Japan Trip 2014 - Tokyo day 2

Monday, the 4th of August

 

We woke up very very early, I have no idea why but this year I've been waking up super early, I remember that in the first year here it was quite the opposite. I feel this is nicer for everyone though, especially my inlaws since they do not have to addapt to our timetable and we try to do the opposite instead.

 

Anyway the day before the hotel only had a smoker's room and those are pretty bad, the room is the same but the smell is just horrid, especially for non smokers but even I hate it. So we asked them to change room for the next day which was ok of course and therefore we had to pack our stuff before leaving the room and heading out.

 

Japan in the summer is slightly odd, because its quite cool indoors when you go outdoors its just odd. Some days the sky is gray and you are in the car for a while and it somehow feels like its autumn... until you go out and then its hell.... and you are sticky and sweating yet again.

 

Left: view from our window

Right: tiny shrine (want it for my dolls), apparently its not even for people to pray, it is said to bring good luck to the building.

 We went down and had breakfast first in something I had not seen before, Mos Burger I'm used to (and i LOOOVE it) but I had not seen a Mos Café before. I guess they are following the MacCafe model which i'm fine with.

Fast food breakfast isn't bad at all. Iced coffee, salad, toast, egg and sausage.

 Some photos of the hotel lobby, so cute!



We decided we should go to Ginza first. My husband knows someone who's work was on display in na art gallery there. Unfortunately it was still early so we walked around a bit, I never had payed attention to Ginza before and I fel in love with some bits here and there. Here are some photos:



 

 

Even with all that walking the gallery was still not open so I decided to have a cup of ice coffee in the first place we found, Lotteria.

 



Due to lack of space, a lot of stores and restaurants etc are located underground or on 2nd and 3rd.

 

After that we started heading to the art gallery but we couldn't find it so we got there later than expected, around 15 past eleven. The gallery was again in a top floor and it was lovely. The walls had some sort of pattern, white painted on white and it gave it a modern and interesting feel. The exhibit was also great, I liked almost every piece of art which is rare because I'm quite picky when it comes to modern art. The pieces were made with care and were very original, one of the artists used mainly geometrical figures to make bigger "drawings" (my husband's friend) - Seigo Aoki. There was another really amazing artist who made drawings in traditional paper scrolls by using incence to burn it... absolutely stunning work.
Anyway we went there that day because we read online that Seigo-san would be there and we brought some presents to give him. My husband wanted to surprise him so he didn't say anything. The thing was even though he told the art gallery owner he would be there at 11.30 he wasn't.

We waited for na hour... and finally gave up. The owners were lovely, chatted with us, we realised the owner was actually cousin of one of last Japanese ambassators in Portugal which was interesting. He told us when and how the gallery opened and

 

We then just went straight to Harajuku for some shopping or at least that was the plan.

We arrived fairly fast again by JR. I snapped a photo of the entrance to Takeshita dori but before venturing in we decided to eat something because it was lunch time.

One of Tokyo's most famous sights, the entrance to Takeshita street.

We just went in the first restaurante where we, from seeing the menu photos, felt like going in. It was one of those steak/hamburger shops. It was again located in the basement and we had to wait for a bit. Even though it was not weekend, due to the students being off school at the moment it was crowded which I am not a fan of.
I saw something with avocado in the menu and had to order it, i barely have any back home even though you can get it from a regular supermarket and I love it.

Avocado burger set - rice, plate, mini chicken soup and water of course.

We then went through a different path in towards the main street again but found the VOLKS store first (Tenshi no Mado). I went in and fell in love. I was never a huuuuge fan of Volks dolls because i found their photos to be more childish looking and I thought i liked more mature/cool looking dolls but there's something about being in a store like that instead of the "shopping mal" stores where you can also find azone stuff etc that drew me into them. It's like the perfect doll store, the building itself is amazing, super elegante and dreamy and the displays... everything is thought of.
There was one particular One Off girl I loved but unfortunately because they are one of a kind you have to participate in a competition of sorts where you then have to be lucky to draw the ticket that allows you to then buy the doll. o.o
On the 2nd floor you then have wigs, clothes, furniture, random bits you can buy. I did not buy a lot because the clothes sets I wanted are probably sold out and were not there but I got some little things just to remember the visit.

The beautiful Volks building, the staff was amazing, incredibly friendly.

We then went through the streets and looked around even though I was only there for two things: Closet Child and Laforet.

Really silly tshirts that were a bit too expensive.


