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 trip 2014 - Tokyo day 1

Sunday 3rd of August

 

 

Hello again! I have to apologize again because for some reason I cannot find a single photo from the 2nd of August but I probably rolled around in the futon, ate and packed.

 

Basically we had to wake up ver early because we were on a morning shinkansen trip to Tokyo. My husband bought a train round trip +hotel combo online which made the whole trip slighly cheaper from usually going by bullet train. We have gone on a night bus before. I was relieved because train is much less tiring and a lot more confortable (and faster).

 

We first had to get to the shinkansen station which in the area is Shin Osaka. It takes up to around an hour to get there from Sango. We both travel with our own carry on luggage which enables for some storage space in case we buy something.

Waiting to get on our first train that day, bound for Tennoji

 Sango station looks and feels much like the rest of Sango, calm, quiet, like the country-side. I feel quite relaxed everywhere we go here.

Sango station, platform 2 - Osaka direction

 Usually the train isn't this empty, it was Sunday, around 7am.

Normal local train

 When we got to Osaka we start seeing many more customers and even interesting things like this USJ bound themed train. How cute is this?

Hello Kitty decorated train heading to Universal Studios Japan

 When we got to Shin Osaka I saw this cute train paraphernalia store that my friend Fernando would probably have to go browse as he is into that sort of thing.



Train toys and models are everywhere in Japan, even in the local supermarket.

Shinkansen train

Our "yay" face.

 One thing I notice is that the moment someone sits on the train, everyone grabs a bite, we brought chips from home and bought beverages: i got the relaxing Jasmine tea.

Yummy goodies.

Inside the shinkansen there's plenty of room to relax and the benches go recline so you can take a nap. The lights do not go dim so you should care an eye mask if you are sensitive to that. The seats have a reclinable table and a net to hold items, and hook for your coat. The only thing i miss is a foot rest. I took a shot of the tickets too because to leave the exit station you need to put these in the gate and they do not come out so you do not get to keep them as a souvenier.

 



After many hours, i think it was around 7 hours we arrived... sort of.
My husband fell asleep and I did not know which station we had to exit so when i woke him up we were stationed in Shinagawa station. So he mumbled something and we got our bags as fast as possible and left the train... well I left the train, he was left behind and we both freaked out because he had both our tickets and we didn't discuss what we would do. To make things worse the security officer started screaming at me in Japanese because I was on the yellow line and the train was about to leave.
A little nervous I then apologizes and he said (all of this in japanese and i am not exactly very good in the language) that i could get the next train to the next station to which i replied that I did not speak japanese well and that i should just wait at shinagawa. He then told me it would be better to stand on the other side where trains from Tokyo arrive to which i nooded and thanked him as respecfully as i could (even though the screaming did not help i still understand that he was trying to do his job) and sat on the other side waiting. My husband appeared 40min later and i felt a huge relief. I know, best start to our stay in Tokyo ever, right? It was then that i chose to, whatever could happen, just be cool and try to enjoy the stay.

We then got to the next train station where our hotel was in which was a surprise. The hotel is Ours Inn Hankyu and I recommend it if you are visiting Tokyo. It is close to Yamamote line connection Shinagawa station and Yamamote line has the following stations: Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Yoyogi, Akihabara, Tokyo, etc. So it has all the major places usually people with similar interests want to visit. And this also means during this trip we only used trains, never got in the subway which is very good.

The building also is over a shopping mall complex which means we had 24 hour fast food and convenience stores and during the day several coffee shops, restaurants etc.
There was na affordable sushi place so thats where we had lunch.

the two of us ate for 20 ish euros. Not bad for decente sushi. That soup was delicious, i fell in love with it but it looks like my mom's caldo verde haha.

The Hotel building, the white block building is the station! I know, it was great.

Yamamote Line - our destination was Shinjuku

The meeting point was the east exit of Shinjuku station which was a slight pain to find but we had been warned so we asked around and it wasn't so bad. I sometimes imagine what it would be like if i was alone or worse... if most people i knew were alone, it would probably be a huge headache so i'm actually very lucky.

 

We waited there for a bit, watching people go by like busy bees and I took the oportunity to check what people were wearing which i feel people assume because of what we see online and in mags that Japanese people are all super fashionable. That is not at all true, most of the time people seem to not really care about what they are wearing to be honest but then they'll take out their Gucci coin purse and you get confused. It is just weird, everything goes and most of the time, in my own aesthetic preferences, its not... very pleasant I must say. But still, better than in my own country, maybe.

 

Finally I spotted Aviva and Sapphira. We all were accompanied by our fabulous "partners in crime" and we had arranged to meet but since I had no Lolita items whatsoever and due to the heat, only Sapphira came in Lolita. She's so pretty irl, prettier than the photos (I always mean what i write so that's true, not some sort of cliché sentence). Aviva was sort of made the planning officer which now that i think about it sounds annoying but i guess it couldn't be helped.

 

We went to a café that looked really interesting and silly, i loved it. It was a mix of Span, México, Europe in general and gothic cathedrals. The staff all had the weirdest haircuts.... it was hard not to notice and they seemed pretty unorganized with led for some funny bits such as someone asking for Syrup and they got us Salt which is funny since we were having coffee and cake! XD

 

We chatted a lot, well i was awkward as usual because i cannot stand... silence like almost unconfortable silent moments when the conversation stops you know, but because I have known Aviva and Izzy for 5 years or so I really do not feel ashamed.

Cake - spongy and not very good

The cake was not good at all but we had fun there. After that we decided to go to a Izakaya where we contiued chatting. I like Izakaya because it is one of the rare places where Japanese people seem more like us, chatty and sort of loud (ok maybe a bit too loud, at times).

After that we went to the new Marui One Annex which I only visited briefly with them and therefore could not check properly at that time. I have na opinion on it but I will write that in the next post to match the actual day. We only went straight to Kera shop to check some accessories and parted ways there. Me and my husband would return the next day for some shopping so we left as well.

We only went to a electronics department store after that and then went home. I was beat but super happy. I had a blast and it was a pleasure to meet Sapphira, she's one of those perfect lolitas in all accounts you know? Looks, personality, behavior wise, everything is the ideal of what a Lolita should be like. Since I am not like that, I totally admire it. <3

Aviva is amazing and so is Izzy, I really really like them a lot. <3

New vending machine, all touch operated and it shows the weather, had advertisement etc, seems like something from the future.

After that we just went to the hotel and rested!

Bike parking, my brother loves bikes and i think this is fabulous.

Origami Wall at hotel

Hotel room halls and me relaxing in the room, the view was nice so I liked hanging out there for a bit.

I hope you liked reading about my day. A big kiss,
Jo