A new side of Shimokitazawa

Hello dear readers! How are you? The weather is warming up nicely in Tokyo, I hope it's pleasant where you are too!

Today I'll tell you about a recent visit I made to Shimokitazawa. I first heard about the area because there is a second-hand Lolita shop there, Grand Bazaar. They usually have a nice selection of Jane Marple pieces so I like to go there, however I haven't found so many other nice spots when I visit. 

Here's what I wore:

Knit: Vintage

JSK: Metamorphose temps de fille

Tights, shoes: Offbrand

I wanted to try something new this visit so I searched the internet for a nice place to have tea in Shimokitazawa, and came up with a place called La Palette. It turned out really lovely, and there's a nice pasta place next to it! I had a big bowl of seafood pasta for lunch, and then crossed over to La Palette for tea and cake. Luckily for me I don't put on weight easily, but I don't recommend this kind of lifestyle for everyone!

Apart from discovering delights for the appetite, I also discovered some other nice things. La Palette is on the north side of the station, the opposite site from Grand Bazaar Lolita. Well, all this time I had been going to the south side, but the north side is ever so much better!

It's a bit like Brighton Lanes and a bit like Camden Market, a bit like Ura-Harajuku and a bit like Daikanyama. So all in all very nice! A relaxed atmosphere, not overly crowded, cute vintage and used clothing shops, and sweet little boutiques and things. 

After exploring the north side I went across to the south and to Grand Bazaar. I tried on a few things but couldn't decide on anything particularly so I left empty handed. By this time I was getting hungry again. These 50s/60s film posters caught my eye.

It turned out that on the second floor there was an old-fashioned izakaya. There was a long wait before I could go in but I really wanted to so I was patient.

The inside was decorated with all sorts of old advertisments and magazine cuttings. The fare was not particularly good, but very cheap and besides the setting more than made up for it.

I had to resist the temptation to pull out those little tacks holding up the posters!

I really enjoyed this day in Shimokita though it was very full and tiring. I hope you enjoyed my account of it! Thanks for reading.

See you next time,

Sapphira

Disney Ambassador Hotel and Ikspiari

 Hello dear readers! How are you?

Here's the second part of my Disney trip, which is really the first, because I took these on the day I arrived at Maihama.

We checked into the Ambassador Hotel, which is decorated in Art Deco style with Disney motifs, and went shopping in Ikspiari, a mall that is connected to Tokyo Disney resort.

Here's my outfit for that day:

Hair accessory: Handmade

Blouse: Vintage

Jumperskirt: Emily Temple Cute

Others: Offbrand

Here's a close-up of my hair accessory.

The ribbon is from Laduree! It's so pretty, I had to use it for something.

This is the view from our room. It's lovely isn't it? And you can see the volcano at Disney Sea in the distance! It was much to cold to enjoy the swimming pool though.

We had tea in the hotel cafe. These were some of the desserts on offer.

I had the smoked salmon and cheese pancake set. It was really good! Plus the Mickey-shaped cheese was too cute <3

I ordered the Alice dessert to follow. Inside the cup is Earl Gray flavoured mousse. Delicious! 

We had dinner in the Rainforest Cafe in Ikspiari, and I took a picture with my lookalike. Ikspiari is like a little bit of Disneyland, there's all sorts of fun things there. There were animatronic elephants, butterflies and monkeys inside the restaurant!

This was also in Ikspiari. It's pretty as you can see!

There were all sorts of funny things going on in that big mural behind me, like this lady with a note for 'Big Daddy Iizuka'. I don't know who Big Daddy Iizuka is but he sounds scary!

Have a look at it if you visit, it really is strange!

Oh, and there was a concert being given by school children outside the Disney store. It was so adorable! The four couples at the front were doing a little dance where the boys gave the girls flowers. So cute! I think English boys would be much too bashful to do something like that, which is silly of them but there you go.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Thank you for looking and see you again soon.

Sapphira

xxxx

Harajuku Fashion Walk/Vampire Cafe

Hello dear readers! Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been busy, but I will try to catch up from now on! I have lots of nice posts I want to write :)

This post about Harajuku Fashion Walk is very belated, because I wanted to time it with the broadcast of Cool Japan, who were filming it. It turns out that they didn't feature the walk very much in the program though, but there is apparently a glimpse of my friends so I will watch it later.

Here are members of the Tokyo International Lolitas that attended the walk (photo wickedly stolen  from Tokyo Fashion)

We all tried to go for a vampiric theme in honour of Ni (the beautiful gothic lady in the centre) as it was her last Fashion Walk before leaving Japan to continue her studies. I miss her!

I don't have much gothic in my wardrobe, so I tried a sort of retro/aristocratic look instead. 

