Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
MARUI ONE SHINJUKU SUMMER SALE: HELLO KITTY QUOLOMO T-SHIRTS, HEART HEEL SHOES IN SHIBUYA 109, JAPANESE VAMPIRE DRAMA TV SHOW.
Marui Young Shinjuku had a “sparkling summer sale,” which is where I got my Marble short jacket with dangling vampire sleeves. Despite the stifling heat, many girls dressed in full Lolita for the event. And despite the sales racks, most of the clothes were still pricey!
Quolomo’s designer T-shirts filled the window. I like the Piet Mondrian x Hello Kitty design. Do you recognize the other anime characters? (For more Marui photos, check out the links in my Lolita Shopping Guide.)
Across the road is an Algonquins boutique. Marui also sells the brand, but I suppose one can never have enough Goth/Lolita/Punk.
For the summer sale, the busy Shinjuku street was blocked off. An old man brought his little dog in a leather carrying case and took its photo in the middle of the road!
In Shibuya 109 (the teen gal shopping complex), I spotted the cutest sparkle sandals with heart heels (for under $40). Too bad they look like they would destroy my feet.
Also spotted in Shibuya: Michael Jackson drawings made by a cobbler, and a subway poster for a vampire TV drama. Yes, there is a Japanese Twilight. Check out the Photoshopped fangs on the pretty-boy.
What would you buy at the Marui sparkle sale? Any tips for finding comfortable yet stylish shoes?
Song of the Day #191: Red Rider – Lunatic Fringe (A fun track suggested by Michael. You can see every single item he possesses — from his underwear to my scary latex gloves and toothpicks — on his website.)
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BAR-HOPPING IN KOENJI, TOKYO: JAPAN OTAKU CAFES, NAKANO ANIME MANGA COSPLAY STORES.
A makeup-free Happy Phantom took La Carmina on an alcohol-fueled romp through Koenji, the Tokyo district where he resides (although he’s now moving in with Dravarious). Nakano is a station away — home to the Broadway mall, or mini-Akihabara, where you’ll find cosplay, anime, toys, manga and (to my delight) kawaii jigsaw puzzles. Koenji is as much of a geek-fest.
First, we stopped for cheap fast food — which, in Japan, means vegetarian tempura and miso soup. I doused my bowl with my beloved shichimi togarashi (7-spice powder).
Koenji has one of the oddest restaurant mish-mashes you’ll encounter: a rockabilly curry house. My 80s-inspired outfit fit in with the hot pink walls and vinyl discs hanging from the ceiling.
If David Lynch and David Cronenberg opened a bar, it would be The Matching Mole (3-45-1, Eiwa building 3F, Koenji-minami). The owner is a glum otaku who surrounds himself with bloody fake fingernail sculptures and disemboweled cat keychains. Not even my friend’s Banana Brothers art could lift the gloom of the disturbing hentai.
Off to Vamp Bar, a retro-cluttered hole manned by a rock chick. She showed us camera-phone photos of her thrash band; we forced her to watch our YouTube videos. (You, too, should subscribe to his and my channel.)
On the way out, we stumbled across a 100 yen ($1) grab box. What do you think Happy Phantom took? The golf club, of course!
The next time you’re in Tokyo, come to Koenji for an unusual and inexpensive bar-hopping experience. If you run into Manabu (the emo kid with the hot Prince Valiant haircut), tell him we say hello!
Song of the Day #189: My cat Basil Farrow loves to listen to classical music… he’s currently dangling from a chair and twitching his ears to this Mozart playlist.
LA CARMINA
