I'm sorry I havent blogged here in such a long while...
Since my last post here I have moved back to Sweden and have become the Swedish Kawaii Ambassador ( ^ w ^ ) YAAY super happy!
I have wanted to move this blog to another domain for quite a while and I feel that now is the best timing ever, so I will be re-opening my blog at blogspot. ( ^ ^ )
I havent been bloggin for a while now and since my parents will soon come to Japan to visit, I will probably not be able to blog for a while. I will therefore be taking a break in blogging, and right now I am concidering whether I should just close down my blog. We'll see what happens I guess.
Lately I havent done anything fun to write about, so I thought I would share some pictures of my Sailor Moon gacha gacha items. A gacha gacha is a small machine with lots of items inside plastic balls, you put some money in, turn a handle and out comes one of these balls with an item. In Japan these machines are really popular and there are very many different things you can get from a gacha gacha here. Since Sailor Moon Crystal is being relised right now there are many Sailor Moon gacha gacha to be found. Usually I can't resist a Sailor Moon gacha gacha so now I have collected a small collection of Sailor Moon goodies. ( ^ ^ )
I keep most of the items inside their original balls so I would not loose them, as my apartment is quite a mess right now. haha This is probably why I couldnt find the 2 small charms that didn't have a ball to be put in to.
( ;___; )
The heart locker is definetly one of my favorites! I am concidering turning it into a necklace at some point.
The Chibi Usa figure was a gift from a friend and luckely I got Usagi from just one try! I would love to have all the figures, but sadly the items in the gacha gacha machines are very fast replaced and now I can't find this series of figures.
This is my latest gacha gacha figure. I have never seen a Tuxedo Mask gacha gacha before, so I had to try it out. There are some variation to his poses and they all come with a quote. My Tuxedo Mask is supposedly holding Sailor Moon in his arms and asking "are you OK?!?" XD
I hope I'll see more Sailor Moon gacha gacha around! ( ^ w ^ )
Here comes the second part of my trip to Miyajima. ( ^ ^ )
After walking around the Itsukushima shrine on the shore, we went climbing hills in order to get to the other shrines and temples located around the island. The nature was really beautiful, lots of greenery and flowers everywhere.
Here you can see me climbing upwards. ( ^ ^ ) The hills were not so steep, but after a while it did get a bit tiering to climb. The day was pretty cloudy, which was great, since Japanese summer is so hot and humid. At least with all the clouds blocking the sun it wasnt as bad with all the motion as it could have been. haha
While climbing up there were many great sceneries over the town. Most of the houses located there are pretty old, so they blend in with the scenery and the temples really well. Away from the Itsukushima shrine it was really quiet and there were almost no people around, making the walking around experience a bit spooky.
On the way up to a shrine I found this guy chilling under a tree by the road. I must say that seeing a male deer with horns was a bit more scary that seeing these small feemale deers I saw on the shore. This was in the middle of a forest, with no people around so I was a little afraid he might be agressive. But this deer was just as friendly as any other, he just layed there and let me sneak up and take his picture. I didn't dare to come too close thou... XD
After climbing for about 20 minutes we finally came to a shrine! In Japan, if you take your shoes off you can go inside most of the temples to pray or just walk around. Some temples forbid taking pictures inside and some don't. Here there were no people and no signs, so of course I took lots of pictures. Also since tere was no fence or anything the objects you see on the photo could be touched. I tried holding the staff on the lef and it was really heavy! I wonder how monks walked around carrying it all day... if they did carry it around (I dont actually know).
This has to be my favorite picture from the Miyajima trip! XD
Found this guy outside the shrine and while I am not sure what kind of deity he is, he is really cute.
I mean, look at his face!
Everytime I look at this photo I can't help giggle a bit.
Guess this is all for this post, a part 3 post is coming up and it will be the last post with photos from Miyajima.
On Saturday I went to Fukuoka (first time in 2 month XD) and met up with some lolita friends. ( ^ w ^ ) I was supposed to meet only one girl, but we run into other friends all the time and ended up being 4 lolitas running around the city together. Mostly we went around cute shops and talked, but we also took lots of purikura and ate cake. Too bad I didn't bring my camera... so I only have photos from my phone and purikura. (Except for one head shot that I managed to take at home before heading out in the morning haha)
Me and my friend twinned BABY's bon bon chocolate series. ( // ^ ^ // )
The other two girls twinned crystal dream carnival, so we ended up being 2 pairs of twins!
All purikura booths had really cute halloween themed stamps and backgrounds.
