旦ナビ

Refreshing in Ginza and discovering your new self

「Refreshing in Ginza and discovering your new self」

2020.02.03

In this volume we welcome Ms. Rie Horikawa, fifth-generation owner of Optican Iwasaki, established in 1895 (Meiji 28). Horikawa-san is naturally particular about her glasses, which she changes depending on where she will wear them. Therefore, she has twenty pairs of glasses, including sunglasses in her possession. Horikawa-san enjoys calligraphy, origami, and trying popular makeup during her free time. She will introduce to us three locations where she resets herself, out of the work mode and refreshed.

A cosmetics boutique where you can follow the makeup trends in a chic space

ALBION DRESSER Ginza Store is a cosmetics boutique launched by cosmetics brand ALBION under the concept, “Beauty, as you like”. The store carries skin care items and cosmetics from the lineups, Albion, Ignis, and Elegance, as well as selected beauty products perfect as gifts. It also hosts beauty workshops.

In the spacious store, shoppers are free to take each item into their hands and also receive counseling from a beauty attendant. According to Horikawa-san, “When we want to become a new me, we tend to want to purchase new cosmetic products. You cannot go wrong with their assistance. I always rely on their advice. Everyone likes the lipstick that I purchased recently and asks me, ‘Where did you get it?’”

Check out the must buys from Albion, famous for their base makeup items. In the front is their new foundation “Albion White Powderlesst” which will be released on February 17 and in the back is Albion Powderlesst (5,000 yen per set, excl. tax), which swept all the best cosmetics awards offered by major women’s magazines in 2019. I encourage you to experience the transparent shine and fine poreless finish that makes you forget that you are using powder.

On the second floor, you will find the Personal Dresser Space, where you can take your time to try all the items that you want sitting in front of a dresser. You can choose from “Makeup” (500yen /30 min., excl. tax) and “Skincare & Makeup” (1,000 yen / 45 min., excl. tax). Their workshops, which are held once or twice every month are also very popular. Every month, they offer different workshops introducing various tips on beauty, including skincare workshops in which new products can be enjoyed to the heart’s content, as well as workshops on color coordination and lifestyles. Don’t miss your chance of discovering your new self.

〈ALBION DRESSER Ginza Store〉
Address: 5-6-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3574-1313
Business hours: 11:30~20:30（19:30 on Sunday and holidays）
Open every day
http://www.albiondresser.com/storeblog/category/ginza

A change of pace by immersing in something that you can be passionate about!

“I become totally engrossed in these lessons and they help me clear my head,” says Horikawa-san, who is currently very passionate about calligraphy. Calligraphy is a traditional European technique to write the alphabet using a special pen. Many of our readers may have seen it on wedding invitations and place cards.

”I first took up calligraphy because wanted to write the welcome board of my own wedding and I started to take lessons here.” “Poron Collection Club” is a classroom that offers lessons in both Japanese and Western calligraphy. The room is filled with sunlight entering the room through the large window, which looks out to a green park in a quiet neighborhood.

”By asking them to arrange an intensive lesson schedule that would allow me to learn calligraphy in just one year, even a beginner like me was able to improve my skills. Thanks to the lessons I find myself sending more cards to my friends. I enjoy the time I spend concentrating on writing, thinking about the person who will receive the card. Calligraphy has enriched my life.”

Other than calligraphy classes, the classroom hosts practical Japanese calligraphy lessons in pen lettering and brush pen lettering that will surely be useful in business and daily life. Classes are given on different days of the week and many classes are held in the evening for the busiest people. Many students comment that taking lessons after busy work days actually makes them feel refreshed regardless of how tired they are. Calligraphy is a skill that once acquired can be useful throughout a person’s lifetime; and therefore, these lessons are highly recommended for adults.

・Calligraphy Class Master Course (Italic script lessons,, Gothic script lessons, uncial script lessons, copperplate script lessons, design lessons)　
Class offerings: new students welcome year round, from one lesson (120 minutes) per week
Lesson hours: 11:00～13:00 on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday; 14:00～16:00 on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday; 19:00~21:00 on Wednesday; 14:00~16:00 on Monday; 11:00~13:00 on Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday; etc.
Fees: Enrollment fee: 10,000 yen (upon entrance only); textbooks: 5,500 yen (first time only);lesson fees 3,300 yen/lesson (3-lesson ticket: 8,700 yen, valid for one month); tools: 1,342 yen〜 (depending on lesson)＊All prices include tax.

・Japanese Calligraphy Course/Practical Course
Class offerings: new students welcome year round, from one lesson (120 minutes) per week; 2-4 lessons (120 minutes) per month
Lesson hours: 11:00～13:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 14:00～16:00 on Friday and Sunday; 18:00~21:00 on weekdays
Fees: Enrollment fee: 10,000 yen (upon entrance only); lesson fees: 7,000〜 for two lessons per month; tool: around 2,500 yen＊all prices include tax

〈Poron Collection aClub〉
Address: 1-19-9 Ginza Misuzu Building, Chuo-ku, Tokyo,
Phone: 03-3567-0281
Business hours: 11:00~21:00 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday)
Closed on holidays
https://poron-club.com

A stationery store that stimulates the creative mind

A great stationery fan, Horikawa-san always stops by Ginza Itoya, a long-established stationery store founded in 1904. She enjoys checking out both the main store G.Itoya with the large red paperclip on its facade and the more niche K.Itoya.

Horikawa-san headed straight for the fourth floor of K.Itoya. The floor carries pencils, and coloring pencils, sketchbooks and other coloring items, as well as a wide variety of calligraphy pens, inks and pen tips, which Horikawa-san goes to find. “Pens manufactured by different brands have different characteristics, so it is very good that I can try writing with each one to find the one I feel most comfortable with.”

We then crossed the street from K.Itoya to our next destination, G.Itoya. Horikawa-san, who recently devotes much of her time to origami, took me to the eighth floor to see the CRAFT floor, where a collection of design paper from around the floor is displayed. “I started folding origami with my children, but it has now become a communication tool at the store. When I folded a “shuriken” for a foreign customer, he was delighted.”

If you like paper, you must also stop by the seventh floor, where beautiful and colorful western paper is sold . The sight of 1080 different types of paper sold displayed across the floor is overwhelming.

In the event space, the store is hosting an exhibition on paper titled “SIKI: enjoying the four seasons through stationery” until February 26. SIKI is a lineup of paper items that are made from carefully chosen paper of diverse colors and textures that come in eleven colors and three sizes (from 800 yen, excl. tax (size S)). You will be sure to lose track of time looking at the fascinating collection of paper items!a

〈Ginza Itoya Main Store（G.Itoya, K.Itoya）〉
Address: 2-7-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3561-831; CAFE Stylo 03-3567-1108
Store hours: 10:00~20:00(〜19:00 on Sunday and holidays); CAFE STYLO (12F) closes at 22:00
Open every day.
https://www.ito-ya.co.jp

写真・文　岡井美絹子