MALA IN JAPAN

HARAJUKU

Let's start off strong. I went to Harajuku very early on in my Japan trip. By this I mean, I went the day after I arrived! This was because I really didn't want to put off going, and I knew I'd likely return. It takes me a lot to process information, so I wanted to return and come back.

The big place to go in Harajuku to me is Laforet which is technically not on Takeshita. Laforet was fun and useful though I went to better malls elsewhere! Still, any jfashion enthusiast should go by there. They sometimes have events too. I got something for a friend and mailed it to them haha. There was a big fruits event too but I didn't buy any cause.. I was.. indecisive..

Fun fact about lolita stores in Harajuku (and other jfashion as well but Especially lolita), they do not allow pictures in there stores. Some will allow you if you ask very nicely, but I wanted to be polite and avoid being a nuisance. I was also extremely overwhelmed (positive!) because I was traveling to Japan to study abroad.

This meant that I was speaking mostly in Japanese, even when people spoke English to me. I went to Metamorphose and stumbled through asking for a parasol. They didn't have one. Which was awkward. I tried on shoes in the Baby the Stars Shine Bright store and was convinced to by a bunny ear headpiece by an extremely lovely worker.. I cried in Miho Matsuda because I was overwhelmed which was really embarrassing, but they were extremely nice to me. I bought a parasol from Miho Matsuda which I used throughout my JP trip and still use now! I prefer it over the one I sought out in Metamorphose. It's smaller and suits my coords.

I went back a few times. We had partners at the University we studied at. They showed me a family style restaurant for sushi after explaining that they didn't think there would be a lot of sushi in harajuku because it is so focused at families.. It seemed a bit too casual for the fashion district.

Also earlier I said there aren't lolita stores that let you take pictures. There are exceptions. I got a picture of Maxicimam which unfolds from the wall. The Maxicimam store opened late so the students I went with and I stood there confused only for the store worker to show up apologizing repeatedly. It was cute.

I was honestly too overwhelmed to shop there which I regret, haha. I also got pictures of the Bodyline shoes in the legendary Bodyline store on Takeshita (which no longer exists). Bodyline is not really a lolita store but it also is.. The culture is just different. They didn't care.

While in Majoh, which was the store I most excited to go to (which I don't buy from anymore due to MrCorset being openly genocidal), I tried on an OP and it was so beautiful that I bought it... I almost bought a feather headdress but it was just too expensive, but ah, it was a really delightful t ime. It is a magical moment for me even after all this time. I still love this dress.

SUGINAMI AND TOEI ANIMATION MUSEUMS

Obviously, I love anime and it's one reason I wanted to go to Japan. I did less on the otaku side of things due to my lolita fixation but TRUST... I did do what I liked. I often partook in smaller things though one of the bigger things my class did was visit the Suginami and Toei animation museums.

I did not really research a lot of anime stuff to Do in Japan due to the kind of.. person that I am. I just don't really like a lot of popular new and old anime (well, okay, i like some classics like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dragon Ball, as well as new things like Chainsaw Man). I really wasn't sure what I was looking for outside of like.. certain activities like the arcades of Akihabara.

But the museums really made me crazy. They had older drawing equipments, libraries, and molds of the hands of artists I love.It was crazy. Th West.. like.. hates anime. Like, I don't think Westerners hate anime as a whole but like.. As anime gets more popular, it's still Seperate from a lot of other Western art and rejected in a lot of spaces. So, it was like.. nice. It makes me tear up. As I release more games on Steam and am forced to really talk about my art in person, I've had to really grapple with how Western artists who aren't into anime view anime as a whole. It's been hard. It SUCKS. Obviously, it's not really like that in Tokyo and other major city centers.. Anime is everywhere.. Like the train stationss and the like.. I really love anime as I guess.. an art form so even seeing the little ads made me happy. Sorry, this is a longer ramble going beyond the scope of the museums.

I like the museums partially because they were these small special things made for beloved studios and mangaka. The artists I couldn't really talk about in my art classes were loved.. and supported.. and memorialized. Lately it feels like a lot of the young artists I like into pop culture all have to suffer and accept they'll never be remembered or be viewed as mattering.. So.. it just.. was special.

One special thing to me was seeing a drawing by Range Murata on the restaurant wall. There were other things by him too but when I walked into the restaurant and saw it, I got extremely excited. It really makes me smile.

Oh also, in my photos here, you can see my Neant Glass jewelry haha! It actually ALL broke in Japan (except for my earrings) lol.

AKASAKA

I only went to Akasaka once though I wish I went back to that area more than once. Obviously, this was study abroad, so I went to many cultural sites. These interest me naturally. I am a person who is easily influenced by superstition across cultures... And shopping. Akasaka is one of the most visited sites in the world because of its large shopping district.