Right now everything in Japan is halloween themed XD
I am really envious at how good japanese people are at decorating purikura. This decoration looks so cute! Much cuter than the ones I did. ( >< )
Here is a photo of my face/makeup. I feel that I don't wear these bunny ears as much as I should... at least now they really went well together with the halloween spirit! ( ^ ^ )
While hanging out with everyone I learned that lolitas in Fukuoka often use this fitting room to take outfit pictures. It is located in the toilet on one of the floors at Tenjin Core and even thou I have been there many many times I never noticed it. Now I know where to find good lightning for future photos. ;)
I feel that I am uploading the pictures from my Hiroshima trip rather slowly, but better late then never right? XD
Today I thought I will share some photos from Miyajima - a small island outside of Hiroshima. The island's real name is Itsukushima but it is widely known under the name of Miyajima, which in Japanese means "shrine island". It was given this name is mainly due to the popularity of the Itsukushima shrine, located on the island (along side with many other shrines and temples). The Itsukushima shrine is supposedly really old, and it is part of the UNESCO world heritage list. The shrine is built on water and is really beautiful while there is a high tide, sadly I went there in low tide weather... One of the most famost parts of the Itsukushima shrine is the huge tori (gate) that stands in the water in front of the shrine, welcoming guests to the island.
This photo is taken on the mainland before boarding the ferry to Miyajima. You can see the island from afar, it's pretty small, but has tons of history to it.
After riding the farry for about 10 minutes we arrive to Miyajima! Now this photo is taken from the island back to where the ferry departs on the mainland.
The famous tori (gate) of the Itsukushima shrine.
You don't actually see it directly when setting foot on the island, but while being on the ferry it is clearly visible even from afar. When the tide is really low people walk to the tori to touch it, this is supposed to give you super good luck - as the tori usually is unaccesible, being able to touch it is very rare.
When I went to Miyajima the tide was rather low so there was no water beneath the shrine itself. This is a bit sad, as the shrine really looks beautiful floating on the water... It was still very pretty there thou, but smelled a bit seewea:dy.
The Itsukushima shrine consist of many buildings and smaller shrines. This was taken in front of a separate building, I must say I really like the angle of this photo. :)
On Miyajima island there are also really many deer, they are so used to humans they dont mind being petted at all. Just as in Nara the deer walk freely everywhere, begging for food and attention from everyone around. I have never petted a deer before, so while I could I was running around from one deer to another petting them all! ( ^ w ^ )
The last couple of days I have been feeling a little sick, I think I am getting a cold. ( >< ) I have been really tired lately so therefore I have not updated in a while, sorry! Today I thought I would share some photos of my latest kimono purchase.
I bought this kimono when I went to Hiroshima, at a small second hand/vintage kimono shop. This kimono type is referred to as a Houmongi and it is a formal kimono, worn by married women to special occasions. There are some exceptions thou and at some occasions this kimono can be worn even by unmarried women. In my case I wanted to wear a kimono to the school ending ceremony. The formal teachers wear for the occasion is usually a Houmongi kimono+hakama, but since I am not really a techer-teacher I think I will skip the hakama - just because I don't really like these pants. haha! So since everyone else will be wearing a Houmongi kimono I feel that it would be kind of out og place for me to come there dressed in a Furisode (the formal kimono for unmarried women).
On to the pictures!
Basicly a Houmongi kimono has a pattern only on the sleeves, bottom and on one of the shoulders. Patterns vary a lot, there are some seasonal patterns suitable only for a certain season and some that are suitable to be worn any time of the year. I read that the color of the kimono is also tied to a certain season, purple/white/blue-ish being a kimono best suited for wearing during winter. The graduation ceremony is in February so how lucky am I to have a purple kimono?
I bought the kimono, obi and the small bag separetly but I feel that I have done a good job on matching all three! On formal occasions the obi is supposed to be a Fukuro obi with golden stiching. I searched a long time to find an obi that I felt matched the kimonos color. I am not sure you can see it well, but the obi is basicly golden and has pink/green/purple/white flowers stiched on. I think it goes really nice with the motive on the kimono. ( ^ ^ )
As for the bag, the most formal one is always of gold or silver color. I got this one on sale for really cheap, but I thonk it is really beautiful. It is decorated with mother pearl. Really shiny! Ihope the flowers (looks like sakura right...) are not too summery for my winter outfit.
Here is a detail shot of the obi. I spy some plum blossoms on there, perfect for the winter theme as the plum blossoms in January-February in Japan.
I still need to buy ghetas and all the strings you need to put the kimono/obi on, since all these items are left at home in Sweden. I really want to buy some new every-day kimono to wear soon too! ( ^ ^ )
This week I had Tuesday off! So happy to get some payed hollidays. ;) Since I was free and had some money on my hands I went to Kokura station for some shopping/walking around. I had originally planned to buy a winter coat since it is getting colder in Japan now, but I didn't find any that was to my liking. I did find a pair of cute shoes thou. I have wanted similar shoes for a long time now and I think they will look ok in lolita too. ( ^ ^ ) I also went in Mandarake, a store that mostly sells cosplay, manga, anime and figures but also has a tiny second hand lolita section. There I found a cute, simple Innocent World dress which is now hanging in my closet. haha
It has been three weeks since I last wore lolita so I decided to dress up. ( ^ w ^ ) I tried to change my othervise 'always-kinda-same' Day dream carnival coord by wearing a different wig, but I can't say that I am 100% happy with how it turned out. The wig is too purple for the dress so it looks a bit odd...?
