my productive everyday carry (tokyo edition) transcript

This is my expanded everyday carry in Tokyo. So last year I made a video sharing my everyday carry which helped me reduce my screen time and since then I've expanded and upgraded my everyday carry. So I thought I'd make a video sharing what it looks like now and what are the tools that I use especially since I recently moved to Japan, so I spend way more time walking around the city. This video isn't sponsored and I'm not affiliated with any of these brands.

I genuinely use these products and some of these products I've used for many years. But yeah, the first main thing is that I now carry around an everyday carry sling. Previously I was living in LA where it doesn't really make sense to carry around a sling, especially since I'm just driving everywhere. But one of the first things I noticed since I moved to Japan is that maybe 90% of the population carries around a sling.

And it makes a lot of sense. Like people don't have cars to store stuff. And compared to a backpack, a sling is a lot more convenient and compact, especially if you're on a packed subway. And over the years, I've tried a few different slings, but none of them really clicked until I found this specific sling. So this is made by a company in San Francisco, and this is called the Street Sling. Even though it looks like a normal sling, there's some pretty unique things about it.

So before I get into what's in it, let me show you some of the features of this sling. So, there are three compartments in total. You have the front, which is a quick access slot. The back is an open slot and you have the main compartment in the middle, which is a zipper. So in many ways, it's kind of structured like a mini backpack, which I actually prefer. One of the things I appreciate about this bag is that the strap itself you can take off because they're just attached with these carabiner clips.

And this might come in handy, for example, if you're wearing a jacket and you want to take off the sling. Or you can take off the sling entirely and use it as a mini hand carry bag or even a fanny pack, which I sometimes use because it takes all the weight off the shoulders and it makes it a lot free. On the top, I put a carabiner clip, which is the same one that I have on my backpack. And this clip just kind of expands so you can hook it onto different things.

Like you can hook it onto a table or you can hook it onto a bathroom stall. This is called the Gear Aid Carabiner. But yeah, let's move into the front of the sling. So on the front, there is a key chain strap. This is where I have my keys and also two other accessories. So first, I have a portable flashlight which this is the rovyvon flashlight which I think is just some random chinese company, but this is one of the best flashlights I've found and I've been using this for many years on just my keychain loop.

Compared to your phone, which has maybe 30 lumens, this flashlight has 650 lumens, which is more than 20 times as bright and it comes in handy a lot, especially if you're at night. Like in America, I used to walk around with this if I'm going for a walk at night just so that cars can still see me. But, this particular flashlight also has a few different modes. So there's like a reading light mode, which is a softer light.

And there's also a emergency mode so if you're like stranded somewhere, you can make it red or blue and it can flash to alert someone that you're there. Yeah, some of the other models have different lights. So one of them I saw has UV light, but as far as I need it, I like this one and it's also rechargeable with USB-C. You definitely don't need a flashlight because you have a really small flashlight built in to your phone.

But, having a dedicated flashlight that I can easily access and shine things out, especially since I can just hold it to turn it on and let go to turn it off. It's super convenient. I use it all the time. I also have a whistle here. The only reason I have this is because if I ever get lost in the woods or maybe like there's an earthquake, I can get help. The only other thing I have in the front pocket is hand sanitizer, which I think is pretty necessary if you go out to any city.

But yeah, let's move on to the inside of the sling. So the first thing I carry is my pocket notebook. So if you've been following this channel for a while, then you know that I've been using pocket notebooks for many years. And this is still my favorite pocket notebook. I have been tempted to try out a few different pocket notebooks and I might try it out after I finish this one. But I haven't found a pocket notebook that is as versatile as this one.

Not only does it have a hard back, so you can write while standing up, there's grid and lined and... many other features. But yeah, if you have a pocket notebook that you like, definitely let me know and maybe I'll try it the next one. I use this mostly as a productivity tool every day to write down the things that need to get done and then I just cross them off afterwards. But I also use it to sketch sometimes or even write down different Japanese words that I want to look up later.

If you also use this pocket notebook, there is a pen made by this company called Narwhal Company that that fits perfectly into this top slot. That used to be the only pen that I use with this notebook, but because I have more space now in this sling, I carry around a full-size pen, and the one that I use is the Rotring 600. So I got this pen recently for a video that I made, but it's one of the most versatile pens that I own.

Not only does it have a super high build quality, it's completely made out of metal, but this is actually a multi-pen with a regular pen, a mechanical pencil, and a red pen. If this fits your everyday carry, I think this is one of the best pens pens that you can buy. This German company definitely makes some of the highest quality pens there are. The only downside I would say this pen has is that it doesn't write as smoothly compared to Japanese pens.

