The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Heading to Taichung? Some might prefer to stay near Fengjia, but we think it’s more convenient to stay near Taichung train station. In this way, we can walk to the train station with our luggage after we check out. And for Fengjia, we had a …
Are you thinking of where to stay in Taipei? I would recommend you to stay near Taipei Main Station. It’s a convenient location with easy access to Taipei’s transportation network of trains, subways (including airport subway) and buses. There’s a popular recommendation, CityInn Hotel – Taipei Station …
Other than the numerous facial care and makeup products, there are many other hair and body products to buy in Japan’s Drugstores. With so many choices, it’s useful to research the popular items people are getting. It will help you to refine your to-buy list. Moreover, I armed myself with local (Singapore) prices for comparison while in Japan, just in case it’s cheaper locally. You never know!
Before you read on, you might want to know that www.cosme.net is Japan’s largest and highly influential beauty community site. The website has many beauty product reviews, and it holds a grand ranking every year. If any beauty product is ranked #1 on Cosme, the product will usually state it on its packaging to show how recommended it is.
*Prices stated in this post are the prices (including tax) at the time I bought from the respective drugstore in Japan. The prices might have changed since then, or vary from drugstore to drugstore.
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We were going to ski at Niskeo, and the pure white snow would reflect and multiply the strength of the UV rays when we were out. Hence, it’s important to slather ourselves with sunscreen and wear sunglasses (find out what to wear for skiing).
We decided to get our sunscreen from Japan’s drugstores, since they carry a few highly raved sunscreens. One of them is Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF 50+ PA++++ (90ml/90g). And it’s only ¥780 (S$9.80) in Japan, almost half the retail price in Singapore.
It’s highly raved because unlike most other sunscreens, which are sticky, greasy and thick, the texture of this sunscreen is lightweight, watery and non-sticky. It is easily absorbed by the skin as well! I like how the non-greasy milky lotion spreads well on my skin, making it easy to apply. It’s good for the face and body and applies well under makeup. No parabens, but it does contain alcohol.
Don’t mistake this bottle with ‘Watery Essence’, it’s similar in bottle colour, except it is smaller in size and has the opening cap at the bottom. Watery Gel is slightly runnier but more hydrating than Watery Essence.
Product Info: www.kao.com/sg/biore/bio_aquarich_waterygel_00.html
Klook.comOther sunscreens for your consideration:
Cow Beauty Soap is a popular long-time brand that’s produced in Japan. The soap uses milk and milk fat as its main ingredients. The blue packaging has a jasmine scent, while the red packaging has a rose scent. It claims to moisturise and whiten the skin while eliminating body odours and ageing fine lines.
Even as a highly recommended product to buy in Japan’s drugstores, it was hard to find. We finally got our hands on it at a drugstore that’s not in the usual tourist spots. It was only sold in a set of three, and we got the set for only ¥230 (S$2.90).
I didn’t use it, but according to this blog, it feels smooth, silky and luxurious. It will melt on contact with water and flow off your body like fresh milk. The fragrance is subtle and lasts all day. And after a few weeks, the skin felt baby smooth, but there were NO whitening effects.
Product Website: www.cow-soap.co.jp/web/english/products
I’ve bought and used MegRhythm Steam Eye Mask before my Japan trip, and I love it! Good to use when I’m having a headache or when I want to rest my eyes. The heat and fragrance it emits help me relax. Except that the steam effect is only for 10 minutes, and not long enough.
Anyway, I got this in Japan’s drugstore because it’s cheaper than in Singapore: ¥880 (S$11) for 14 pieces compared to S$6.50 for 5 pieces in Singapore. Even though they have 4 scents: lavender-sage, chamomile-ginger, yuzu and fresh rose, only lavender-sage was available in the drugstores while I’m in Japan.
Product Information: www.kao.com/sg/products/megrhythm
I was looking for a hair care product for my fizzy dry hair and came across this ‘must-buy’. Oshima Tsubaki Oil is a Japanese product that has been around for years. Oshima is the most well-known Japanese company to make Tsubaki oil (Japanese for Camellia flower). And in fact, there is a very small island in Japan, named Oshima, that’s renowned for the Camellia flower.
The oil is now widely used for hair and scalp, but it’s actually a multi-purpose oil. However, I think it’s only more suitable to use on the skin during cold and dry weather; otherwise, it can be quite oily.
