A kiwi girl (and mum of two) navigating life in Osaka Japan. I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with my japanese husband and kids in this amazing country!
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Another free afternoon, so we went to the park
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And here are the pics to prove it...
Trying to get a better look at the girl on the monkey bars
Dear Fran Japani, I am sure I speak on behalf of lots of readers, we miss you. Hope you had a Happy Christmas and wishing you a very Happy New Year. With best wishes.
My chanchanko (ちゃんちゃんこ)is the answer to all my winter prayers!! Basically it is a big coat filled with cotton wool or feathers designed to be worn indoors. They are very warm, but are quite possibly the most unflattering piece of clothing ever invented, and that is probably one of the reasons why they are mostly worn by the elderly and the very very young.
I have decided to promote the ちゃんちゃんこ because they are a great way to stay warm and be comfortable, save on electricity and heating costs and be environmentally friendly all winter long! For less than $20!!
* not surprisingly they are made for cats and dogs too!
Despite the shocked reactions of all my students when I tell them that I bought one of these (sounding something like `Oh, yeah, I had one of those when I was a kid` or `Oh, yeah, my grandmother wears one of those` or `Really, hehehehehehe, you are so japanese!`), I continue to wear mine every morning (indoors only!) and my cats love it too...
This time around I felt like I started showing much sooner, or perhaps because I was starting to show in summer (when clothes are a bit more revealing), I began to wear proper `maternity clothes` sooner too.
I stocked up on the basics (a pair of maternity jeans, and 3-4 short sleeved maternity t-shirts) at H and M which has a maternity section in their Shinsaibashi store, as well as a good selection online (here).
I also kept wearing my maxi skirts, so didn`t have to buy much more until the cooler weather hit! In Autumn, I bought a couple of long sleeved tops and some maternity tights/leggings on sale at H and M, some supportive maternity underwear from Wacoal and Nishimatsuya, and a cute long sleeved sweatshirt on Etsy (here).
I`ve been wearing my long cardigans (coat-igans?) from last season too, which look great with the bump!
Some other places to buy maternity clothes in Osaka (and perhaps in other parts of Japan are listed below), happy shopping! Here goes...
I have had a few emails asking about places to buy babies` clothing in Osaka, so I thought I would start compiling a list.
Shops Akachan Hompo (store finder here - japanese only) Nishimatsuya Toys R Us / Babies R Us (store finder here - in english!!) Next (3F of Namba Parks) Mamas and Papas (found in Aura - 5F of Namba Parks) Zara (the Lalaport Koshien, Qs Mall, and the smaller store in Shinsaibashi are the only ones with kids clothes). H&M (the Lalaport Koshien store is the only one with kids clothes). Muji (store finder here - japanese only) GAP (store finder here - japanese only)
Online shops Zara Japan (english) Next Japan (english) Akasugu (japanese only) Lemoir (japanese only) Akachan hompo (japanese only) Rakuten (english) Amazon (english) Mamas and Papas (Rakuten store here) GAP Japan (japanese only)
Do you have any other favorite stores that we can add to the lis…
A very handsome boy! And it looks like he really enjoys playing outside. :)
ReplyDeleteDear Fran Japani, I am sure I speak on behalf of lots of readers, we miss you. Hope you had a Happy Christmas and wishing you a very Happy New Year. With best wishes.
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