All About My Ita Bag

Welcome back to The Forest everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful summer! Now that my summer internship is over, we can get back to regular posting! Also, stay on the lookout for a post summarizing my summer with an amazing kawaii haul included! If you don’t want to miss that post or any others, be sure to follow me on Instagram to stay updated about when I post new blogs!

Time for the unsponsored review! My ita bag is from a company called Menghuo. I was able to snag it on eBay for $26.59 with free shipping by seller us-enjoy. You can find this bag easily by searching “Harajuku transparent backpack”. Here’s a few stock image photos:

The bag came exactly as described! See the little thing inside the pocket on the bottom image? It’s a scented silica gel packet! Mine was apple scented! It was a nice touch, but in all honesty, the inside of the bag still has a strong “factory” scent. A second comment I’d like to add is that the bag arrived in a very thin mailing package rather than a box. It also did not come with stuffing paper inside the bag. This means that the bag came very flat. It may have been crushed during shipping.

But, it’s not hard to admit that the bag is very high quality. Despite the beatings it may have taken in the mail, it arrived to me unscathed. The bag is very beautiful. I took a few detail shots for you all to see.

Here’s a close up shot at how glittery the clear cover for the bag is. It’s very beautiful and adds a nice cutesy feel, but it’s not so sparkly or bright that it makes the items in your bag hard to see. Rather, I would say that the sparkles are not strongly visible. You can see the items in the bag very clearly. The sparkles are something someone may notice upon closer inspection of your bag.

One of my favorite elements of my bag are the little zipper pulls. I didn’t know this when I bought it, but they’re cute little flowers! Also, the ribbons add a wonderful dash of color to the side of the bag. I wish on the black bag, the ribbons were white, but they are as black as the bag itself. The straps are very sturdy. They are sewn down unto the back with two rows of stitches and they have metal adjusters.

The straps themselves are made out of a high quality faux leather and I don’t see them tearing. The straps have a tough burlap type material sewn down on the backside to make them more sturdy. Both the burlap and faux leather are held together with stitches rather than a glue that can peel off, so expect them to last for a long time!

Did you know that this is not the first ita bag I ever bought? While I was in Japan (again, follow me on Instagram to know when my Japan blog comes out!) I went to Thank You Mart and bought their infamous 390 yen ita bag. I bought two; one in black and one in white. I wore the black one once, and it was fine, but after wearing the white one for only a few days, it already started falling apart! The straps were only sewn down (weakly) with one stitch and I ended up with rouge strap and a giant hole on the top of my bag! I added an image so you all know which bag I’m talking about

One advantage to this bag is that it is a full-sized backpack. It’s quite roomy and it can hold a large number of items. I used it as one of my carry-ons on the way back from Japan. However, I don’t recommend you to put textbooks in this bag. Don’t stuff it too full either unless you want a hole in it! Keep it full of light items only. Of course, you could always sew it right back together, but it’s debatable as to whether that’s worth it or not. You could probably buy some clear vinyl and cute patterned burlap from your local JoAnn’s and sew one yourself if you’re willing to put in that much effort.

Now for the fun part! Let’s take a closer look at the inside of my ita bag!

Over 90% of the items in my bag were obtained in Japan with the most expensive item being the Eros plush at ¥22. The other plush was obtained from a claw machine! My favorite item has to be the gold metal! I actually got it for free! I was wearing my Yuri!!! On Ice shirt while shopping at an anime shop in the Kyoto shopping district, not too far from Nishiki Market and I was buying hella Yuuri merch to fill up my ita bag. Without even saying anything, the clerk wrapped something up and slipped it into my bag. When I returned to the hotel and went through my belongings, I saw the package. When I opened it, I found the heavy, high quality, metal Yuuri on ice pendant. She really made my trip! I’ll never forget that clerk! I guess she could tell how much I loved Yuuri!

And we can’t forget Victor! I got him from a gatcha machine. I played 3 times trying to get Yuuri (obviously) but I got Victor, Pichit, and Yurio. I used the Victor phone strap to tie the two zipper pulls together. I hightly doubt anyone can steal from this bag—I safety pined everything down directly unto the bag rather than using a removable insert—but it’s great to have that extra level of security. I can’t wait to make a coordinate centered around this bag and I especially can’t wait to take it to a con! Ichibon can’t come quickly enough!

My friend Asha asked how much I would sell this bag for. While the idea of selling my treasure doesn’t appeal to me, I would assume the actual value of this bag to be around $200-$250. This includes the value of the items, the bag, and finder’s value since some items are Japan exclusives. However, if you actually do want to try to buy this bag from me, expect me to sell it for upwards of $500! This baby is not leaving my side!

Thank you for reading this blog! I wish you luck on creating your own ita bag! In the comments section, please tell me what character or fandom you would make an ita bag for! Or if you already have one, tag me on Instagram @fawndearie so I can see it!

Much Love~!
Kelsey <3