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It's funny how typical it is to have the article on what people carry in their bags. Nikkei Woman, a magazine for working women over 30s, titles the article as "A Survey of Bag Contents Among 1200 Working Women." Wow.

Even after seeing such articles for many times, it is still difficult for me to digest the message that they are trying to convey. One thing I've noticed, is that recent article tends to mention the very weight of what they carry (find the number right beneath the bag images). Perhaps this is for another reader like me, who is more confused of the quantity of information. It is for sure, that by looking at the weight, I can associate some people over the other.


The article also explains a few keywords:
- The default work bag should be A4-size. I find this very Japanese, the world of documents seem to somewhat define the size of women's bags.
- Popularity of second bags. They also made sure to cover secondary bags, and they were primarily for lunch breaks. It shows that the default bag is big, otherwise you don't need another bag.

The article was also accompanied by a ranking of what is carried by Japanese women. The essential items they carry are:

- wallet (98.4%),
- mobile phone (96.6%),
- handkerchief (92.8%),
- tissue papers (86.9%),
- cosmetics pouch (82.4%),
- day planner (79.6%),
- pass case (69.3%)

Considering the high ownership (carrying-ship?) of the cosmetics, gadget carrying was fairly low: music player (37.8%), game console (4.2%), laptop (4.9%).

When they are asked what ecological items they carry, the ranking showed:

- eco bag (29.1%),
- lunch box (25.1%),
- water bottle (15.3%),
- a pair of chopsticks (4.4%)

Now what do you make of these? I found it funny that even when it comes to eco-friendly items, it is another BAG that came at the top of the ranking. The purpose is to replace the plastic bags in supermarkets, which typically come for free, but there are some disputes over this because some say this eco-bag trend is generating more plastics than before.

A pop-up sticker has been added on instant photo machines near the Iidabashi station. It reads, "You need passport size photos for Taspo". Taspo, an identification card for cigarette vending machines, require your photo ID, there seems to be an increasing demand on these machines as well.

You can find reading glasses in many public places, like post offices and police stations. Most places just have a single degree of strengths, but here, I saw three: strong for 60 year olds, weak for 40s, and somewhere in between for 50s.

According to my mother, who is already old enough to need reading glasses (sorry mom), following are the motivations to use them:
- Within your hub. These places are typically placed near your homes, you do not bring all your belongings with you.
- Only for a short while. You need reading glasses to quickly fill some forms, quickly borrowing them is handier than bringing a pair of your own.
- Tedious to take out. Even if you had one with you, it is tedious to take one out, especially if your hands are full.

Once you hear why, it totally makes sense. I wonder, is this the solution taking place in other countries as well?