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Guys who use man bags (a.k.a. “murse”) are hot. Well, I don’t like to use the word “hot”, but they are VERY attractive. I find guys who use man bags to be very intriguing. I can’t exactly explain this attraction. It is what it is.
However, not all guys who use bags are attractive. For example: no generic PC bags from the mall, no backpacks, no book bags, no bike-messenger bags, & no pretentious metal briefcases. I like guys who use small bags, or technical waist pouches (which are NOT to be confused with a fanny pack). These are also bag types that men use which I find attractive: leather tote bag, small postal bag or satchel, a business-casual or slim laptop bag, a soft leather briefcase, or anything else that looks technical. I like it when a guy uses his bag naturally, with comfort & ease. I don’t like guys who use bags as a fashion accessory just because it’s the trend of the moment. It just has to be natural, simple & functional.
I know there are many guys who think using any type of bag, other than for school/work or grocery shopping, is not cool or acceptable in any way. To those men, using a bag to carry your non-business/non-school related items is just such an overly feminine gesture, & it’s rather demeaning for males to do such a thing. But those guys are just too chicken to explore & to dare themselves to do something out of the ordinary. Plus, that just makes you so blind to our modern society….where everything is pretty much UNI-SEX, & the Uni-Sex style is a hot trend right now. Besides, it’s not like you’re being asked to wear skirts (no offense to Scottish kilts) and/or makeup (no offense to Goths & Emo kids). Guys who use man bags are AWE-SOME…& it’s not cool when your pants pockets are puffing out & bulging with your personal effects (i.e. junk).
Not very many guys carry a lot of stuff in our Western society. Most guys only carry their slim smart-phone, slim wallet, and a basic set of keys. However, there are more & more guys popping up who like to carry: a notebook (for random notes or doodling), a book (to read on a bus or train), or an mp3 player…something more than just your average phone/wallet/keys. It’s not cool when you try to stuff everything in your pockets (even if you are wearing cargo pants). Nowadays, more & more guys are carrying laptops, tablets and/or eReaders. Hey, practically every guy in Asia uses a man bag…even kids as young as 10 years old use them. It’s just so common. To me, when I see a guy carrying a man bag, I find it very normal (& pretty damn sexy). It’s no different than lugging around your book bag when you were in college. It also goes along with the whole “Metrosexual” trend that’s extremely popular these days.
So to all you men out there…go get yourself a bag, baby!
Some examples:
source: TokyoFashion.com
source: TokyoFashion.com
source: TokyoFashion.com
source: TokyoFashion.com
So, back in 2008 my fiancee & I visited Japan again during the Summer time. We met up with our dear old friend Yukie…which she introduced us to an old schoolmate friend of hers. This guy’s name was Yutaka. He’s a really cool, chill guy. We hung out & had a few drinks together. Well, the funny thing is…by the end of the night, we were all soooo tipsy that my fiancee kept mispronouncing his name & calling him ‘Yukata‘.
Side note: for those of you who don’t know what a “yukata” is:
A light-weight cotton kimono worn primarily in the Summer time; worn by both men, women & children alike. Yukata are mainly worn during festivals & holidays.
Anyway…Yutaka was cool about it & kept correcting my fiancee. “It’s not Yukata, it’s Yu-Ta-Ka”. Needless to say, everyone was cracking up at this incident.
You know, if you’re going to mis-pronounce a name like Yutaka… don’t call him a “summer kimono”. Wouldn’t it be better to say “Yokatta” (which means “What a relief!” / “I’m so happy!”)? At least if you mis-pronounce his name & call him ‘Yokatta’, it will sound like you are happy to see him.
The last time I visited Japan was in December 2010, with my fiancee & my friends. These are some of the fun things I learned from my trip. Enjoy.
1. When you go to a cafe & sit outside and/or next to the window, you will be given a blanket to keep your lap/legs warm (only during Winter season).
2. Most restaurants/cafes have a designated basket with a cloth cover at each dining table. When you are seated, you can put your purse and/or shopping bags in the basket to keep your bags clear from the aisles & to keep them from getting dirty.
3. Hotel rooms will recycle your bed sheets & towels for 3 days unless you put the “change my sheets” card on your bed. This saves a lot on cleaning & water!
4. When it rains, all shops/stores will put a plastic cover on all of your shopping bags so they don’t get wet. (This is the one thing I wish our stores had in the U.S.)
5. Dudes are paid to drive big trucks with giant billboards around town while blaring the most annoying KPop music by the popular Korean boy band 2PM. (Do you notice that I don’t like the band 2PM?)
6. During Christmas time, even though you are overseas, you will NOT escape Western Christmas music…You will hear it EVERYWHERE. You will also hear “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” & Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” about 50 times a day, while not really sure if the locals even know what the lyrics mean.
7. If you go shopping at a major department store, the sales people will try to sell you everything & anything. They are insanely pushy, but polite as hell about it.
8a. I love the clothing brand A Bathing Ape, & I’ve noticed that ALL sales staff at every single Tokyo region Bathing Ape (a.k.a. BAPE) store are friendly & cool. Although they can’t speak much English, they can understand it & try to speak it to make you feel welcome. (I have also found that the sales staff at the BAPE stores in NY & L.A.(which is now closed) are also friendly/nice.)
8b. Every single time I go shopping at a Tokyo region Bathing Ape store with my fiancee, we will get special treatment, we will make friends with at least one sales clerk. I don’t understand this, but I guess my fiancee just appears to be outgoing & perhaps that is why others tend to gravitate toward him & can talk to him easily…even when there is a language barrier. (P.S. If you are ever in Shibuya, Tokyo….look up a guy named Saito at the BAPE store in Shibuya. He is one of the coolest store clerks I’ve ever met in Japan.)
9. You will see cheesy American restaurant chains all over Tokyo (eg. Outback, TGI Fridays, Denny’s, L&L Hawaiian BBQ, El Torito, Sizzler), but don’t expect crazy lines out the door. You will only find that mind-numbing queue at Eggs ‘N Things (which came from Hawaii). The whole Western food trend has come & gone already. (Plus, I’m a little biased & think that the Japanese spin on Western/American food tastes so much better than the way it’s cooked back home.)
10. You will hear Western Pop music everywhere compared to Japanese Pop music (which is not played nearly as much as Western Top 40/Pop). I couldn’t escape the songs “We R Who We R” by Ke$ha or “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz when I was in Tokyo.
11. The new latest invention in Japanese technology: Otohime. Every public bathroom stall will have a device that will make a running water sound for a more discreet bathroom experience. You just press the button on the device & it will make a flushing noise to mask the sounds. You can eve buy this in a handy pocket device for travel and/or public use.
12. Most public bathrooms will have a “regular” stall with squat-in-the-ground toilets or “Western” stalls with sit-down toilets. I thought this was pretty cool…that some rather old fashioned traditions still remain.
13. Fruits are not as expensive as you think they are. It’s not as if every grocery store in town will have that $40 watermelon you saw on reddit.com/ebaumsworld.com. Ok, so compared to American grocery store prices, they are pretty pricey ($6 for 2 apples). However, they are much more beautiful in color & shape, much more sweeter, & bigger in size compared to our U.S. market fruits. So, it’s almost like getting more fruit for your money. Plus, the only $40 fruits you will find are the organic ones, grown on some special farm, & comes in a fancy wrapped box that are supposed to be for gift giving. Those fruits you will find at super luxe department stores like Matsuzakaya or Mitsukoshi…or at fancy grocery stores that specifically sell organic goods.
Rabbits & Foxes 