Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
ALICE AUAA JAPANESE GOTH BOUTIQUE IN MARUI ONE: DECONSTRUCTED BDSM FETISH CLOTHING DESIGNER, TOKYO INTERIOR STORE DESIGN.
On the fifth floor of Marui One Shinjuku – behind the sea of glorious Gothloli shoes – there is a discombobulating René Magritte dreamscape. Wait, what?
Ceci n’est pas une pipe. This is not a Japanese avantgarde minimalist display.
Believe it or not, it’s the Alice Auaa boutique. In the old Marui, the much-lauded designer’s deconstructed-Gothic designs were also concealed (here’s a photo for comparison) and guarded by tortured gargoyles. The new shop’s interior design amps up the surrealism: you weave between floating white doors until you meet a limb-less female. She sticks out her tongue in ecstasy as she is auto-erotically asphyxiated by an Alice Auaa scarf.
This fellow reminds me of my pre-teen years, when I wore headgear to straighten my buckteeth. Alice Auaa’s S&M and fetish-influenced accessories are strewn on a table held up by Thing. Whether or not you like her clothes, you’ve got to visit Alice Auaa’s surrealist store. It’s easy to miss so look hard!
Thanks for your sweet comments about my cute cooking video! I’m often asked where one can buy bento equipment and cute tableware. J-List has a wide selection; I quite fancy the Doraemon products (the gizmo on the right is an ice maker!). Summer the perfect time for Nihon ryori, isn’t it? I have a lot of Japanese cute cooking on the agenda… I’ll explain soon!
Song of the Day #142: Apoptygma Berzerk – Love Never Dies (The song samples CARMINA BURANA. O Fortuna!)
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CRAZY, WACKY THEME RESTAURANTS TOKYO: BOOK COVER UNVEILED! WORLD’S WEIRDEST RESTAURANTS, JAPAN MAID CAFE PHOTOS BY LA CARMINA.
I received the final book cover of my Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants book and it’s eeeeeee kawaii! I’m so happy!
Mark Batty Publisher is known for its fab fonts and design sensibility, and I’m thrilled at how the cute-meets-strange illustrations amp up the wackiness. The backdrop is the retro restaurant in Odaiba (Little Hong Kong), and the characters hint at what’s inside: cat cafes, haunted pubs, chittering monkey waiters and more.
The backside gives you a glimpse inside Tokyo’s Dog Cafe, Princess Heart, and Cos-Cha maid cafe in Akihabara. The copy reads: “La Carmina, mistress of the hugely popular Gothic Lolita website, has traveled all over Tokyo to document insanely themed eateries. Traditional dishes like sushi, rice balls and curry get tricked out thanks to theme restaurants inspired by everything from religions to animals. Waitresses dressed as maids slap you when you lose a food version of Russian roulette that concludes with a mouthful of wasabi; a drunken Buddhist monk imparts wisdom; boy-toys dote on female customers; ninjas deliver menus and throw food. With stories as quirky and singular as the restaurants she visits, illustrated with photographs of the food, menus, interiors and waiters, Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo reveals an astonishing and utterly fascinating niche of dining in one of
the world’s most vibrant cities.”
I’m so proud of this book, and ecstatic that my friends were able to take part in it. For the Vampire Cafe chapter, Count de Sang bared his fangs in front of a shattered mirror.
This is a La Carmina book, through and throughout. For our field trip to the Alice in Wonderland cafe, Yukiro Dravarious transformed into the Cheshire Cat. Each chapter has a lively writeup about our adventures.
The Wizard of the Opera theme restaurant was fun to shoot (you can see more of it in this video). Can you spot The Happy Phantom dressed as the Phantom of the Opera?
Dying to see more cute maids, schoolboys, ninjas, monsters, and bartenders in frog suits? Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants comes out this JULY… but you can pre-order it from Amazon right now. Thanks for your support, darkings – I promise to keep sharing my love of J-pop madness with you!
Song of the Day #142: Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (RIP. The day the 80s music died…)
LA CARMINA
