Planning our trip to Japan, I knew one of the top things I wanted to get done before leaving was getting me some new glasses.ย Why?ย Rumour had it, you could get glasses for $50-100, lense and frames included.ย Here in Canada, if you wanted to get a new pair of glasses, it would run from $500-$1,000 depending on your needs such as bifocal and such.ย I always dread getting new glasses because it always runs $450-$500 and I don’t even get the most expensive frames either.
Why are eyeglasses and sunglasses so expensive everywhere outside of Korea and Japan?
There is a company called Luxottica which monopolizes all the optical stores and brands you can think of.ย From Sunglasses hut, LensCrafters, Target Optical, Sears Optical to brands like Oakley, Chanel, Versace, Prada, Bulgari and D&G to name a few.ย If you want to see the full list of brands they have control over, click here for their Wikipedia page or just do a quick Google search to shock your system.ย They basically own the whole optical business, giving them the option to price their products at whatever price they want even when frames cost less than $10 to make and lenses $2 to produce.
If you are still in disbelief, check out this video by CBC news from their marketplace series where they go undercover and investigate why glasses are so expensive.
Why are glasses in Japan so cheap?ย Are they worth the money?
When you see the price drop from what you are use to paying, of course, that is the second question as to why it is so cheap.ย Other then the Japanese companies not being controlled by Luxottica’s monopolization, there are many other factors as to why it is so cheap to get glasses in Japan.
1) You do not have to have a prescription to get glasses.
Unlike the system I’m used to in North America, you do not need a prescription before hitting up a glasses shop in Japan.ย Not only does the $50 include the lense and frame (unless you need special lenses), the price also includes a free eye check as well which they can do for you on the spot.ย For me, I didn’t do the eye exam because I brought my prescription with me from Canada and I was wearing my current glasses which they can check all the angles and degrees with.ย I chose not to get the exam since I wasn’t sure if there would be anyone that spoke English helping me at the time, so I had all my documents and such ready.
2) Frames are made in China, designed in Japan
To my surprise, the frames was not made in Japan but in China.ย This doesn’t really alarm me because there are a lot of designer glasses that are made in China as well.ย What it comes down to is the quality of material that the frames are made with.ย And if you are in the store, you’ll be able to touch and feel the quality anyways.
3) Lenses stored and cut in stores
Through my years of wearing glasses experience, lense are never stored in the store and has to be ordered.ย My guess is that this would reduce the cost and storage space for most stores.ย In Jins, they had all the lenses ready to go and they cut them in stores as well.ย So you can get your glasses as low as 30 minutes after you’ve picked out your frames.
Which are the go to brands/shops in Japan?
There are two major chains in Japan (that I know of) that you can easily find in most malls in Tokyo.ย If you are planning to hit up Jins or Zoff, make sure to pin it in your Google maps since some of them are hidden in one of the levels of the many skyscrapers of malls in Tokyo.ย 
Also keep in mind that if you are getting glasses and need something more then a standard lense (blue tint, bifocal, tri-focal, etc), it could take up to a week for the glasses to be finished since not all stores have specialized lenses in stock.ย So my advice is to get this done as one of your first destinations.
Remember if you are a foreigner in Japan, always have your passport on you because you can get everything TAX FREE.ย So you can get glasses without the 10% off!!!
In case you were wondering if there is a limited selection in styles, uhh.. no LOL.ย You won’t have that problem.ย In fact, there are so many styles and options to choose from, you won’t know what to do with yourself.
This is what the store looks like when you walk into one.ย The one I went to was in Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku on the 3rd or 4th floor if I’m not mistaken.
Jins also has stores in US but I’m not sure if they have the same limited edition collection.ย Both Jins and Zoff have limited edition frames that are super cute, but I couldn’t find anything in these collections that suit my taste.
Here are some of my favorites that unfortunately, did not suit my face suit.
Those pink ones are so pretty but they don’t look good against my skin tone.ย Sigh…
If you are looking for a pair of reading glasses, they have that too!
