Half Jacket Required

This apartment isn't that big. I looked and looked, and they were nowhere to be found. I've given up on my search for my sunglasses. I think I must have left them in Osaka.

So.. until the early hours of the morning I went on my exhaustive internet search for a new pair. In my sights were a replacement pair of Oakley's.

Going back many years I used to have a pair of Oakley Frogskins.

Actually two of them. The first pair I absent-mindedly left on a library shelf, and the second met an unfortunate end falling on the ground, and THEN getting scraped good with a door.

I was very mean to them.

Funnily enough, Oakley has decided to release a limited edition collection of these classic specs. In America, they have sold out completely, but here in Japan it looks like it's still possible to get them.

They were the first (and second) best sunglasses I've ever owned.

They had a bronze tint that was so dark, it was almost possible to stare into the sun without squinting (Not to say that I did. Just stating how good they were). Sadly, the ones they make today aren't as dark as my old ones, so I'm not expecting this new edition to be same either.

My two sources for cheap treats are Yahoo Auctions, and Kakaku.

Like eBay, Yahoo Auctions can be a little bit hit and miss. Most of the stuff is secondhand, and it's possible to receive non-genuine goods.

The better option is Kakaku. It's a price comparison site like Australia's Shopbot or Static Ice.

I often find many things MUCH cheaper than Yodobashi Camera or Bic Camera, THE stores when it comes to mostly electrical and household goods.

I wanted the darkest Oakley glasses so I settled on the 12-800 "Half Jacket" with Black Iridium lenses. They are polarised, so glare should be non-existent.

I paid 15,800 yen which is CHEAP. In Australia, these currently retail for $299.95! I got them from here.

Unlike a lot of internet-only shops, these guys actually have a shop-front in Okachimachi, near Ueno on the Yamanote line.
The actual shop was a little hard to find. The site name here is Liberta, but the actual name of the shop is Brad? Go figure.

Lucky I brought with me the actual street address, and the sunglasses model names I was after. The salesgirl had to call someone to get them out of the storage (No sunnies are actually on display).

Anyway, to cut a long story slightly shorter, I'm really liking my sunglasses. The sun doesn't come out all that often here, but when it does it's a blinder. If you're in Tokyo it's worth checking out.