I did something slightly different with my make-up too. I usually do a 'cute' look but this time I tried to make my face look sharp. I angled my brows a little upwards and drew thick winged eyeliner without any shading on the lower lid, to focus attention upwards. I also put blusher only on the outer part of my face to look a bit paler, and used red lipgloss for a vampiric look.

Well, I have to admit I don't particularly look like a vampire, but I quite liked this outfit!

Hat, stole, gloves: Vintage

Earrings: Vivienne Westwood

Onepiece: Handmade

Others: Offbrand

Here we are all walking down Omotesando:

And near the station, which is the first meeting point:

Top hats! 

Amazing ladies! I want to frame this picture to always remember how wonderful Lolita can be <3

The camera crew filming:

After the walk a couple of us got crepes. This was the first time I had eaten a crepe in Harajuku, can you believe it?

It was Ni's farewell party at the Vampire Cafe that evening. It was too dark for my camera to take good pictures, but I have to say it wasn't the most fantastic place I have ever been. Apparently we weren't in the best room, but I don't know that it would have been a great deal better. Also the waitress almost set me on fire by creeping up behind me with a flaming desert that ended up tasting of lighter fluid or something....

The menu was a bit unimaginative too (they just added 'vampire' to the name of the dish, or set it on fire it seemed), but at least my pasta was yummy! It had a tortilla bat on it. You can also see the coffin-shaped drink menu in this photo.

It was a very nice day, even if the restaurant wasn't quite up to scratch and even if we are not famous tv stars now! I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx

Daikanyama

Hello dear readers! How are you?

The other day I went to Daikanyama for the first time. There's no BABY store there anymore sadly, but there are vintage and second hand shops, and it's a nice area.

Here's my outfit, taken near CouCou, a really cute 300yen shop!

JSK: Metamorphose

Ribbon: Jane Marple

Fawn collar: H&M Kids (modified)

I was aiming to achieve a sort of fairytale maiden look with this outfit. I got the fur collar ages ago but it's only recently that I started to wear it regularly. Some items are hard to get the knack of, aren't they? I think it helped to replace the pink satin ribbon with a cotton lace one, it goes fits in much better with my wardrobe now.

The first thing I did was to stop at a cafe for lunch. I couldn't resist having a cake afterwards too! We were provided with coasters that featured a bespectacled gentleman exclaiming "WOOOW! TASTY!!", which was rather strange and amusing. It was all very tasty though, so he was quite right.

Daikanyama's streets are wide and quiet and the shops are widely spaced out. This gives it a very relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. I do sort of wish there were more shops, but it is such a pleasant place to walk around, so light and airy. Tokyo Metro recently had some improvements, so now Daikanyama is very easily accessible. If you fancy a quiet but stylish day of shopping and cafes, I do recommend going. And the 300yen shop is definitely worth a visit for cute cheap things.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, see you next time!

Sapphira

xxxx

Black and brown coordinate

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I went to Shinjuku the other day, and decided to try out a black and brown outfit. For a long time, I didn't like this combination, but recently I started to think it looks very pleasing and elegant if done nicely. It also gives me a chance to wear my black items which I seldom use, like this chiffon blouse with tiny imitation mother-of-pearl buttons.

Headbow, JSK: Innocent World

Necklace: Chocochip Cookie

Bag: Metamorphose

Others: Offbrand

It's pretty simple, but I think I got the colour balance right. 

I went to a restaurant in Lumine Est, I'm afraid I forgot the name but it specialises in udon, soba and pasta. You can choose your main dish, plus two side dishes and a drink. I chose two desserts as my side dishes!

Warabi mochi (the one on the right) is my favourite! My friend went for rice and pumpkin. They were good too!

The main dish was cold noodles with yuzu soya sauce and mentaiko. It was really refreshing! This was actually the day of the dust cloud so it was good to eat something clean and healthy tasting after all that yuckiness.

I also got some fake glasses at 3coins, I've been thinking about getting some for a while since they look so good on Japanese girls here. The popular huge ones don't do much for me though, they are basically the same size as my face and look a bit mad. These middling seized ones are quite big enough I think.

I poked the lenses out when I got home. After all, if they are fake, you may as well make no pretence at all! I don't know if I will wear them often but it was fun to try them out for 315yen.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! See you again soon,

Sapphira

xxxx

Sakura start to bloom in Koenji

 Hello dear readers! How are you?

The season I've been waiting for has finally arrived- cherry blossom season! I'm very excited. Although I have been to Japan many times, it is my first time to experience this. 

Wednesday was a public holiday, and it was the first day that the sakura began to appear! By the afternoon, the ones near my apartment were blooming quite a bit.

In my excitement, I put on a spring outfit. It was a bit chilly though, to be honest, but I stuck it out.