Closet Child Harajuku branch (3 floors)

Closet Child is easy to spot and I go there every time so I can't really miss it.
For those of you who do not know it, it has 3 floors.
Floor one sells Classic Lolita and sweet Lolita mostly, but that means brands more than looks so: Iw, Vm, JJ, Ap, Meta, Btssb, Aatp...(and chocomint accessories)
Floor two sells Gothic and Punk so that means gothic and punk brands such as alice auaa, hnaoto but also Lolita in those segments like Putumayo, Atelier Pierrot, MmM etc...
Floor three sells more otome orientes stuff so mainly Etc, Jane Marple...
I went in and checked the first floor first. I wanted a cardigan I could wear that would cover my back tattoo and not full sleeved so it isn't hell in this weather and I found one I really like but wasn't cheap.

I then spotted a dress I REALLY wanted but was disappointed that it was a size 1 when I am not sure size 2 would fit even but I still put my hopes up and tried it on:

Juliette et Justine Ange jsk in black

I was unfortunately right, length was perfect, the dress is perfect and the bust fit with room to spare but the rib cage and waist... if  say I need na extra 15cm to fit, I wouldn't be joking. I was crushed.

 So I paid for the cardigan and went to floor two where there was nothing interesting. I was hoping for a new moitie dress but there were none left, they had the matching purse to this dress for 4000yen which is cheap! But I only own the white version (i'd kill for the black in the same size) and i own the matching bag in that colorway and I rarely use it, only with that piece as a set so it would be a silly buy.

Since I needed a petti to wear Lolita here, i just bought one and left.

 

On the third floor oddly enough I had more fun, they have so but sooo many Emily Temple Cute dresses there that, unless you are not a fan of their stuff, you will for sure find one you like. I saw many but since its not the look that suits me best (unfortunately Lolita doesn't look very "natural" on me) I had to pick something out and not bring more than one piece. I also bought socks that looked nice with it and later discovered they were knee length and i don't suit knee length so after wearing them here if i end up wearing Lolita at all i'll have to sell them or trade them for something else which sucks because i got them for a reason.

I always get amazed at how huge the bl stores are, they must really make a lot more Money than brand stores for sure. Its nuts!

Refreshments!

A store fla would shop in.

 After that we went to Laforet... and when we got there it was closed!!! And it was going to be closed the day after which meant i could not go there. What, why do these things always happen to me, what I am the unluckiest person in the world of lolitas visiting Japan or what?

Laforet, closed on the 4th and 5th of August for some weird reason.

The advertisement truck for AKIRA's single was riding all around Harajuku multiple times so I am now probably fed up with looking at that photo and of the song for a while.

The main Btssb store is now in Harajuku since they closed the Dakanyama location. Under it there's a lovely MILK store as well. It's lovely actually. I saw and loved Juliet but I did not ask to try it on because I don't know if I like it for 40.000yen.

A lot of bags for cat maniac fla.

 I then decided I should check Marui Annex properly so we went to Shinjuku.
When I went in Marui Annex the first impression in the bottom floors was "oh this is good, now i can come with my husband and not worry about him being bored"- since there are other things like novelty stores, etc but then when i saw it all and noticed a lot of my favorite stores were missing I was crushed.

It is not worth visiting it to be honest unless you need to go to Kera or you want some queen bee shoes, not even the blythe Junie Moon location is left... no priscilla.... I was really sad about this.
I left without buying anything but some random stuff I could get anywhere else.

I guess Lolita just really isn't doing so well as a whole which, being true, is a shame. It just makes me like Shinsaibashi even more now and I guess I might skip Tokyo next time because it makes no sense to spend all that Money to come by and then leave empty handed even though I was having a good time.

Shinjuku is lovely at night though, I adore the Daimaru building especially!

 A bit bummed I decided to just take it easy the next day and we just went for dinner. To get my spirit up I asked if we could just to eat a huge steak and drink beer and we did just that.

Beer, salad, soup.

Steak, butter on top. It comes wrapped in card or paper because its so hot it will get your clothes dirty until it cools down a bit.

Then it was time to buy tickets and head "home". Before going up i grabbed another beer and a sausage, i know sausage in a stick how odd is that for a midnight snack. haha

Our room, i loved the art on the Wall. We watched the weirdest anime ever, something about food mania it was really funny.

No decente glasses for beer makes me sad so I just drank from the can after that. The proper way.

And after a bath and watching a bit more of that weird weird funny show I fell asleep, I was beat.
Day three left. And then that's it for Tokyo, probably for a while.

Jo

 

Japan 2013 (Day 6 - 17th July)

Hello everyone,

So I had been annoying my husband about going to my favorite place in all of Japan which is Osaka, Namba-Shinsaibashi areas for some days before but because he is always so busy with his writting, reading and emails etc I didn't over-do it. I was surprise that he told me we could go this early but went skipping like a little child hehe.

I do not remember if we has breakfast or not that day but there does not seem to be a photo so maybe we skipped it for a change! We arrived at our local train station and outside there's a pond I had noticed before... but today it was different... we spotted two being which have apparently made it their home: two turles. 

This is a typical water turtle that just got huge in time. 

