Hyakuen shop Saizen will be holding a month-long wipe out sale at all of its branches: the flagship Robinsons Galleria branch, the second store at Marquee Mall, and its newest outlet at Trinoma. The sale starts the 1st of August and ends 31st of August 2010.

Hyakuen shops are Japanese discount dry goods stores that sell everything from kitchenwares and travel accessories to crafting items and toiletries, all at one price: 100 yen (hence the name, hyakuen). In Japan the largest chain is run by Daiso. Saizen is the official licensed Philippine store chain of the Daiso group.

Saizen is an authentic hyakuen shop, offering the same wares available in their stores in Japan and all over the world. They also stuck to the Japanese principle of offering all merchandise at just one price. Everything in the store no matter how miniscule or how large, is just PhP 85. And with the month-long sale, prices are even lower!

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Polaroid delivers on promises to make its signature instant photography cameras available to the market again, but not in the way most people had imagined.

Instead of coming up with cheaper, more readily-available film or producing newer versions of its classic cameras, Polaroid has instead partnered with rival Fuji to rebrand and re-release Instax products bearing the Polaroid name.

The new Polaroid 300 is almost identical to the Instax 7 series from Japan, with the only differences being cosmetic in nature. The 300 bears Polaroid’s badge instead of Fuji’s, and comes in three new colors not available with the Japanese maker.

The film stock is also identical — the 300 uses refills of ten credit card-sized prints housed in an easy loading cartridge. There is no official word yet if Fuji Instax Mini refills can be used with the Polaroid 300, but with the way both cameras are set up I won’t be too surprised if they are interchangeable.

Personally, given how much I love both my Polaroid and my Instax cameras I am quite upset with the way things have turned out. I’ve been hoping that Polaroid reconsider their stand on film production and start selling their iconic square refills again. Instead, what they gave us is poorly disguised Instax Mini, never mind that Fuji already has its own band of followers and enthusiasts separate from the Polaroid tribe.

POLAROID I AM DISAPPOINT >:( This goes to Fuji as well for agreeing to go along with this farce. I’m going to sulk in my corner now.

Thanks to fellow Instax enthusiast Shabby for the heads-up.

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• 21 October 2009 — Getting a Japan Tourist Visa: An FAQ for Filipinos
• 4 May 2009 — Saizen (Daiso) Authentic Japanese Hyakuen Shop Opens in Robinsons Galleria
• 30 December 2009 — How to Spot Fake Mix-Style Headphones

Full Metal Panic songstress and Japanese celebrity Shimokawa Mikuni is coming to Singapore! Shimokawa — alongside her band, will be performing this 22nd August 2010 at Movida, St. James Power Station.

Shimokawa Mikuni is best known for being the voice behind anime themes Tomorrow, Sore Ga Ai Deshou, and Minamikaze. Aside from being a well-loved vocalist, she is also a talented pianist and songwriter.

Her ASIAN LOVERS Tour 2010 “Replay” will take her to South Korea (14th August 2010), Hong Kong (20th August 2010), and finally to Singapore (22nd August 2010).

Doors open at 5:30 PM, concert starts at 6:00 PM. Ticketing information will be released soon via Facebook. You can also visit the official Movida website at http://www.stjamespowerstation.com/.

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Manila’s cosplay scene is home to hundreds of cosplayers, with varied skill sets, resources, and interests. But every once in a while, we get a truly unique individual who not only does her best, but does her best in a way that is distinct from all others. Monique, also known as Midori, is one of these special talents. She specializes in the portrayals of Geiko and Maiko — traditional Japanese beauties who are masters in song, dance, and conversation.

Her appearances at local events in full Geiko garb has drawn crowds of admirers and photographers, and even landed her in the pages of Danny Choo’s Otacool 2: Worldwide Cosplayers. She has likewise been tapped by SEA anime channel Animax to become one of their Youth Council members. She is also an avid reader of magnetic-rose.net, and you can usually find her in the comments section of several threads.

Midori takes time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions.

When and how did you start portraying Geiko/Maiko?