So for extended journaling, most of the time I use a different pen. I did make a video a while back sharing my favorite pen, so you can check that out if you're interested. The next item is a Leatherman multi-tool. It's actually kind of amazing how much fits in this really tiny sling. I got like I'm only halfway through this. But carrying a multi-tool comes in handy so much, especially for opening up different things.

Like this one has a pair of scissors, so it's really nice and also has a glasses screwdriver. But as far as multi-tools go, especially if you get one from the company Leatherman, I don't think it really matters which one you get because they all have super high build quality. So they'll probably last you a lifetime. So it just depends on the actual functions that you want in it. This one is the Leatherman Wave Alpha, which I also talked about in a different video.

In the sling, there's a perfect slot that fits the multi-tool pen and pocket notebook. inside, which is pretty neat. The next thing I carry are earplugs. I've been carrying around earplugs for many years now, and honestly, it's incredibly understated how important it is to protect your hearing. Even 10 minutes of exposure to loud music can permanently damage your hearing. And when you lose your hearing, it doesn't come back.

A lot of times, especially in movie theaters and restaurants, they tend to blast music super loudly. And a lot of times I feel like it's even at unsafe volumes. So these earplugs have definitely come in handy so many different times. Last year when I talked about my everyday carry, I shared these ones that I was testing that were more aesthetically pleasing. But honestly, I found that drummer earplugs actually do a better job.

So I use these regular musician earplugs. On the inside of this bag, there's a slot on the backside. In that slot, I put in some miscellaneous first aid. So this is kind of a It's kind of similar to my setup for my backpack that I use for one bag travel. For me, I just carry around some band-aids, some Neosporin, alcohol wipes, and also I got these individually wrapped meds like Advil and some allergy medication that have come in handy before, like not just for me, but sometimes I'll be hanging out with somebody and they need something and it's really amazing that I just have it in my bag.

It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Especially if you have room for it like I do with this bag. Besides that, this still leaves us the main compartment. So in the main compartment, I like to carry around my film camera. So this is the Olympus X-A2, which is a film camera made in the 80s. And the photos that come out of this look super epic. Film photography is something that I've come to love over the past few years.

And I find that it's also a really fun way to detach from your smartphone. I really like carrying this around, especially in Japan, because there are these... times where it's just so beautiful like the sunset or certain architecture and yeah I like taking photos on this. Besides the film camera I also like putting my wallet inside the bag so I'm still using the same wallet as I was last year and I've been using this for a few years now.

This is the Venture Pocket from Bellroy. For a while, I also tested using a regular bifold wallet, but I found that I like this one for a few practical reasons. First, it fits a ton of cards. So you can put like 10, 12 different cards inside this wallet and you don't have to worry about it falling out because there is a zipper. There's also a dedicated slot for your keys on the inside. So for days where I'm not carrying around the sling, it's also nice to have like everything I need basically in this one wallet and because it has a zipper you can also put stuff that on cards I can put tickets, you can put guitar picks which I have and even an AirTag, so I have a flattened AirTag that I put in there.

And surprisingly, it's still super thin. One thing I noticed about restaurants and different places in Japan is that they really value point cards. A lot of restaurants, they'll have point cards that you can collect stamps and you get a discount. And even the gym that I go to has a stamp card system where if you don't miss a workout, you can get a free water bottle. So it's kind of nice that you can put different point cards into just this wallet.

The last thing that I carry around is my e-reader, which I put on the outside open slot of this sling right here. So this is the Boox Palma and I've been using this for almost three, I want to say two to three years now. And it's my favorite e-reader. Of course, I also really like reading physical books, but especially in the city and maybe sometimes at night if I'm trying to read in bed, using an e-reader is just way more practical.

I can have a ton of different books. I can have books in different languages like books in Japanese, and it's really easy to look up words or highlight stuff. I like to put this on the backside of the sling because I can just take it out easily whenever and read for a few minutes. I've been trying to practice the habit of reading even for a couple of minutes, especially on the train or if I'm waiting for something. And having it there just kind of reduces the friction to reading.

One cool thing is because it's an e-ink display, I don't even have to turn on the device to read the last page that I was reading. If you're interested in this device, I did make a video reviewing this a while back that you can check out. Now that I've gone through this, it's kind of amazing how much stuff fits into this tiny sling. But yeah, let me know what you think of this. If you have any recommendations or video requests, let me know.

And I'll see you in the next video. Let's get it.