Vocabulary and tips for buying glasses

Greetings, this is the first time I am buying glasses, so I am in need of tips and vocabulary to do so. My eyesight is not that bad (according to an eyesight test 0.2, I don't know the units or anything though) but I need to read a lot and I don't want it to get worse. So I am going to buy glasses, but I also want coating so that they are useful for the computer. How do I order them? I don't know how to say prescription in Japanese, and when I tried to explain the lady, I think she thought I meant bifocals. I just want some glasses that I can put on for reading and with UV coating for the computer. Any help is appreciated.

I have bought several pairs of glasses in Japan and even had repairs done and I don't really speak Japanese. I have found the opticans very helpful. There are so many glasses stores around, with some fine spectacles. There are some designer stores as well.
If you just want reading glasses its the same universally.. .5 1.0 1.5 etc. They have them readily available, I've even seen them in gift shops, but if you want a coating then I suggest you go to one of the bigger stores, where they have an optometrist.. you may have to make a booking.
If you are a member of Costco they have resident optometrists and a very good selection of spectacles at good prices. They do them to prescription and courier them to you. Megane is the Japanese word for eye glasses, pronounced Me ga ne.

I have also had glasses made in Japan in September 2013. The first time, I had my prescription done outside of the country and brought a Japanese friend. I got a second pair of glasses when I came back to pick up the first pair. I went alone then.

I went to ZOFF but I think JINS and the other places are just as good.

What you're looking for is something commonly referred to in Japan as 'PC glasses.' (see: http://www.zoff.co.jp/store/pcglasses/ and http://www.jins-jp.com/) The PC glasses at ZOFF (I got a pair myself) are the base price + 5,000 yen. So if the base price is 5,000 yen then the total price is 10,000 yen. They can take a long time -- mine took a week.

I'd approach the section or print out something from a website that says PC glasses and bring it in along with your prescription. In ZOFF you'll be asked to try on two pairs of 'tinting' with your PC glasses. One was at about 30% the other at about 60%.

ReyesFabian,

Are you saying that you had your eyes examined at the shop and the store clerk suggested bifocal, then perhaps that's what you really need.

But if you really want glasses just for reading, then you can use basic phrases such as "yomu toki dake" (just when I read).

By the way, I wonder if you're buying your first glasses ever in your life. I bought my first glasses when I was nearly 50 years old and it took a great deal of time just to get used to the "idea" of glasses.

For this reason, I spent my money on the consulting. There are many shops that sell really low-priced glasses in fancy frames, but I chose to go to an expensive shop, which in my case was Paris Miki, where they would spend lots and lots of time to get the right lense and frame for me.

They even gave me tips on how I can get used to them. For example, they adjusted the frame for me so that the lense would get closer to my cheaks just as I wanted them to be, and they suggested I hang them on the tip of my nose so that I won't have to take them off every time I look up to view something in a longer distance.

You can also use gestures. Even if you are a Japanese speaker like me, you still have to use gestures to show how far you usually place your books or how small the letters you usually read are. Bring along examples of your reading material and show them exactly what you want to do.

I am keen to make a pair of PC glasses at either Zoff or Jins too. Do I have to bring along my prescription? It's been awhile since I checked my eyesight. Can I get my eyesight checked at these two shops when buying the glasses instead?

Nn,

You don't have to bring along your prescription and you can get your eyesight checked at these two shops.

Thanks, Uco.