Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
PEPSI TV SHOW! FUN PLACES IN TOKYO, JAPAN. ALICE IN WONDERLAND CAFE, SHINJUKU KARAOKE SINGING, HARAJUKU FASHION.
Avast, me hearties! A million apologies for yesterday’s technical difficulties. (My server ran aground… but we’re back to smooth sailing now.)
Are you ready to watch the first of several Dutch Pepsi TV episodes? Keep scrolling down — the video is in this post!
As you know, I wrote a book about Tokyo’s Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants. So I took the Netherlands TV crew to the Alice in Wonderland cafe, where we were served by cute Alice waitresses. The cute food included tuna/avocado caterpillar sushi, eggplant/salmon Cheshire Cat pizza, and a cereal/fruit sundae.
In Wonderland, the menus take the form of pop-up books. Ilya turned the puff pastry cat into a Scottish Fold, in Basil Farrow’s honor.
After, we met up with the rest of the Addams Family at Pasela Karaoke (the parlor famous for the big toast dessert — remember this blog post?) When singing is involved, things turn scary. As you’ll see in the video, Mistress Maya freaked even US out!
We celebrated my birthday with wine and one of Pasela’s bizarre concoctions. Yes, it’s a loaf of white bread with cream, fruit, flowers, and zig-zag Pikachu tails sticking out of it. The Dutch TV crew kindly brought me gifts from Amsterdam (including a Miffy t-shirt!) and we all had a goofy time singing together.
The TV crew went back to their hotel, but the nightcrawling never ends for us creatures of the night. Absinthe was calling our name, so we went to Bar PSY in Kabuki-cho for a fix. (What am I wearing? My outfit details can be found in this post.)
Ready to see a moving picture of the first Pepsi adventure? Come watch the video above or here on YouTube. (Please subscribe so you won’t miss out on the next episodes.)
What do you think — did Pepsi do a good job of capturing our flamboyant, Gothic scene? Wouldn’t you like to join in on the fun?
Japanese Word of the Day: Otona = Adult
Song of the Day: Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know. Why? If you check out the video, you’ll know — and LOL.
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TOKYO TRAVEL TV SHOOT HOSTING & ARRANGING: DUTCH PEPSI. SEGA GAME CENTER, HARAJUKU FASHION GUIDE.
The best place in the world to take outfit photos is in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan. Here’s what I wore on the Dutch Pepsi TV shoot (I’ll post the video of the first episode in the next post!)
Hair accessories: I’m wearing my new (secondhand) Alice and the Pirates hat, from Closet Child Shinjuku. I added a gold chain to the side, a clip-on off-white flower from a fabric store sale, and a gifted Cutie Dynamite gold hair clip.
Makeup: Nothing too extreme. Black eyeliner, false eyelashes and gem stickers from Daiso, and a light pink Japanese lipstick with gloss.
Oversized pink heart ring: Studio Alta, Ikebukuro.
Lolita dress with cherry print and sailor collar: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. From Closet Child.
Hole-y white tights: gifted from We Love Colors.
Goth coffin-shaped crucifix backpack: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Ikebukuro
Crucifix Mary Jane platform shoes: h.NAOTO, from Closet Child Shinjuku. My latest purchase. Only 3000 yen ($30!)
I met the Netherlands TV host, Bo Jeuken, in front of Harajuku Station. We walked down Takeshita Doori; she interviewed me about my work and the various Japanese street style tribes. In front of Laforet department store, we stopped to take a photo with these kodomotachi.
It was the TV crew’s very first time in Japan. My friends and I were their guides to the spooky and electrifying underground culture here. Nightcrawling, Goth/fetish parties, weird theme restaurants… let’s go!
Cameraman Nick is stunned at the eclectic selection of goods at Don Quixote Shinjuku. Bo is a great sport, and dove into every activity we put in front of her. (And you’ll soon see how we brought out the torture equipment…)
In addition to on-camera TV hosting, I also do “fixing” (local production coordinating in Japan) with my team of pirates. We schedule appointments, translate and use our connections to bring television crews into our world. For example, you can’t just waltz into a Tokyo game center with a video camera; we need to fill out forms and navigate the company’s bureaucracy to get filming permissions.
Many restaurants and shops are leery of having cameras come in (since that might disturb customers). And they often demand hefty shooting fees. But the Sega gaming center folk are fantastic. They not only let us shoot the Shibuya branch, but also play video games and take purikura (sticker booth photos) for free!
We did a variety of activities for the cameras, including a drumming game battle. Are you excited to see our series of web episodes for Pepsi? I’ll embed the first one in the next blog post, so check back! (Also coming up… photos from the Australian TV shoot, including the h.NAOTO Goth fashion show.)
What do y’arr think of my pirate gear? Tighter than a knot in Blackbeard’s facial hair, or t’Davy Jones with it?
Japanese Word of the Day: Tsukarete imasu = Tired… cause I am, after 3 days straight of TV shoots…
Song of the Day: Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs (I am tired, I am weary. I could sleep for a thousand years).
LA CARMINA
