Cherry Blossoms and Creepy Dolls

 Hello dear readers! How are you?

I'm afraid this is a very belated post but there are some nice pictures you might enjoy. Back when the cherry blossoms were out, the Tokyo Lolitas went to a Mari Shimizu (doll artist) exhibiton and to Shinjuku Gyoen to admire the blooms.

My photo of a photo at the exhibition.

I like her blue ribbon and hair like a lamb.

This was my outfit! Jumperskirt is Jane Marple, coat and necklace Innocent World. Others all offbrand. Thank you Aviva for the photo!

Doll with tattoos.

This was very nice, it was a bust of a girl and inside the chest cavity there was a Madonna and little cherubs fluttering around her. Some things were a bit too gruesome for my taste but some I liked a lot.

Sakura! Now just a distant memory. It lasted such a short time!

Her expression is very sweet.

Another photo of me, hopefully not as creepy as the dolls. Sorry I was not more sakura-like, it was chilly! But the pattern on the coat is a little like falling blossoms, I think.

This is the one whose insides I admired.

Another photo of a photo, wish the postcard of this had not been sold out!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, and maybe now you are a fan of Mari Shimizu, if you were not before.

See you next time,

Sapphira

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 

A day in Tokyo with my mother

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I still haven't got round to posting all the pictures from my mother's visit back in October, so I'm sharing a few with you today.

On this day we went to a couple of museums- the Edo Tokyo Museum and the Sumo Museum, which are very close to each other in Ryogoku.

You can guess where we took this picture!

I'm the referee!

Although I've been to the Edo Tokyo Museum several times before, this was the first time I've had a guided tour. I really recommend it; the tour is free, available in several languages, and you can choose how long you want the tour for and which part of the museum in particular you'd like explained. 

We told the guide we only had 20 minutes, in case it was boring! It wasn't at all though, so we asked her if we could extend it, haha.

The museum is divided into different time zones, and I found these adorable Junichi Nakahara postcards in the Showa section.

I also saw this cool kimono/jumpsuit thing! There was some footage of a girl wearing one, she looked so stylish.

I picked up a couple of postcards and a "Modern Girl" pack of oil removing papers. It is a testament to my extreme oiliness that none are left now :( 

After that we went to take a look at the newly restored Tokyo station. It was originally built in 1914, and I think that the architect who designed it was a student of an English architect who went to Japan to teach.

It's very interesting to see a Western-style building like this here in Tokyo! My home town in England is close to Brighton, famous for the crazy Indian/Chinese palace built by George IV while he was a decadent prince. This building is less crazy and more tasteful, but strange nonethless.

Anyway I like it! The imperial palace is nearby, and we wanted to visit that next, but all we found was a big "CLOSED" sign and a lot of angry tourists!

I hope we'll get a chance to go to the palace next visit, and we'll be sure to arrive earlier then.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Next time, I'll tell you about the Tokyo lolitas' adventures in ice skating and the El Dorado carousel!

Thanks for reading,

Sapphira

Merry Christmas!

Hello dear readers!

How are you? Today I'm writing to you from England. I'm back home for a little while to celebrate Christmas with my family. Today I'll be wrapping presents and trying to get over a nasty cough I've managed to catch. I hope it will be better by the big day tomorrow!

Here's a Christmassy outfit snap from the Secret Santa meet up in Tokyo:

Coat: Innocent World

Jumperskirt: Jane Marple

Sweater, handbag: Vintage

Tights: Bought on Takeshita Street

Photos by Aviva

Christmas is my favourite time of year, and I'm so happy to be back with my family, even if it's not for long. I hope you'll enjoy your day, where ever you are.

Merry Christmas!

Harajuku Fashion Walk and dinner with Misako Aoki!

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I really need to do my Japanese homework... but I just want to post about the wonderful day I had on Sunday!

I attended the Harajuku Fashion Walk for the first time. People who love Harajuku style gather together and take a walk through the streets of Harajuku. Everyone's outfits were wonderful, and there was a great variety of styles. People from all over the world participated!

Your can see a report on the Japanese Streets website here:

http://www.japanesestreets.com/reports/1866/11th-harajuku-fashion-walk

Please watch the video, there's a great bit with eveyone's fancy shoes walking by! Look out for mine and my friends~

After the walk we took pictures together near Meiji Shrine, and then took purikura <3

We have divided into light and dark! Don't worry, we're all friends really.

 

Somehow I always take pictures by this bridge, and it always looks like it's snowing!

It was my first time to take purikura with them. I'm sure we'll do it a lot more in the future!

Long live Harajuku fashion!

That's plenty of excitement for one day, isn't it? However, in life in Tokyo always offers more excitement than usual!

My friend had invited the number one lolita, Miss Misako Aoki, to dinner. Kind friend that she is, she invited me too! Four of us went to a Singaporean restaurant in Ebisu.

Three beautiful ladies and me! And one handsome merlion too. 

Misako seemed to like the Singaporean food, and she said that she loves English scones! So both halves of me were very happy. 

Afterwards we did a little shopping, had tea and took purikura.

 Spending the evening with Misako was wonderful. She has travelled to many places, so I really enjoyed hearing about her visits overseas. My Japanese is so poor compared to my friends' though, I was a bit embarrassed. But she was very patient.

This first month in Japan has been full of precious memories. I have met so many nice people and gained friends from all over the world. Coming to Tokyo has been even better than I imagined! I wonder what's waiting for me in the future?

See you next time,

Sapphira

xxxx