Next time I wear this dress I must think of a different coord XD
It's so easy to just wear the same items when they are from one set.
For me, the A-bomb dome is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Hiroshima and I would guess that everyone have heard about it. In case some of you haven't; the A-bomb dome is short for Atomic bomb dome and it is ruins of a building left from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima during World War 2. The A-bomb dome is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and is designated a world heritage site by UNESCO. Here is a link to wikipedia for more information. ( ^ ^ ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial
I went there on a really hot and sunny day so the ruins didn't look so sad and depressing... but later in the evening it was much more creeepy to walk there. Around the A-bomb dome were many information signs and some people were displaying books and diaries about World War 2. These books were in many different languages so everyone could easily read and get a better understanding on what happened in Hiroshima around the time of the atomic bombing.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial park is a pretty large area featuring many monuments, a freedom bell and a museum.
In front of the museum there is a fire burning (in the middle), but it is not visible in the dailight. The fire is there as a memory for all the victims of the bombing.
Inside the museum there were many exhibits from the time of the bombing. There were watches that stopped, clothing from people, other objects that had melted... All of the exhibits had small stories, for examlpe who had worn the clothing, were they were at the time of the bombing and what happened to the person later on. I searched for someone who had survived, but all of the people died either directly or some days later. ( T___T )
Here is a creepy picture showing how the skin melts and comes of... ( >< )
And here is a bycicle and helmet of a small child who was out playing when the bomb exploded.
One of the most interesting things in the museum was a collection of letters of protest that the mayor of Hiroshima has send to different countries. Every time a nutclear experiment has been executed the mayor of Hiroshima (different mayors from the wars end until now) has sent a letter of protest, reminding people of what happened in Hiroshima and that it should not happen again. I think there was over a hundred letters... So, if you are even in Hiroshima I really recommend you to visit the park and museum! Let's make love not war <3
Today was really nice weather and I needed to buy some groceries so I decided to take a walk to Aeon - my local shopping center. Since it's Saturday I decided to dress up. I don't have any picture of my first outfit, but it was pretty simple, a long a-bit see-thrugh dress and a corsett. I was a bit concerned that I would draw too much attention but I thought that I deserved to look good at least once a week. So I went out and 5 minutes laket when I walked past my local train station I got a stalker after me. ( >< ); He walked after me for about 10 minutes before I gave up the idea of going further. The route I take when I walk to Aeon is pretty far out in nowhere so I didn't want to risk walking there alone with this dude... I pretetded to talk to someone on the phone and then turned back and walked to the train station. The stalker dude followed and dissapeared somewhere along the way, reapearing 5 minutes later. He then walked with me for ten 10 more minutes and finally talked to me and asked me if I wanted to go somewhere with him, I said no of course and thankfully he understood and walked away. Phew! I went home to change clothes and I think he didn't follow me anymore. On the way home (5 minutes walk) I got hit by another random guy. LOL I got changed (still wearing my corsett because I really wanted to!) and went out again only to be hit on by a third man while waiting to cross the street. Man what a day. For me it seems hard to even go grocery shopping. HAHA
Here is a not-so-good photo of my second outfit. ( ^ ^ )
And today I actually bought something! YAY
Claires had a sale, so I bought thewe cute ribbons I have been looking at forever now. XD
Here comes the first part of the Hiroshima update! ( ^ ^ ) While in Hiroshima I went to a beautiful Japanese garden called Shukkeien. It is located just 10 minutes away from city center, but is really quiet and peacefull. Somehow I didn't take so many photos of the garden, I guess I was too busy walking around haha
In the middle of the garden is this big lake. So the walking path is layed out around the lake and in to a small forest. Too bad you can see the random tall building i the backgroud... but since the park is located in such an urban area it was hard to find a place where no buildings were visible.
There were many small puddles and streams around the lake and lots of crabs in different colors and sizes! I sneaked up on this one fast so he didn't have time to crawl away.
I also found a really big grashopper (I guess?) It was 10cm long! It was not even afraid of me and didn't hop away even thou I was really close.
In the lake there was also many koi fish. ( ^ w ^ )
Close to the garden the Hiroshima castle is located. It is pretty big, bigger than I had expected! I went there on a weekday so there were almost no people there.