The other one that was in one of those rocks until she saw us and vanished seemed like a different species. According to my husband maybe she was abandoned there by previous owners which is ilegal of course. They should not be living in the same space. Those poor turtles! But at least they are in a safe environment.

Another interesting thing at the station is this box with "community" sort of umbrellas. These are here so people who are surprised by sudden rain can get home dry as long as they return them. As you can see, they actually do. This would not work in my country.

This is the local train station, it is tiny and not all trains stop here but even though it is in fact tiny it still has a bathroom, vending machines, seats, elevators, employees etc. Its quite nice actually even though we have to walk for a bit to get there.

Since we had to wait for around 10minutes for the train to arrive i got something from the vending machine, some sort of tea I do not remember.

It finally arrived and we got in. The trip is ok most of the time although I do not enjoy the silence and lack of movement and eye contact in this country to be honest, it all seems a bit cold really.. We did get to the destination pretty fast, Tennoji station. Since we were on the JR (japanese railways) and wanted to go to the subway instead we had to get past the gates and exit the station and get in the subway entrance which can be confusing to some.

Weirdest thing ever, when a machine is not available in my country usually its because its not working. It's the first time i have seen a sign saying its not being used to save electricity. What?

One of the few shots i have of myself from that day, proving that i'm sticking to the "I use the machines this time" rule.

We finally got out at shinsaibashi and had a stroll around the main shopping streets. I leave you with some photos, in no particular order:

Sales are everywhere, its so hard to resist!

Gah these dog clothes were adorable, i really wanted to get some and force them on my cats instead hehe.

This was funny, its a lingerie store and the drawing is of a public figure a comedian. Since i do not know anything about him I just appreciate this for the weirdness. 

I found this product at a store that sells drugs for which you do not need a prescription and makeup and also hygiene products etc. It is a spray that you use to get your skin to stop being oily so that's why they use a photo of a regular blythe (which is shiny) turning into a custom blythe without the shine. It's silly really but just seeing an add with blythe made me smile.

I took this one because some of you might find it interesting, its a big store with nothing but korean stuff, merchandise, cds, dvds, makeup products, etc etc. I did not even go in, no time.

ZARA and H&M are quite popular there too.

 I just fell in love with those shoes and thought it'd be nice to buy the mint ones for me and my friend Vania, she's totally rock them!

Anna Sui store in the area. I do not buy their clothes but i love some of them. I do like to buy their makeup.

This one is for you Susaninha, a big Sanrio store. It's pretty huge and there's a ton of stuff there. I went in to look for that phone cover you wanted but could not find it. 

Yes, Bodyline, the store is big but i've seen bigger. I rather like some of their shoes so i went in to peak and they are nice in person too. Did not buy them though. 

It was lunch time when we arrived and we were starving so we started focusing on picking a place to eat.

We went with a Katsu restaurant which means a place that serves fried meat, shrimp, etc. 

When we got in it smelled terribly of oil but i guess it couldn't be helped since they fry all day every day.

We were asked to go to the second floor where we sat and ordered. 

This is a regular dish, it comes with a salad and the fried option, in this case chicken. 

You can repeat the rice, ask them to fill in the bowl again and the same goes for pretty much anythig except for the protein.

The little bowl on the right with that yellow stuff is sesame we had to grind ourselfs at that time so it would smell and taste better.

I won't lie, we got lost, went the wrong way and took a while to get to the area we wanted ... but finally we saw..

These street lamps! It's when you see these that you know you are in the right place!

The first place we went to was puresound for two reasons: it was the first store we got to and also because it is a second hand store and I wanted to maybe get something affordable. I have found one or two dresses there in the past but this time it was terrible, nothing special, high prices it was not worth the trip so we left.

It's mostly a jrock cd, dvd, poster, merchandise heaven for those who are into that but i never browse that area of the store. The stairs are pretty much full of flyers and they also give them for free and even have events where they give out free cds if you buy something.

This is the main area/ meeting point, the so called "triangle" at Ame Mura. You might remember it from my other trips to Japan. I really like hanging out there. I was so sad I only got to spend a tiny bit of time there this time... my husband is so busy... 

This is the Putumayoshinsaibashi store. I really had no time to visit it so i didn't even go in. I like Putumayo but I do not buy a lot from them so I suspected if i had to cut options, Putumayo would be one I'd skip this time. It's no fun visiting shinsaibashi like this so I will try to go there again.

Another one I skipped and right next to Putumayo is Algonquins. I love their things but i do not wear any alternative fashion other than Lolita at the moment because of well.. adulthood haha so there's no point in going there and wanting all those fabulous punk frocks when i won't wear them. 

In the same street, the first planned visit Angelic Pretty. This store is so easy to spot because its painted pink, you just cannot miss it. They had sales going on and I fell in love with this dress but because you cannot try on sales and it looked a bit short, i decided not to get it. I might though, if i see it again, i really did like it. 

