Tokyo Visual Kei & Jrock music store in Laforet. Fairy kei, tattoo pattern stockings, Fruits Magazine.
Many readers tell me they first became captivated by Harajuku fashion after the release of Phaidon’s Fruits, a colorful tome of outfit snaps.
The youths in Fruits accumulated a good percentage of their wardrobe from Laforet Harajuku. Today, the department store remains a center of alterna-pop fashion. Shall we take a tour?
I always begin with the basement levels, which hold (quite aptly) underground fashion and Visual Kei music.
Laforet’s Jrock music store has CDs, posters, magazines and memorabilia of your favorite spiky-haired acts. Band members often come for meet-and-greets, or to “take over” a shop for a few hours.
In addition to the usual cute-Gothic clothing, there’s recently been a stronger presence of what some might call “Nu Goth” fashion.
The look: sleek and high-quality black garments, usually layered, and involving leather and copious spikes or studs.
On the poppy side, colorful printed tights are all the rage. Some stockings are quite pricy — $30-50 US and up — but they have intricate designs and limited runs. I’m not so keen on wearing patterned tights like these, but I couldn’t resist the Innocent World x Alphonse Mucha ones.
Hot pink is… hot, at least in this boutique.
Do you know who this “Darling” character is? Would you wear this neon-1980s style?
Satin jackets and full-on prints.
Googly-eyed jewelry, bright bangles and two-colored pastel hair.
Love the “Evil Cutie” shirt, with an earless Ziggy Stardust bunny and bat!
At the entrance of Laforet, I ran into my friend Misha Janette, Tokyo-based stylist and creator of Plumb wigs.
She was helping her friend, owner of Harcoza, during their pop-up event.
Never seen such quirky, squishable jewelry and clothing.
Back to the Lolita levels (the basement of Laforet). Alice and the Pirates is on a pastel kick at the moment.
Atelier Pierrot stays dark and elegant. Their fabrics and shapes haven’t changed much over the years, but their formula is sound — they make some of the best corset-waist ruffle skirts around.
Harajuku girls outside Angelic Pretty. Their coordinates sum up the spooky-cute, fairy-Lolita vibe of these stores.
Eyeballs, brains, and vampire fangs at HellCatPunks. There are quite a lot of eyeball accessories around.
Putumayo’s punky-Loli look always stands out.
One of the most unique and focused shops is Nile Perch: a wistful, pastel fairy-kei dream.
Can’t get much sweeter than scallops, lace, bows and soft rainbow hues. This style is different from Sweet Lolita because it lacks the bell skirt shape and Victorian-Alice styling.
The upper levels of Laforet are a mixed bag. I enjoyed this twee clothing shop, with polka dot retro heels and cats galore.
Kitty-shaped basket purse… twee heaven.
How did you like the clothes in Laforet, compared to Shibuya 109? For more Harajuku Fruits style, check out my Tokyo store guide. More cute Japanese boutique photos coming up — including a Steampunk shop!
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Pirate Theme Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan! King of the Pirates, Odaiba Aqua City cosplay cafe.
Avast, Captain Carmina commands ye to walk the plank! Keep yer eyes on this post for a Piratical adventure, and the premiere of Yukiro’s glam-horror-diva movie, Sandless Days (I’m in it!).
My crew works hard, and we’ve successfully built a TV coordinating, hosting and consulting business together: La Carmina & The Pirates.
I treated them to a well-deserved lunch at a fitting Tokyo theme restaurant: King of the Pirates. (Address: 5F Aqua City Odaiba, 1-7-1 Daiba, Minato-ku)
Japan has many theme restaurants that range in size, concept, and craziness. The Pirates restaurant is a relatively new one, and it’s yo-ho-ho wonderful.
This restaurant is operated by Diamond Dining, who also run Christon Cafe, Vampire Cafe and other dark, themed eateries.
“King of the Pirates” is appropriately located over the water in Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo Bay. This is a hub of entertainment; there are game centers, theme parks, food and other slightly off-kilter attractions (like a cat petting zoo).
To get here, ride the subway to Odaiba’s Tokyo Teleport station, then follow the signs to Aqua City. You can’t miss the pirate decor that fills every nook.
Theme restaurants are not known for great food, but I enjoyed my black squid ink curry. The lunch set is a great deal, and came with salad and unlimited non-alcoholic “drink bar”.
You’re allowed to take photos and encouraged to goof around. Even the staff, dressed in swashbuckler gear, gets into the spirit.
There’s a rack of props and costumes to raid, and scurvy mannequins to pose with.
Pirate sword-fight to the death!
Who do you think conquered the treasure chest of gold doubloons?
Captain Jack Sparrow made a blood pact with Yukiro, and they bound me in metal chains.
But the ship erupted in mutiny, and we escaped overboard to Treasure Island. (Most of these photos were taken by Naomi.)
Inside the gilded ship’s cabin, filled with maps and books.
Forever grateful to have these two as me mateys.
Outside, First Mate Naomi takes the wheel, while we crouch to strike at our enemies.
This Pirate restaurant is huge, and has a deck with a seaside view of Tokyo. We’re impressed with the effort that went into the decoration.
“I swing my hair back and forth”…
Skull and crossbones top: Spider, Hong Kong
Steampunk pirate necklace, worn as a hair ornament: gifted by Ghostlove Jewelry
Compare this theme restaurant with the Pirate Pub in Vancouver, Canada.
Don’t forget my book, Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo, packed with photos and info on bizarre places to eat.
And now, we present… “The finest film of our generation. No! Wait! Of our times! No! Stop the presses! Of ALL TIME!”
Yukiro wrote and directed this masterpiece, starring the diva-licious Mommy Dearest, Sarah Devour. I’m in the last scene, as “Miss Sandy Sanchez.” We command you to watch Sandless Days — tell us what you think of our big-budget movie, and my acting skills! Ah, nothing beats doing these art projects with my friends…
How do you like King of the Pirates? Would you dare to dress up and duel? More photos from Odaiba coming up, including the Trick Museum.
LA CARMINA
