Shameless Purchases Post: New Glasses~

Inspired by the Surviving in Japan post, I decided to write about my new glasses!

Back in 9th grade, my geography/social studies teacher sat me at the back of the classroom in some sort of strange alphabetical order that did not make sense to me. I could see NOTHING written on the board and asked to be moved to the front to take notes, even for just a little while, and that bitch didn't even try to compromise. "I haven't learned your names yet so you can't move!" she told me. So I had to get glasses.

That was over 10 years ago! DAMN I AM OLD. I've had my current pair of glasses for about eight or nine years, partially because my eyesight hasn't gotten all that much worse but also because getting new glasses in America is a pain in the butt. That first pair was super mendokusai -  I had to make an appointment with the eye doctor, go down to the office, wait for someone to see me, do the eye exam, and then wait another week to get my glasses. And they make you pay for everything - the doctor's visit, the eye exam, the frames, the lenses, insurance. One pair can easily cost hundreds of dollars.

Not so in this wonderful country of Japan!

I went with a friend a while back to pick up his glasses and asked him about the entire process. He said he paid the sticker price, the eye exam was FREE, and he got his glasses the same day! I didn't believe him, but he convinced me when he took me back to get my own pairs~

Clear lightweight plastic, super snazzy!
9999yen~

More respectable brown spectacles!
7999yen~

Two brand new beautiful pairs of glasses! I walked into the shop, filled out a form (in Japanese, but it was only my name, phone number, and age), did the FREE eye exam (with a hiragana chart), and left in less than 3 hours with new glasses. All for less than $200, too! They're even insured for 6 months in case I accidentally gaijin smash them.

These J!NS shops are all over the place, every big mall or shopping area has one. I happened to go to the one in the Odakyu department store in Shinjuku and one of the clerks speaks enough English to get by. I don't know what the process is at other shops, but I assume it's about the same.

According to one of the commentors on the Surviving in Japan post, shops like J!NS have a stock of ready-made lenses they pop into different frames. It allows them to keep costs down but it also means their glasses aren't ideal for everyone. I don't have any eye conditions, I'm just a bit near-sighted and I can't drive without my contacts or glasses, so they're okay for me.

I don't have any complaints about the glasses, but I do notice they sit higher on my face than other pairs I've had. I'm really happy with the clear ones! I remember a classmate in high school had clear Dior glasses with crystals on the side, and while these are a cheap substitute they're pretty close to the ones she had. The brown ones are more ideal for wearing at work, although I'm not crazy about the floral pattern on the side.

I might go back and get another pair heh heh...