Use a few drops on damp, freshly washed hair and let it dry or blow-dry it. I can’t say I like it much, but I don’t mind continuing to use it until someone recommends a better product. However, it can be a little greasy for people who don’t have dry hair like me. Probably a product more suitable for dry weather instead of hot and humid Singapore. If you want to try, you can get it at a Japanese drugstore for
¥1,278 (S$16).
Other must-haves for a dry winter trip are body lotion and lip balm! Japan is famous for having moisturising products made from horse oil. One of the more popular but expensive brands is Son Bahyu (the pink box in the photo below). It costs ¥1,380 (S$17.30) for a jar as compared to the ¥398 (S$5) Loshi Horse Oil (the yellow plastic tub on the left).
Horse oil’s benefits:
Tip: Store away from direct sunlight, heat and moisture. Store in the fridge for long-term use.
We were looking for Son Bahyu, but it was out of stock in most of the drugstores. We finally found it in one store, and it only has the pink box type (moisturising cream). Moreover, the boxes were all shelved behind the cashier and so you wouldn’t be able to find them unless you ask the shop assistant. On the other hand, you can easily see the Loshi Horse Oil everywhere on open shelves.
I haven’t used the Son Bahyu product yet, but considering the price, it most probably will go towards my face instead of the whole body! Anyway, Son Bahyu has a wider product range than we can find in the drugstores, so it all depends on your luck. Other than the moisturising cream, we had wanted to get Son Bahyu No.7. It’s made in Japan from 100% horse oil, using the heaviest components of horse oil. A supposedly superior face product.
As for Loshi Horse Oil, we opened and used it when we were touring around Hokkaido during the dry winter. It’s really moisturising for my skin! So I slathered over my whole body, face and lips. Usually, the areas around my lips would get super dry and uncomfortable in dry winter, but with the horse oil, I’ve no such problem! So I got the Loshi’s lip balm at ¥500 (S$6.30) as well.
And while we’re at it, don’t buy your lip balm in Singapore, but when you are in Japan. They have a few quality lip balms at an affordable price in their drugstores. I wanted to get Curel Moisture Lip Care Cream and DHC Lip Cream. Since I got the horse oil lip balm, I gave up Curel and just bought DHC Lip Cream at ¥599 (S$5.90). Just so you know, DHC Lip Cream sells for S$12.75 after discount in Singapore.
If horse oil doesn’t work, or your skin is dry until it itches, you can consider Mentholatum AD Cream. It contains 2 anti-itching ingredients to moisturise deep into your skin and relieve itching due to dryness or eczema and other skin itches. It comes in a blue and white package.
What other hair and body products in Japan’s Drugstore would you recommend? :) Let me know in the comment box below. For more tips for your Japan trip, bookmark this page: Overview Itinerary – Hokkaido and Tokyo (Winter/Spring 2016).
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
There’s a vast collection of beauty products, including makeup products, in Japan’s drugstores. With so many choices, and me being a noob, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s grabbing. I also armed myself with local prices to compare when in Japan, just …
Updated on 15 July 2018 There’s a vast collection of beauty products in Japan’s Drugstores, be it for body, hair or face. With so many choices, and me being a noob to Japanese beauty products, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s …
You can find many types of over-the-counter (“OTC”) medicines in Japan’s drugstores. I’m surprised by the variety, and quite a few of them have highly raved reviews online. However, with everything written in Japanese, you wouldn’t know what medicine to buy unless you did prior research.
Moreover, the boxes’ instructions and precautions are all in Japanese, so I did a bit of digging to make sure I’m not putting my body in danger. To help you, I’ve listed the items I’ve bought based on online reviews, along with their instructions and precautions in English.
*Prices stated in this post are the prices (including tax) at the time I bought from the respective drugstore in Japan. The prices might have changed since then, or vary from drugstore to drugstore.
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Disclaimer: This website does not provide medical advice nor purports to do so. The contents of this website are meant purely for informational and educational purposes only, and it is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or professional care. If you have or suspect you have a health problem, you should consult a doctor or a qualified healthcare provider. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
Price: ¥1,780 (S$22.40)
Purpose: For constipation, loose stools, indigestion, bloating, and people with stomach and intestines issues. etc. Also for people who require nutritional support for physical exhaustion, during and after illness, and before and after childbirth.
Instructions: 9 tablets per time for people above 15 years old, 3 times a day after meals. The tablets decrease with age.
