MONOMANIA, WORLD WIDE LOVE, KYOYA TEDDY MONSTER IN LAFORET TOKYO. KAWAII CUTE JAPANESE JEWELRY, WOMEN'S CLOTHES, HAIR ACCESSORIES.
Exciting news — I’ll be hosting and fixing (scheduling) another TV show in Tokyo! This time, I’m working with two ebullient young Australians, both named Tim. They’re the creators of a new travel show with Sony Australia and Elsewhere Productions. I can’t wait to take them to my favorite Gothic / bizarre places in Japan — and I’ll be sure to put up clips for you to see. The other TV shoot, with Dutch Pepsi, is going insanely well… I’ll have photos and videos on this blog in a week or so!
There are a few new stores in the basement of Laforet Harajuku. Monomania has a light, upscale-casual collection. The cute animal prints and pastels are a bit reminiscent of Fairy Kei. (Search for “fairy kei” in the box on the sidebar, to see photos.)
Monomania isn’t really my style — not sufficiently alternative-flamboyant — but I think the concept is well-conceived.
However, I am very fond of the new accessories and jewelry shop at the foot of the staircase. (I can’t recall the name…) You’ll find handmade, indie accessories here, including Kyoya Teddy Monster. Eyeballs and bloody teddy bears have never looked so enticing!
Everywhere you turn, there’s J-rock and Visual Kei inspiration… heaven in a department store. Coming up: Sweet Lolita brand boutiques in Laforet. For a full Gothic Lolita Punk shopping guide to Tokyo, please visit my shopping guide.
Bonus photo: Yukiro and I are obsessed with eating kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) pizza. Asia is known for strange pizza toppings, and pumpkin slices are no exception. But trust us — it’s scrumptious. Best of all, each wedge is only 200 yen ($2). It WAS being sold in the Sunpierrot bakery, located to the right when you enter Shinjuku Station east exit… but the pizza has now been discontinued. Sad face. (Is life worth living any more?)
Reader Angela and her friends created a school publication, A|WARE Magazine, and featured me in their article about blogging. (Thank you for the mention!) Their insight about blogging as self-reflection is well put: “Blogging forces an individual to face his or her feelings and sort them out. Being able to look back at previous posts is also very valuable — to reflect upon what has changed, what has stayed the same; to feel regret, happiness, nostalgia; and to put things into perspective.” (You can see the entire magazine here.)
Thank you also to Black-Mana (left) and RunawayCosplay (right) for the pretty drawings! I love seeing your La Carmina / Basil artwork; send me an email and I’m happy to feature your work on my blog.
PS: Drool or vomit over my new CNNGo article: Asia’s 10 most dangerously decadent desserts.
PPS: Don’t forget to enter my Dir en Grey contest: you can win one of FIVE PAIRS of tickets to the Club Nokia Los Angeles show, on Sept 8. Contest ends TOMORROW so hurry here (and tell all your LA friends!).
Japanese Word of the Day: Dousa = Action, movement
Song of the Day: Suzy Q – Computer Music (Oh 1985…)
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LA CARMINA & BASIL T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY! SEATTLE UWAJIMAYA ASIAN SUPERMARKET, CANDY PINK SWEET LOLITA JSK.
Great news — I’ll be extending my stay in Tokyo for another travel TV shoot! I’ll let you know the details in a jiffy…
All good things must come to an end… The limited edition La Carmina and Basil Farrow t-shirt from my Akumu Ink collaboration will ONLY be available until the end of August — and then it’ll be gone forever. Last chance to get one here. And we’re going out with a bang by giving you a chance to WIN a black and white Carmina tee (pictured above) in your size! Keep reading to learn how to enter.
Rose and I had a wonderful time in Seattle overall; we wanted to stay longer! So many things to love:
– Daiso, the 100 yen “dollar store.” There are several locations!
– The free downtown public transportation. We easily took it from Pike Place Market to…
– Uwajimaya, the enormous Asian supermarket with groceries, gifts and delicious food stalls. Rose picked up rice candy in a disturbing package.
– Kinokuniya Bookstore, located in the Uwajimaya complex. We gushed over the kawaii stickers, plush toys, stationery, and Japanese fashion magazines such as Deco Alice (which comes with sewing patterns).
Look whose book is featured on the Kinokuniya cookbook display! Have you ordered a copy of Cute Yummy Time yet? 70 recipes for making food “so cute, you could just eat it.”
After, we went to Gameworks, the video arcade center. We had a bit too much fun playing the Hummer driving game, which shook us around as we zoomed through dangerous courses. And of course, we took purikura (sticker booth photos). The Spooky one in the middle is quite unusual, don’t you think?
Bonus outfit photos… this is Rose’s new custom-fitted Sweet Lolita dress, which she ordered online.
How cute are Rose’s panda bear shorts, held up with suspenders? Her jacket is by Sex Pot Revenge, and her shirt is (obviously) Super Lovers.
Ready to win a Gothic Carmina x Scottish Fold black women’s t-shirt, printed to any size you desire (XS-XL)? To enter the contest, all you need to do is spread the word about the giveaway via a blog post, forum, Tweet, Facebook, etc… Then, leave a comment in this post with a link to your post/Tweet. The more ways you promote the contest, the more chances you have to win. Go to it and good luck!
Contest ends August 28th at midnight Pacific Time. Winner will be picked at random.
LA CARMINA