Akasasa is a beautiful temple. The temples support themselves through donations and the like though some like Asakasa have very large areas around them full of vendors.. Even outside of the shrine itself, there is so much stuff to buy. I got kimonos for my sisters along with kobe beef for myself. I did get my brother a little drum toy. He probably broke it.. It's lost somewhere now. I WISH I BOUGHT A MAGNET!!!!!!! Did you know buying little trinkets is actually part of JP culture? It's expected to bring back souvenirs, お土産 (omiyage), when you are traveling! So delightful. I wish I thought about that more when I was hopping from place to place.

The kobe beef ramen was a spiritual experience. I actually struggle with ramen and beef.. But I remember her.. Beautiful kobe beef ramen and wonderful lady who was so excited by how much I loved it. I didn't eat as much as I should've in Japan.I was coasting a lot on Konbini food because I'm stupid, but.. oohgh.. Kobe beef.

Oh, also, I got the best fortune. I bring this up because I mentioned I am really superstitious in general. So it made me really insane (positive). It was the only fortune I pulled in Japan because.. I didn't want to override it. And ooh was I lucky in Japan.

This is where all my Neant Glass Jewelry fell apart too >_< !!!

Team Labs

Part of my study group was Digital Media students (perhaps me, in another life, if I thought the art industry in America had any value). This meant that we did a lot of Digital Media oriented things along with culture studies. Our classes were split because I was focused more on language, and I have no idea what they were doing but we did a lot together.

One of those activities was going to Team Labs where they explained a lot of the cool technological stuff to us. Really awesome. I think you can go to Japan and have a very affordable trip without studying abroad, but I likely wouldn't have done something like this on my own because I don't tend to seek out stuff like this.

Yokohoma (Shopping Log)

My class took a trip to Hasadera. Afterwards, I decided to stop by Yokohoma.. I planned it carefully. I wanted to visit Yokohoma but it would've always been a long ride, but the trains in Japan are very easy to navigate.

I went to Yokohoma for two reasons. Number one: Yokohoma Shopping Log is one of my favorite manga and wanted to see the place it took place in. Number Two: I wanted to go to Vivre and Yokohoma's Closetchild.

The Vivre staff were nice. I wasn't pushed into buying anything, smiles. I got a small bow I wear even now from AP. The Closetchild I got misc things from. It was very good! The third best Closetchild of the trip.

Vivre is also extremely beautiful.. Mm. It's just a nice mall. It was nice visiting other jfashion centers that weren't Harajuku. It made me think about Western interaction with Jfashion way differently.

One reason was because the top of Vivre has a BOOKOFF which was interesting to me..I.. wonder what its like to live in a major city center.

PS. I was ALLOWED to take photos in AP and film. I was just embarrassed lol. I took some higher ones but my low filming was just because I was nervous.

Kamakura (+)

Before I went to Yokohoma, I went to Kamakura. This was likely.. my favorite day of the trip? I loved Yokohoma but Kamakura was something else. Doing them both in the same day resulted in a special euphoria.

The Buddha was large. I did not go inside because I theorized it would be a horrific sensory experience for me, but I liked being there.. I was pretty quiet. The old women were nice and a guy in my group who wears like a size 12 found a traditional shoe!

Really though, the highlight of my trip here was Hasadera.. I've talked about Hasadera before.. on my diary (which at the time of writing is currently down) and to my friends. Hasadera is a temple because go to when they experience a problem with their child: whether it be a miscarriage, an illness, or missing children. People leave Jizo statues for their children.. There are thousand of them. I cried really hard. I still tear up thinking about it. I thought about my sisters.. I thought about the other kids I care about. I wondered how it felt to make a pilgrimage here for your child. There was a sign saying to leave a wish for the priests to pray for you.

It was also an extremely beautiful place.. I hope someday I can take my siblings.

Junji Ito Exhibit

Because Japan is a place with an actual thriving arts scene that exists outside the realm of Fine Arts, one of my goals was to attend an exhibit. Not just any exhibit: The Junji Ito Exhibit.

I love Junji Ito as an artist more than a mangaka at times (though obviously it goes hand in hand). I have some of his artbooks and was extremely excited to see the art I loved by him in person.. I went with the Japanese classmates who helped me navigate my way there.. It was in a part of Tokyo that was unfamiliar to me. I am unsure I would've felt confident going without them.

I really liked seeing his watercolor and oil paintings.. I, in the past, didn't care for Junji Ito's painted work because his inking was so beautiful.. But then I found his oil paintings in my Pinterest crawling.. I over time also grew an appreciation for how he uses watercolors.. He is a really magnificent artist.