When I took my first tentative steps to cosplay, I started to wonder what I should cosplay as. I didn’t want to do a character that hundreds of people have already done (and better), so I tried to just look at my resources and what I really thought I could portray as best as I can with what little I had. I was watching the Discovery Channel when their documentary “Geisha Girl” came on, and it was the second time I’d seen it. After watching it, I decided, “This. I want to do this. I want to grow just like her. I think I’ll become a geiko.” So with help from my auntie, who used to be a Japanese consul, and my mom who is fabulous with makeup, I started to portray geiko.

For you, what is the best thing about specializing in their portrayal?

I think the best part of it is when people started identifying me with the character. I don’t really know how many geisha have appeared in conventions before (I was really new at this, and still am, I believe), but when I decided to primarily portray geiko and other traditional-styled characters, I was really surprised that people just kept calling me, “Hey Miss Geisha!” or “Hi, geisha girl!” as though I were the only one. And to me, because I’m still light years away from those actual beautiful women in Kyoto, that just really warmed my heart and inspired me to just work so much harder as a geiko. Because now people were expecting it of me. I want to do my best in it, and I feel like although my progress is slow, I’m growing.

Which outfit was your favorite?

During Toycon, I was very very fortunate enough to wear an entirely authentic outfit. It was just lent to me for that one time, but it was absolutely beautiful. It was an actual wedding uchikake (and my kimono dresser told me that it cost thousands of dollars) and I was all but afraid to move in it for fear of damaging it in any way. All of it, including my obi-jime, obi-age, the obi, the houmongi I wore under the uchikake, even the fur wrap around my shoulders were straight from Japan, lent kindly by a former geiko and atotori, Michiko-san (my dresser’s aunt). Although the thought of getting it damaged in any way was paralyzing, I just adored this outfit. And because it was lent by a former geiko, I felt as though I were being lent her time as a real geiko for just a moment.

What is the hardest part about this type of specialized cosplay? How have you dealt with any problems?

I think my specialization is a double edged sword. I may have done a bit better than some others who did, but my problem is that everything I lack compared against what an actual geiko looks like is glaringly obvious. I myself am not content with my portrayal–I lack many necessary features and details necessary to be a “real” geiko portrayal. So whenever somebody gives me a compliment or anything, I thank them very profusely and just resolve to work harder and do better in the future. My chief problem would have to be lack of resources in terms of getting the necessary parts of an outfit. Even for Kyoto geiko, everything is incredibly expensive. So I just do my best with what I have now.

What advise would you give to others who aspire to do Geiko/Maiko portrayals as well?

I don’t believe I have the right to give advice yet, also still progressing in what I do, but I would tell them to put their heart in it. It’s easy to think, “Oh, I’ll do that!” and then begin, but once you get to the starting point and learn all about these geiko and see what they’re like, it’s immediately incredibly daunting. If they really want to be as like geiko as possible, they can’t give up. They have to do whatever they could to reach that ideal. It doesn’t have to be instant. All that matters is that you’re willing to do what it takes to get there eventually, to become as “real” a geiko as possible.

Monique / Midori divides her time between perfecting her skills and covering events as an Animax Youth Council member. You can visit read up on her latest adventures on Animax Asia.

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The sudden closure of free forums host IPBFree due to alleged Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations, has also unfortunately taken down Otakai Figure Society — a message board for Filipino collectors of Japanese toys and figures.

But there is good news for Otakai members — the group has now moved to its own domain and servers. Otakai is now located at otakaifiguresociety.org. The forums are currently in beta stage as the moderators try to rebuild the forums from the ground up. If you were a member of Otakai at the IPBFree boards, please sign up again to posting at the new Otakai. See you guys there!

Popular Posts

• 17 April 2009 — Tips on Obtaining a Japan Tourist Visa
• 21 May 2009 — Tips on Dealing with Customs and Duties on Japanese Import Toys and DVDs in Manila
• 21 October 2009 — Getting a Japan Tourist Visa: An FAQ for Filipinos
• 4 May 2009 — Saizen (Daiso) Authentic Japanese Hyakuen Shop Opens in Robinsons Galleria
• 30 December 2009 — How to Spot Fake Mix-Style Headphones