Shopping Day

Wednesday was shopping day!

I worked in the morning, while the kids did their homework. After lunch, we hit the mall. I bought Amy and Lena a 'rash guard' each. That always seems like such a dumb word for it when we don't use them for surfing, but for sun protection. Both of them were fine with going brown last year, but Amy decided on her own that she didn't want to tan this year, and Lena was TOLD by her 'Idol Class' teacher to choose either an all-over tan, or none at all! Luckily the trend for what I prefer to call 'swimming tops' is catching on here, and there were some cute ones this year. Amy's has Winnie the Pooh on it. Cute never goes out of fashion in Japan. Lena's is pink with mesh panels in the back and under the arms, which looks really cool, but is maybe a bit loose for proper swimming.

And I bought a parasol! Right now, despite the ozone layer and melanoma rates, NZers will be thinking I am certifiably bonkers. But dammit, it's very convenient carrying your shade with you! I have to walk to the train on Tuesday, and then from the station to the factory I teach at in another town, and it's DAMN hot! I've been using umbrellas, but I decided I wanted a real parasol with a lining to reduce heat and cut UV rays. It's black, and I managed to find one without lace trimmings, just a subtle damask-style rose pattern, black on black.

We also bought face powder - Chacott. Stage make-up, I know, they even had a pure white one, but it was only ¥1200. This was after the girls and I spent a good ten minutes drawing lines all over my face of different Revlon powders, only to find that my chosen shade was sold out. That tells you something about the goal of make-up in Japan - it's for whitening here, not blending in, so while I clearly have lighter skin, it's *my* shade that's sold out!

We also got some toiletries, the yummiest cheese and bacon bread ever at the Jusco supermarket bakery, a water gun for Erica, a t-shirt and summer cardy combo for Amy (she bought it), stuff for the cats and ice creams for us all. We stopped by Shimamura on the way home, where Lena got a top and shorts, and Amy got a gorgeous dress, and I got floral jeans, a peasant top and a maxi dress with a string top to go over it. Amy, Lena and I all happily tried on clothes for an hour, while Erica played hide and seek with her new bestfriendsforever that she met five minutes before.

Ahhh... shopping with the girls!