try out a novelty. The rates for the standard room are 4,800¥ and 3,800¥ for the compact one.If you’re actually looking for a cheap place to stay I only heard good things about <a href="http://www.juyoh.co.jp/en-us/#rates">Juyoh</a>. Very affordable rates and it has a family like atmosphere to it. But with the drawback that it’s not exactly in the heart of the city.If you want to experience a city as closely and authentic as possible I can personally recommend staying with a guest family. Price wise it should be on par with a cheap hostel but with the chance to actually live with a Japanese family. An experience no Hotel can provide. Of course, you have to be open towards living pretty closely with people you never met before. But if you don’t need an especially relaxing vacation with lots of privacy you should definitely think about it.I stayed with a host family for nearly four weeks myself. Lovely people with a cozy home in Gakugeidaigaku. Just a few stations away from lovely Nakameguro, Shibuya or Harajuku. When the time finally comes for me and I can travel to Japan again that would be the area where I wanted to be located. A calm residential area with few tourists and the feeling that only locals are frequenting the surrounding bars and shops.But I’m getting adrift here. The Book and Bed location in Kyoto looks absolutely stunning and I really would love to go for a Book and Beer now.<img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8758" height="1509" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8758" height="1509" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0749.jpg" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8760 size-full" height="1483" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8760 size-full" height="1483" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0748.jpg" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8759 size-full" height="1483" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8759 size-full" height="1483" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0747.jpg" title="" width="2224">Each hotel is designed similarly but let’s have a look at the Ikebukuro location nonetheless. There are actually quite a lot of non-Japanese booms on the shelves and even the website has an English option. Which makes me guess that they really want to cater to the International traveler.Have a look at the tasteful bath. The brown apothecary soap dispensers give a very Aesop like look which fits great inside this environment.<img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8764 size-full" height="1483" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8764 size-full" height="1483" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0750.jpg" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8761" height="1483" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8761" height="1483" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0751.jpg" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8762 size-full" height="1482" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-8762 size-full" height="1482" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0752.jpg" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8763" height="1482" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=" title="" width="2224"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8763" height="1482" src="https://www.japanesetease.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/img_0753.jpg" title="" width="2224">All pictures with permission by <a href="http://bookandbedtokyo.com">Book and Bed</a></div>

A Japanese hostel that looks like a manga store

Book and Bed is the Japanese dream hostel for every manga and book aficionado. With locations in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Fukuoka you can sleep beh...

Japanese Hobby

quality bags made in Japan

TRY! a JLPT grammar guide series

These T-shirts are a must for every manga fan

A Japanese hostel that looks like a manga store

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