The sad thing about almost all the castles in Japan is that almost all of them are reconstractions. Hiroshima castle got first destroyed in fire and then in World War 2. It is really nice that they rebuilt the castle, but it is a bit sad that noting is original.
Inside the castle there are some exhibitions about the castles history and you can go up to the top and look out over the city. I didn't take any pictures while up there thou. ( > < )
I haven't updated here in a whole month, sorry! My boyfriend was here in Japan and we kept busy pretty much all the time. We went to Fukuoka and Hiroshima, but also around Kitakyuushu where I live. I will edit the photos from Hiroshima and update them as soon as I get the time. ( ^ ^ )
So, now my boyfriend is in Japan with me and that means I don't have time to update here much. ( >< ) The weather has been horrible the last couple of days, so it has rained almost all the time. Yesturday we went for a short trip to Fukuoka and I wore lolita for the first time in a while! ( ^ ^ ) Tomorrow we are going to Hiroshima for a week. Exciting!
I wrote that I got some new hair and a wig right? ;) So today I tried on my new wig and it is really pretty! ( *___* ) I think this wig will definetly become my new favorite. Really harry I bought it. Since it's hard to take photos of the wig withought my face, here are some wig-showing-selfies. XD
I went out for some shopping, really simply dressed, but some people still wanted to take pictures with me. Must be the wig! ( ^ 3 ^ ) haha
Lately it has been raining a lot. It's either a horrible rain or horrible sun outside, so going out is not so easy this week. I'm either wet or all sticky. ( >< ) So I haven't worn lolita for a long while and it is kind of sad... I really want to dress upp more but the weather! I feel bad for my dresses if I wear them out now. So, well I have been dressing in whatever other clothes I have, which is mostly gyaru. Since I bought a lot of stuff at Liz Lisa's sale that's a big part of my wardrobe now. haha
This is what I wore yesturday:
Most of the outfit is Liz Liza haha
For the second time in two weeks I have been scouted and offered a job at a hostess clubb... It seems that something in how I look is fitting in to the whole hostess image? XD I don't know, but I don't think so.
I also bought some new hair and a new wig recently. ( ^ ^ ) The clip ins are a bit darker tham my own hair but you can't really see a big difference when everything is in place. (I tink XD)
I was deleting old photos from my blog and thought that it would be fun to do a photo collage from the past 6 years. I have been interested in lolita fashion for over 10 years now and I have been wearing lolita clothes for just as long. I don't think I have any digital photos from before 2008, so that's where my collage begins. The photos are not so great quality (specially the old ones), but I still think this was kind of fun. ( ^ ^ ) Looking back at what I was wearing long time ago really puts things in perspective. Not only did my style evolve, the lolita fashion evolved quite a bit dont you think? Sometimes I miss what is now called old-school lolita, it was more simple and less child-ish (compared to some lolita clothes now). But at the same time it is fun that the style has managed to stay alive and evolve through the years. I guess 6 years from now lolita will be pretty different from what it is now.
I have been craving more wigs lately! I have 2 wigs with me to Japan this time and I really want more variety. I have found many wigs that I would love to buy but as always I am not rich enough! haha So instead of buying a wig I will share this awesome wig video. ( ^ ^ ) I always thought that gyaru wear one wig and/or extentions but this video shows that gyaru fashion has taken wigs to a whole new level.
This Sunday I went to Fukuoka to meet with Viktoria, hang around and shop. ( ^ ^ ) It was a great day and the time just flew by. I managed to buy lots of random things, instead of buying some lolita items as I had originally planned. Truth to be told, the sale in Angelic Pretty and BABY was really dissapointing. Apperently it had started a while ago, so I guess many items were sold out. Things that were left were not worth buying or still expensive... so no lolita stuff for me this time. ( ;_____; ) Instead I bought lots of items at Liz Lisa, some at Ank Rouge, Onespo and Emily Temple Cute. I didn't have time to take photos of everything yet, but here are the things I bougt at Liz Lisa.
Mostly pink items haha
Everything was 50% off, but the total sum was still quite expensive. ( > < )
I really like these shoes! They are kind of metalic-glittery!
I bought two really cute cardigans but I guess that I will not be using them for a while, as it is really hot in Japan right now there is no need to wear one. XD
This week is my last week of work and from next week I am on summer vacation! ( ^ w ^ ) It's nice to be free and all, but at the same time I'm not sure what I am going to do. This last week has been a bit hectic as I have had to finnish up all classes and other work related stuff. On Friday I am going to my first staff party, so that's something to be looking forward to. I am hoping I won't need to drink a lot and get sick or something... should be fine, I have told everyone I don't really drink so.
Also there are many festivals going on this month, so I hope to visit some and take photos.
And here is a photo of my face from my last coordinate, last week. I was really happy with my make-up and you can see my new circle lenses too. ( ^ ^ )
