Displaylog.exe

//TOKYO_Q4::DAY3-HARAJUKU

    HELLO AGAIN !! Cat Smiling Emoji

    Today is the third day of this little travel log Cat Smiling Emoji This entry will be a bit longer than usual since I did a lot more things in Harajuku on that day ! But you might want to stick around because I'll talk about where I usually shop for cute cyber stuff and some artists that are worth seeing !

    Morning treats ! Cat Waiting For Food Emoji

    My partner wanted to get some coffee at one of the coffee shops near our hotels, so we did ! I don't like coffee so I didn't get anything to-go and was instead taking some selfies while we were waiting for the order.

    Once we were done we headed to ... *drumroll* Denny's ! I bet you're REALLY surprised huh ? Cat Laugh Emoji I got the same thing as yesterday (french toasts), which I've written extensively about in the Day 2 entry, so I'm not gonna go into it here again. Cat Laugh Emoji

    Outfit of the Day Weird Looking Cat Emoji

    Today I decided to go with an outfit inspired by the 天使界隈 (Tenshi Kaiwai) and 水色界隈 (Mizuiro Kaiwai) communities Cat Angel Emoji The outfit was very kindly sent to me by akblbaaa and since it had that cyber-angel vibe, I decided to use my CD hair accessories I made, as well as a keyboard necklace to complete the internet angel look !

    Takeshita Street Cat in Lolita Dress Emoji

    I usually avoid Takeshita Street like the plague because it is immensely crowded and it has now become full of tourist traps due to its popularity internationally. 99% of the shops on the main Takeshita Street sell the same cheap stuff you can find at Claire's and all the cheap plastic souvenirs aimed at tourists... Cat Embarassed Emoji

    It is really sad how the main Takeshita Street has lost all the soul it had in the early 2000s-2010s when I was there for the first time Cat Sad Emoji Since then, most of the niche j-fashion stores have closed and been replaced with dropshipping-ass trash stores aimed to sell cheap Shein clothes and plastic souvenirs to as many people as possible Cat Angry Emoji If it's your first time in Tokyo, I would still go check it out as a landmark, but unless you know the store you're going to on the main street, avoid buying anything, as a lot of it is lowkey a scam now. You can still find SOME decent stores on the main street but it is definitely rare.

    HOWEVER, once you go away from the main Takeshita street, in one of the adjacent alleys/side streets, you suddenly will find the actual cool j-fashion stores with personality just like in the 2010's ! Cat Nod Emoji Here are some pics I took there 10 years ago in 2015 :

    Photoism

    One of the places on the main street I wanted to try is Photoism which is a location containing some photobooths similar to the Japanese purikura, but these are from Korea and edit your face WAAAAY less than the purikura photobooths. Which is exactly why I wanted to try it to get some NORMAL pictures of me and my partner this time (real ones will remember the purikura incident) Cat Laugh Emoji I'm glad to report that they do not edit your face at all ! So you can actually get some natural pictures there ! They have several locations in Tokyo (and in Korea of course).

    ACDC RAG

    Next I headed to another shop I wanted to check out which is ACDC RAG because they often have some really cute cyber clothes & accessories ! Cat Love Emoji This time when I went there, there was a super cute Cyber Miku collab with a bunch of shirts, pants, jackets etc. I'm a massive Miku fan since I was a kid, so I was debating on buying all of it, but I had to remind myself that I don't really wear graphic tees anymore so realistically I wouldn't know how to style those properly ! Cat Nope Emoji

    Another collab that caught my eyes is this adorable Cinnamoroll collab with some lacey jackets / shorts (honestly the shape was pretty unisex !) as well as some headdresses and maid-style aprons to put on top of the jacket !

    Some honorable mentions are these gameboy themed jacket, sporty pastel jacket and the cyber sigilism shirt + skirt combo ! I was about to buy the cyber electricity shirt but I didn't like the green color on it Cat Nope Emoji Would you buy some of these ? ACDC RAG ships internationally through their website so it's quite easy to get their stuff outside of Japan !

    I ended up buying this sleeveless white zip-up top, which was actually in the Vkei/Goth section of the store, I can't wait to style it in an outfit ! You can't see it that well in this picture but it has 4 silver ring holes in the neck area at the front, pretty cool Cat Smiling Emoji

    Getting Lunch Cat Eating Something Delicious Emoji

    At this point, we were getting pretty damn hungry Cat Hungry Emoji we were craving some good Omurice so we looked around Google Maps for a restaurant and found one specializing in Omurice nearby called Tamago Kitchen !

