Shopping for warm

I managed to get through another week of school without incident, which is always a good thing, especially when that week ends with a week-long break! During February the Japanese students at my school here have exams, so the exchange students get a whole week off. Most everyone in the program is taking this opportunity to go on some sort of trip, some friends are going to Saipan, others to Okinawa, but I myself am going to Hokkaido for the Snow Festival that they hold there this time every year. Because Hokkaido is famously snowy and cold, my host sister took me shopping for suitable clothing today. This included a trip to Uniqlo, where I decided to try a different tactic than last time (When I found that I don’t really fit their women’s XL) and try for men’s clothes instead. This actually worked pretty well, since men’s clothes tend to have broader shoulders, and I wasn’t really looking for fashion pieces so much as things that would keep me warm. Pants were, unfortunately, a little more difficult. The only thing that I had difficulty finding were waterproof boots, which no shoe store of any size or description seemed to carry. In the end I had to settle for some rather fancy gardening boots, but at least I got something. There is nothing worse than having wet feet.
-Apparently a men’s M here and a women’s M in the US have similar dimensions.
-Men’s pants are just plain different from women’s. I never noticed this before because I had never tried to find a pair of men’s pants that fit me before.