Onepiece: Metamorphose

Overdress: W<3C

Parasol: Innocent World

Bag: Jean Paul Gaultier

This outfit features two of my latest purchases, the long lace overdress which I got in a second-hand shop in Daikanyama and my beloved embossed JPG bag.

My first lolita friend had a green version from this line, and Rizzell has a bigger pink one. If I could, I'd collect every version! Artherapie made a similar line last year, but the Jean Paul Gaultier ones have so much nostalgia, and I think they are more beautiful. I was looking wistfully at this one in Closet Child for a long time, and pounced on it the other day when I saw they had lowered the price.

As for the lace overdress, I hope I can make some interesting coordinates with it. It's a bit different from my usual style, but it seem to be very versatile.

I did some shopping, and stopped for tea at an interesting cafe near a temple. The inside is like a woodcutter's cottage, an English tea room, an art gallery and a forest all in one!

I think it was called Nerken, which I thought might mean something romantic in German, but doesn't seem to. The closest I can find is "nelken" which means cloves according to google.

Anyway it was a very nice place, and the biscuits were nice too!

Tomorrow I'm planning to go to Inokashira Park to enjoy the sakura even more and visit the animals at the petting zoo. I'm very excited!

I hope you enjoyed this entry, see you again soon!

Sapphira

xxxx

PS Apologies to the sleeping beauty who can be glimpsed in the right of the above picture.... Hope you don't mind being on my blog!

Day in Shibuya

 Hello dear readers, how are you?

Did you hear about the dust cloud that turned Tokyo's sky into a horrible yellow-brown haze? I was in that! It was so scary, I'm glad it didn't stay for too long.

Anyway, today I have a few photos to share from a day out in Shibuya. I don't go to Shibuya often, but I think I will start going more since I found a few interesting places on this day.

First, here's my outfit:

Blouse, skirt: Vintage

Bag: Metamorphose

Tights: tutuanna

Others: Offbrand

Not lolita today! I got this red and blue tartan skirt in a vintage shop in Koenji. It was less than 500yen! I really love it, it's become my lazy day skirt. Actually that sweater is my lazy day sweater.... I guess it was a lazy day!

The main reason for going to Shibuya that day was to try a particular restaurant that was recommended to me. At this restaurant, you order a main dish (fish or meat) and then help yourself to all sorts of vegetable dishes as much as you like.

The name of the restaurant is ぷんらく(Punraku) and it is situated on the top floor of Tsutaya, which you will see as you leave Shibuya station by the Hachiko exit. 

I thought it was really good! The main dish was a white fish of some sort with basil sauce, it was so delicious. The flavour of the fish was the main attraction, rather than the basil sauce livening up a boring piece of flavourless fish. 

As for the vegetable dishes, there were lots to choose from and quite varied, between salads, cooked vegetables, different types of beans and so on. All very nice! There's also unlimited drinks, including teas and soft drinks.

After such a healthy lunch I did some healthy shopping (healthy for my wallet because I didn't buy anything) and then... had chocolate cake!

It was at a cafe called Kiefer or perhaps Kiefel,  depending on which menu you happened to receive. Anyway, it was very nice! The cakes are not particularly outstanding perhaps, but it's pretty inside and not expensive. It's to the left of 109 as you approach it from Hachiko.

So that was my day in Shibuya! I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

See you again soon,

Sapphira

xxxx 

Q-pot Cafe with Ada, Alice and Aviva

Hello dear readers, how are you?

Today I'm relaxing and doing housework, but yesterday I had a very fun day with some friends. We went to the Q-pot Cafe in Omotesando. 

Outside the cafe.

The Q-pot Cafe opened last year and it was my first time to visit it. It's a very popular place, but as we went on a Monday it was actually quite peaceful and we didn't have to wait to get a table.

Q-pot glass!

The staff are kind and let you freely take pictures inside. There was lots of cute merchandise and the decor was really nice too.

They only serve sweets, but they all looked so nice it was hard to choose! I ended up going for the one that wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing but seemed the most reliably tasty- strawberry jelly.

It's served on a plate depicting a fancy lady's torso so it seems like your dessert is the pendant of her necklace. I also had the Afternoon Breeze tea which was a kind of Earl Gray. It was really nice too!

Inside the cafe. Q-pots hanging from the ceiling!

The loos were tooth-themed for some reason; the design was cute but it made me feel guilty for eating sweets! Anyway the lighting was nice so I vainly snapped some pictures of myself....

I made the headdress myself. I wanted to wear a chocolate-y outfit to suit the occasion.

I got an outfit shot inside the cafe! I wish my house looked like this. Thanks to Aviva for taking the photo.

Headdress: Handmade

Lace collar blouse: Vintage

Jumperskirt: Innocent World

Others: Offbrand

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the pictures. See you next time!

Sapphira