Verdict: It works for indigestion, but I wasn’t comfortable eating 9 pills at one time. And perhaps that’s why they made the taste nice, it reminded me of Horlicks.
For more about the product, visit www.wakamoto-pharm.co.jp/english/product/index.html
P.S. Other highly raved products to ease constipation are these products by Taisho, www.taisho.co.jp/colac/menu01.html – from the light purple box for first-timers of laxative to the pink box for chronic constipation. Google Translate the webpage to get an idea. I couldn’t find this while I was there, so can’t comment much.
Price: ¥665 (S$8.40)
Purpose: Painkiller for all sorts of pain – period cramps, headache, toothache, sore throat, joint pain, muscular aches, nerve pain, backache, stiff shoulders, ear pain, etc. It also reduces chills and fever.
Product: There are 4 types of Eve –
Instructions: 2 tablets per time for people above 15 years old. Not suitable for those below 15. If possible, avoid taking on an empty stomach. Drink water with each dose.
Verdict: EVE A didn’t really help with my menstrual cramps, but I should have known better and gotten the EVE A EX, because mine was quite a severe case. However, my mum, who had frequent headaches, said that this was effective and good.
For more information, visit: www.ssp.co.jp/eve/en
Price: ¥1,556 (S$19.60)
Purpose: Relieve cold symptoms (cough, phlegm, sore throat, sneezing, watery nose, blocked nose, chills, fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain)
Instructions: 1 whole packet per time for people above 15 years old, dosage decreases with age. To be taken within 30 minutes after a meal.
Verdict: It works for my hubby, but note that it’s a bitter medicine in powder form. So, swallow all at once and drink some water. Think it’s even more effective to take this when you have early symptoms of a cold than when the cold has worsened.
Price: ¥550 (S$6.90)
Product: Each box contains 3 sachets. And in each sachet, there are 6 gel sheets.
Purpose: Refresh your tired legs after long hours of standing, wearing high heels or doing sports. According to their website, this pad cools your legs through the vaporisation of water and adheres firmly to the leg until the next morning, but is still gentle on your skin. Five fragrances are available: lavender, common sage, rosmarinus, lemon and orange.
Instructions:
Verdict: I would have bought the Lavender fragrance, but there was only Orange left at the store where we shopped. I bought only one box, and therefore, to avoid wasting the sheets, I cut some of them in half for small areas. Btw, the effect was really icy cool!
For more about the product, visit www.lioncorp.com.sg/Kyusoku%20Jikan/kyusoku-jikan.html
Price: ¥880 (S$11.00)
Purpose: For shoulder aches, back aches, bruises, sprains, pain in joints, muscular pain, muscle fatigue, chilblains, and pains caused by bone fractures.
Instructions:
Verdict:
The patches come in different sizes, but we got the smallest size because the bigger it is, the fewer pieces you have in a box. When I first used it, I didn’t feel a thing. It was after a while that I could feel the burning sensation, and that probably lasted only for 1-2 hours. Somehow, I still prefer my yoko yoko, because I can choose to apply to areas as large as I wish.
Do note that the warning about the shower is true. I peeled it off only before I showered, and I felt the burning sensation intensified. However, if I put it overnight and peel it off just before a shower, there’s no such burning sensation.
Visit www.nichiban.co.jp/en/products/otc/analgesic/roihi-tsuboko.html for product information.
What other OTC Medicine in Japan’s Drugstore would you recommend? :) Let me know in the comment box below. For more tips for your Japan trip, bookmark this page: Overview Itinerary – Hokkaido and Tokyo (Winter/Spring 2016).
Looking for more tips on travel, home, and baby? Subscribe to my mailing list and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! If you like what you read here, keep it going with small support. :)
Disclaimer: JoogoStyle and Christina accept no liability (whether in tort or contract or otherwise) for any loss or damage arising from any use, misuse, inaccuracy or omission of the information or other contents published on this website.
You should never skip a visit to the drugstores in Japan. It’s where you can find a vast collection of Japanese beauty products at a “bargain”– your cosmetics, facial care, body care, etc. Not only that, you can also find effective over-the-counter (“OTC”) medicine, household products, …
On our way back to Shinjuku from Doraemon Museum, we passed by Shimokitazawa, commonly known as Shimokita. It’s only a few stops away from Shinjuku station. Located at the western part of Tokyo, Shimokita is a small hipster town that’s popular among the young crowd. It’s comparably smaller …