    I particularly like the kind of Omurice that's served with the demi-glace sauce, and they had exactly that, look at how YUMMY this looks ... The whole place was decorated in those whimsical little characters, with a lot of hand-drawn artwork on the walls, this made the whole place really unique and cosy ! Cat Heart Emoji

    Shopping in LaForet Cat Shopping Emoji

    Now let's head to my favorite mall in Harajuku, LaForet ! This mall has the biggest concentration of shops I enjoy, cool pop-ups and events, so it's always a must-visit place everytime I'm in Tokyo !

    Alldollscode Pop-up

    Upon entering the mall, I noticed a little pop-up on the ground level with goods from an artist I've followed for a while on Instagram : Alldollscode ! I'm a really big fan of their whimsical art style so I was excited to see the different items in the pop-up ! Cat Yippee Emoji

    You can imagine I was reaaaally tempted to buy everything in the pop-up but I had to contain myself... There was a lot of different keychains, bookmarks, prints as well as sticker sheets. I ended up buying this glitter photo-holder with Alldollscode's original character on it !

    NMTC+

    Another store I really wanted to check out because of some legwarmers I saw on their instagram page, is NMTC+ ! They've been one of my favorite stores in Harajuku for a while, just because they're one of the very rare stores selling cybercore clothes in the light-grey/white color palette Cat Nod Emoji Since my previous favorite store closed it's physical location, I've been relying on NMTC+ to try-on stuff before I buy it ! I ended up purchasing the legwarmers I saw on their instagram, as well as a long-sleeve hooded top and a pair of cargo pants.

    Love & Madness Market 愛と狂気のマーケット

    Another of my favorite area in LaForet is the 愛と狂気のマーケット (Ai to Kyouki no Market) which is a creator market where different independent artists can display their goods and work ! I believe the selection of artists rotates every month, so you'll always find something new everytime you visit Cat Dance Emoji

    Let me walk you through some of the art that stood out to me that day, in order of appearance below :

    • diemilko - gurokawaii fashion & accessories
    • vintage fashion magazines like Fruits and Tune to browse
    • cheaprumo - accessories from recycled keyboards
    • chakiraccho - colorful laser-cut ipod earrings (and more)
    • obaketenshi - angelic clothing & accessories

    One of the big display areas was featuring an artist who's art particularly spoke to me Cat Laughing Emoji Marina Fujiwara was showcasing their collection named 無駄づくり (in English "Almost Useful Lab") with various items created for hyper-specific purposes, meant to solve one very specific (but slightly minor) problem in your life. Some of the highlights include :

    • The Brag Glass - a magnifying glass to place on top of your luxury bags' logos so people can REALLY see your bag is designer
    • FUCK YOU Keyboard - a keyboard with nothing but the keys F, U, C, K, Y, O, and U.
    • Loading Circle Machine - an automatic loading circle so you can always pretend to have lag in real life & escape ZOOM meetings
    • Meta Place - a handy adaptator to be able to wear multiple earrings at once on your ears
    • Censored Ring - a ring that automatically censors your middle finger, very family friendly
    • A Creation For Quitting Your Job - an Ikea-style giant middle finger you can assemble to tell your boss to fuck off

    CTCTYO

    Another of my fav store that I check out every year because they always have new things in stock, is CTCTYO ChuochoTacticalCraft ! They make industrial, futuristic, cyberpunk accessories made of laser-cut acrylic. I already own a few of their items, but they had released some new stuff recently, so I wanted to check it out ! I ended up buying a hair pin in the shape of a Windows "System Error" pop-up Cat Dance Emoji I was debating getting one of their angel halo but unfortunately the color I wanted was out of stock Cat Sad Emoji I think this brand would also be a good fit with techwear outfits!

    GROUNDS Store 003

    Let's head out of the LaForet mall, to the next place I absolutely wanted to go to : the GROUNDS shoe store ! Cat Dance Emoji They're my favorite shoes brand so naturally I've been eyeing one of their new "Skyscraper Wire" pairs and I wanted to try them on before buying them. I was right to do that because I ended up being pretty disappointed with the color. Cat EmbarassedEmoji I thought the grey color would be lighter but it ended up being a darker grey that's almost black, and therefore I feel like they wouldn't fit any of my outfits. The other colors available were a greenish teal or pink which I'm also not a fan of Cat Sad Emoji Better luck next time !

    Thank you for reading this third travel log ! I hope it wasn't too long to read but I did do a LOT of things that day and I had a LOT of things to recommend to you, so I didn't want to skip on any of it ! I'll see you in the next one, stay tuned ! Cat Waving Emoji

    Web Clap by FC2