And if you want to customize your lenses into colored or sunglasses, you also have that option.ย I do know they also have some clip-on sunglasses options, but I kind of forgot about that option when I was there.
I was also looking into getting the blue tint lenses which help block blue rays from digital screens so that it would cause less strain on your eyes.ย There are reports out there saying blue tint lenses are a marketing scheme, but I truly do feel less tired when I wear my blue tint lenses so it is up to you.ย If you did want to upgrade your lenses to the blue tint ones, it would be 5,000 yen ($50 more) but they didn’t have the 40 level one, so I opted out.
The picture above was to show you my regular glasses’s lenses and their degree of tint.ย The closest lens they offer to the one I wore was level 40, which they didn’t have in store and I would have had to wait for a week for it to come in which wasn’t really an option for me since that would be the day I leave.ย The highest at level 60 would just be Elton John glasses at that point LOL.
Just like typical Japan, they had a system going on to tell you how long the wait time is, the number of people in line and which numbers were ready to be served with their finished product.ย Gosh, I love Japan for its efficiency.
You also are allowed to pick what color cases you want.ย I saw on the US site that they have limited edition cases which are all connected to a charity depending on which one you pick.
Inside the case is a microfiber cloth, the glasses you choose as well as your receipt just in case something happens to your glasses and you need it to get repaired.ย Unfortunately for people that don’t live in Japan, this is kind of useless since you’re most likely going to fly back home anyways.
If you are wondering what and where the lenses were produced, Thailand is your answer.
Here are the first pair I fell in love with.ย I personally like a slightly rectangle shape, little bit oversized and a slim side along with the nose bridge not sitting so high up since the ones with a high bridge make me look like I have a unibrow.
This pair comes in three shades and the ombre style makes the whole look on your faceless harsh (if that makes sense).ย This one is from their airframe line and the legs are those where you can bend it 90 degrees without it snapping.ย One thing that I’ve noticed after wearing these every day and going back to my Longchamp frames is that it is so light and comfortable!!ย
The style code for these pairs with the light and dark brown ombre is Jins LUF-19S-199AE and retailed for 8,000 yen ($80).
I love the nose bridge holders and they don’t leave a mark on my face!ย The legs has a bit of a grip so it won’t slide off of your face either.
The sides are nice and thin too, just the way I like it.ย I used to wear frames with thick sides and it just makes the whole look more stuffy and framed whereas the thin and minimal look can make your other features shine through.
Haha I was wondering if I should take a picture with my bangs down or not, so here are two options to see what the glasses really look like.ย Even though I’m wearing slightly oversized glasses, because the light ombre is on the bottom, it doesn’t look so obvious and just flows better with my face.
Those sides are UGH.ย I love.
These pairs I honestly got as a joke since I’ve always said my inspiration is Edna mode.ย I got the hair cut down already, I just needed the glasses to go with it.ย I can’t find these on their website, so I’ll just leave the style code here (Jins URF 19S-005AA).ย From what the sales lady told me, these are very popular, so I don’t know why the style isn’t popping up on the website.ย These were 5,000 yen ($50) so it was an easy buy for me.ย I wear these when I’m feeling quirky or I just want to have a good day and give myself a laugh when I look in the mirror.
I mean who doesn’t want to be Edna Mode, world-famous fashion designer for superheroes, owns a mansion with automatic machine guns and a rich beetch?ย Yes please and give me all that sass to.
The nose holder on this one isn’t as comfortable as the first pair but it isn’t too bad.ย If you don’t have a prominent nose bridge though, this might not be super comfortable since the glasses would sit super close to your face.
Tryna channel that Mode energy.
When I picked these up, I honestly thought they looked ugly.ย Then I tried it on and was like, hmm… not bad actually.ย The rest is history.
Again, these have that nice slim sides that I like :).
I hope that you guys get glasses in Japan or even check out the Jins store in the US.ย I haven’t been in one personally and wish we had them here in Canada.ย I would love to be able to change my glasses freely with my outfit or mood for the day but we can’t do that unless you are rich or have an extra organ to sell.ย Let me know what your experiences are buying eyewear in your country!