Osaka

Okay so. Osaka. I don't.. think.. I'd travel to Osaka again.. It would only be a day trip for me. In Osaka, I got extremely sick LOL. Osaka felt more car ccentric than a lot of the other major cities we went to which was unplesant. The parks and stuff were REALLY fun, but.. like..

I.. kept going to this train station.. and getting TRAPPED INSIDE.. Because the inside is endless.. One of the exits is for taxis. THERE WAS NOWHERE TO WALK. I guess many people travel there. It was the closest station to our hostel. I felt trapped.

My classmates loved the theme park stuff but my main thing was Amerikakura. Amerikakura is ver.. special. When I talk about Japan, I say my favorite Jfashion place was Vivre in Yokohoma, BUT well, while I struggled with Osaka, I really did love Amerikakura. Marble's store is beautiful. (... I left my parasol there and they held it for me too.). The old AP store is awesome and the Closet Child was really fantastic.

And while My affinity for the parks wasn't super high, I left Universal a bit early and took one of the ferries to a nearby island. I rode a ferris wheel and went to a One Piece shop and got some merch for friends. I looked around some small places..It was fun.. Quiet.. Osaka was really stimulating for me at all times. I also got in an Onsen there because there was one in my hostel.

I talked to an old lady in the hostel.. When I used the extent of my JP, she spoke in English.. She said she traveled from far away (two hours, I did not comment on this not being that far to me, it was insightful) to perform with a band. I think I told her the main musical experience I had was in choir.. It was.. nice... It was really hot in that room.. I was dizzy.. I did not want to leave.

Akihabara I didn't spend as much as time as I would've liked in Akihabara. There are reasons for this thouhg.

If you are an anxious person, Akihabara is really scary because the advertisers there can recognize shyness and pull you into shops. But also, I found a lot of the hobby oriented shops to be kind. The maids are polite and scary. I felt empathy for them.. I do not like that they have to stand on the street and wave people over. I also disliked having to ignore them so I had lots of cards / advertisements from maids.

By the end of my JP trip, I got very tired of.. socializing. I was also a bit ill.. So I spnt more time in Akihabara playing arcade games.

Misc

There are many places I went to where I did not stay for very long or I can not write in depth logs about them for the privacy of the people within them due to the nature of my studies. Also, I liked to visit small temples and simply roamed around freely.

Some places are also aimed at tourists in and out of Japan and unfortunately, when I encounter a tourist activity (ie Skytree), I enjoy them but often won't stay for long.

I also liked to find foods.. I am a very picky eater, kind of. A lot of my food problems are related to texture and the weight of food in my stomach. I actually found JP meals to be really.. heavy.. But I still ate it. I tried to eat other stuff too. I have pictures of squid on a stick because it is a kind of food I really like.. The chewy texture of the squid.. CHOMP. I haven't actually had squid like it since I was a kid.. The buffet I loved stopped serving it I guess.

Other little notes include parks in Tokyo are not Really parks to me. They might be to Japanese people, but when I looked for parks, I found what I was looking for when I searched for garden. Inner Tokyo.. I could get nature deprived.

LIVE HAUS

I traveled to Setagaya to go to Live Haus to watch my friend Emamouse perform. It was a really special experience to me because I wouldn't have had it at all without my online ties to Coenjo. Emamouse is very kind. She gave me stickers (on my old laptop now). I had a nice conversation with her as well as another musician and his friend. That musician was Chiba of Chiba Station.

I am not.. tied to music as much as I'd like to be.. But going to Live Haus made me fall in love with live performances. There were probably less than 20 people there, but.. I think.. I almost cried.. Or maybe I did.. I really loved everyone.. But.. Chiba Station introduced me to a new kind of performance style I've never seen before..I seek it out actively now. At the last Machine Girl concert I went to, one of the opening musicians, Baliciega, performed in a similar style and I lost my shit there too. I am not.. musicly inclined but it's just.. a singer who plays on synths as they sing and does different affects into the microphone.., it.. is so good..

It really affects me. It amkes me want to vomit(positive).It puts me into a euphoric state. I first saw it here. and it was so sooo fantastic.

One of Chiba's friends talked to me too.. We talked about Ib and Umineko and otakuism.. Which was also surprising. I need it tobe understood that like.. Mm, I didn't really grasp the popularity of Ib in Japan. I knew of it for Umineko (we talked about the stageplay) but not Ib. It kind of opened up my brain.

When I walked out, a girl pointed to my Baby the Stars Shine Bright bag and said "legendary." I wish I could've stayed longer but the trains.. It was.. so so fun. I'm really grateful Emamouse invited me. Sometimes, I get so lonely.. I don't feel like a human being.. It happens when I'm abroad.. or back home.. Thinking about this night reminds me of my humanity.