There is a saying of “your purse tells it all”. Which means thing you put inside your purse and the way you organize it reflects you. Today we will look into the purse of a typical working woman in Japan, let’s see what she has got!
What’s Inside My Working Purse?
Today, I would like to show what I usually bring with me. This is the purse that I bring to work, my aunt gave it to me when I started to working years ago and I am still putting it into good use. It is from a brand called Kitamura, brand from Yokohama. Their bags are very durable as I have been using it for years, it simply never gets worn.
Here are the essentials inside my purse.
- Smartphone
- Schedule book
- Disposable masks
- Cosmetic porch
- Pencase
- Wallet
- Eco bag
- Business card case
- Mobile hotspot
- Little letter set
- Hair spray
- Folding umbrella
- Camera
Wallet
This is a Disney series Samantha Thavasa wallet that I bought with my first salary. As memorable as it is, it’s been years and the wallet is getting dirty but I also see it as a reminder of my first working days and most importantly, Walt Disney’s quote that encourages me all the time “If you can dream it, you can do it”.
Schedule Book
My schedule book is Jibun Techo (ジブン手帳：my book) from KOKUYO, a renowned Japanese stationary maker. I really like this schedule book and I have been using this same style of schedule book for years. The design is very simple- with both monthly and weekly calendars. Due to my work nature, I often need to go to several meetings within a day and it is important for me to write down every meeting or task each day. This schedule can be used as a planner as well as a diary.
Disposal Mask
Disposal mask is very important for people living in Tokyo not only during flu season or pollen season. For foreigner or tourist, it might be strange to see people wearing masks everywhere. Because I have to go on a lot of business trips, the chance of me being exposed to virus on trains or planes is quite high and wearing masks can greatly decrease the chance of me getting sick. As there is a saying, prevention is better than cure, right?
Letter and Envelope
As a Japanese, little hospitality is important sometimes. Whenever I want to write a “Thank you” letter to my clients or even co-workers, I would write a little letter to them. They are also handy to use as memo.
Camera
Camera is one of the important items for me. Because my job involves in many event & convention planning which I need to take a lot of pictures for reference and my smartphone camera does not offer enough functionality for my needs. Also, this camera allows me to synchronization my file through Wifi, so right after I took pictures I can send them to my smartphone.
Foldable Umbrella
I have this all-weather umbrella in my purse in all time since weather in Japan is often unpredictable so it is always handy to have one ready in your purse. It is also a great item to have for sunblock since I don’t want to get tanned.
Name Card Holder
When it comes to unique business practices here in Japan. Name card exchange is should probably come first in your mind. Pretty much everyone has their name card holder in their purse or business bag at all time.
This is my cosmetic bag or sometimes I call it the “everything” porch. Because I don’t usually touch up my makeup a lot when I am outside, so there aren’t that much cosmetic inside this porch. It has deodorant spray, lipsticks, eye drops, plasters, cough drops, sewing set, external battery charger… etc.
And there it is, a report of what’s inside my purse. Hopefully it will give you some idea of what a typical ladies’ purse would look like here in Japan. They are nothing fancy about it but it did its job perfectly carrying and providing things that fulfills my need.
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