You can see the new print, Promenade de Paris in the window, its adooorable!

On the same street there's a second hand store but it was closed and it made me realise that if i wanted to buy something not only did i have to buy it fast (pressured time wise by my husband) but also new from the stores... which is always a bit more expensive than i would like it to be.

The other store in the area is Atelier Boz. Again since I wanted to visit other stores and I did not have time I couldn't go in. And yes, its not on the ground floor yet they leave a manequin with an outfit outside without giving it second thought. I know right? This country... seems so safe!

We went around a bit lost for a while and I really wanted to drink something cool and go to a bathroom so we went to several Konbini but none had a bathroom. They had tons of pocky flavors though which has nothing to do with what I'm saying here...

Finally I did find a bathroom and I did get some water so I could continue with my shopping adventure. The next store was BABY, the stars shine bright. 

It's such a pretty store and it has so many things to choose from! It was pretty full and damn those japanese lolitas were loud... whoever thinks they are not (like i did) is wrong. Even the shop staff were loud. There were a couple of things I wanted but I couldn't buy everything so after a while i left with only one item. I'm not sure i regret that purchase either because... its just more black but oh well. I hate shopping rushing like that!

I then finally found my favorite lolita store in the entire world Osaka's Atelier Pierrot. It's not the stock, even though they carry most of my favorite brands (but then again maruione's kera has even more things and more of those brands), but the location (osaka) and the amazing staff! The Atelier Pierrot staff is the best i have met so far. No matter what I am wearing, no matter if i have a smile on my face or not, how many items i try on and do not buy, nothing matters.... they are still always 100% friendly and they sound like human beings and not some auto-sales-kawaii-person. I was a fool for not asking the shop girl for that day a photo but i look so terrible every day here during this trip that i didn't even consider that. I also bought something, went over my budget for that day and had to use my credit card but i just had to buy something there too, see? If the staff is fabulous sales happen without effort. <3 I wish i knew her name or mail so i could thank her again for the kindness.

Accross from Atelier Pierrot is the building where the Innocent World store is located. It's in a rather fancy looking building that feels like a residencial building but has a lot of businesses there, especially spas for some reason. You have to take the elevator to get there, turn left and then you will see this sign letting you know where the store is. I don't particularly like this Iw store, i am not thrilled with this apartment style of shop because its something odd to me but they have amazing things, the staff is friendly and the decoration is lovely. It all pretty much screams Iw.

I found a lot of things I like there but I was over budget so i only got a tiny item. I really went in hoping that for some reason (because it does happen sometimes) there would be a back shirred (that's the only reason why i want that one otherwise i'd go for the underbust one because I adore this print!) black long Westminster Choir Jsk left... but they really only have the short burgundy one. Since as you know i got two burgundy jsks already and because it was not the long one and my husband said it was too short for me. I did not get it. I'm not sure i regret it or not, i think i'll know if it turns into something impossible to buy in the future, but it was a very hard decision to make because if you think that print looks nice in the stock photos... you'll die when you see it in person. It is... amazing. It looks a ton better than the moitie stained glass one in person, as I was lucky to see both which is surprising. It's just that amazing. So I am crushed. If you know of anyone willing to sell it to me let me know. I'll pay the normal retail price for it at this moment. 

We had to go at this time because we had to go back for dinner at a determined time so there was no chance to look for the other store i wanted to visit, Metamorphose. But because the shopping mall where Miho Matsuda is located was nearby i managed to convince my husband to just go super fast. 

I didn't find anything i wanted there but did see stunning pieces at the kera store. Still... over budget! 

These are Gatshapon machines, all different sorts and some with really weird things in them. The price goes from 200yen to 500yen usually.

Trains, mushrooms, alien stuff, anime, cute stuff, panties for your iphone, you name it.

I only saw 3 lolitas that day, it was a weekday. This one was wearing the new moitie striped jumperskirt. She looked very nice actually.

Going home I saw these doll sized furnitures in a jewelry store window. 

The jewelry was expensive and i didn't care for it, but i really wish i had the furniture, how perfect is this? <3

We arrived home 10min late but it was alright. My mother in law already had dinner more or less ready so we just washed our hands and sat to eat.

It was curry, i love japanese curry and a delicious salad to go with it. They really know how to spoil me...

Overall it was a nice afternoon, i really like what i bought but think some thing was impulse buys from having to rush while shopping. But its a bit of tradition already, impulse buying on the first and last days. Does it happen to you guys too?

So I leave you with the first thing I bought for lolita during this trip:

Angelic Pretty Gloria cutsew black

I do not wear skirts and its a shame to hide the print which is the part that made me buy it so this was definitely an impulse buy. It is stunning though.

Anyway this is it for today, I hope you liked the post!

Love,

Jo