Tokyo, I'm on my way!

HURRAH! 

I have finally made plans for a winter vacation. I won't be doing much for Christmas, but on New Year's...

I'm heading to Tokyo baby! 

Some friends from our home university in Hawaii will be visiting Japan, so we decided to meet them in Tokyo. We are staying at a hostel near Asakusa shrine, which will surely bring us good luck for the new year.

To save a bit of money, we booked our bus tickets in advance, and opted for a night bus. A word to the wise for those traveling by bus in Japan, book your trip about a month in advance. Almost all the cheap tickets were gone! 

Navigating the site for JR Kantou bus tickets is like working through a labyrinth of pain. The good news is, once you've managed to reserve your tickets, you can pick them up at a conbini (vice paying online with your credit card). 

I am all ready trying to decide what to pack! Shopping in Harajuku is a must, and I also want to see the Ghibli Museum, Akihabara, and certain cafe in Ikebukuro called The Milky Way cafe. I should make an official to-do list...

Since it has been so cold (all of a sudden!), I finally broke down and invested in a lolita coat. This red pea coat by Metamorphose was only 5,000 yen used. The bear-eared hood is detachable. 

The emerald green socks are from Metamorphose! The shop had snowflake printed things out, and they were also having a sock sale. ^^ The shop tenant at Nagoya Metamorphose is the sweetest thing too. I showed her a dress I just bought, and she helped me find socks to match!

These socks also go with my Romantica Train Jsk, for a more Christmas Eve look...

And for New Year's, what better print that the alcohol-covered Merry Making Party?

I hope this will all fit in a little weekender bag... uh oh... 

Bewitching Boz

Yesterday my friend and I headed down to Sakae, since Angelic pretty advertised a Halloween special on their Nagoya blog. 

The deal was, if you spend 3,150 yen you earn a free "Original Print Candy." On the train, we speculated over what it could be... Kira Imai wrappers? Tricky Night hard candy? Melty Moon chocolates? ...things that would make good gifts for friends, or prizes for a contest. 

But as it turned out, the special candy was just the lollipop in the picture (I should have guessed!). 

My friend and I agreed it wasn't worth it; especially since at the time, AP didn't have any Halloween items for sale. (I didn't get a glimpse of the new witch set until I got home, and my friend showed me on Facebook!)

So AP was a bust. We made our rounds about the Nova Lolita floor, since we were there. 

Maya and Aiji from LM.C were visiting the Kera shop...

They're playing Budokan on January 8th, and my friend in Tokyo invited me to go with her. That'd be fun, I hope the tickets aren't too expensive! 

We passed the Atelier Boz shop, and noticed they had Lucky Bags for sale, for a great price. I was so tempted to pick one up. The friendly shop tenant chatted with us about the new Evanescence album, then filled us in about the lucky packs. 

I told her I couldn't buy one that day, but she said that was okay, because they were on sale until the end of October, when they would host a three-day Halloween event...

And everyone who came to this little party would receive a free gift. 

So of course, my friend and I decided we have to come! But what to wear to a Lolita Halloween event? Especially for Boz, which is so clean-cut and lovely?

I think I'll attend as a Lolita witch. It's a Halloween classic, and this old school Meta set is just right. 

The Meta Jsk and Cape set was cheap at Violet Blue. It has long tiers, buttons up the back, corsets in the front, and has cross embroidered lace. 

The petti underneath is a treasure from Black Peace Now. I'd like to hitch up the front of my Jsk a bit so you can see the lovely layering.

I've been smitten with the long aristocratic look lately. The local Lolitas and Kodonas I've seen wear just as much Aristocrat as they do Sweet Lolita. 

Yesterday on the escalator out of Nova, I saw two girls in Moitie with a kodona. They were beautiful in cobalt blue and monochrome! Seeing it worn in action like this really turned me on to aristocrat; it seems so flattering on everyone.

Maybe I will end up getting a lucky pack one day, they're such a good deal, and usually have great starter pieces.

I can hardly wait to get all dressed up for the party now...

How to Halloween

October is my favorite month of the year- ideal weather, the gradation of scenery into deeper hues, Halloween tack in abundance.

Some families claim the right to hosting Christmas parties, or Thanksgiving Dinner, but in our household, we own the Halloween Party.

My father is a self-proclaimed Pumpkin Master, and never ceases to impress with hand-drawn stencils and things you never thought you could do with a gourd. My mom has hand-made costumes for the whole family since I was born.

Or as my Dad has said in less words, "We're Halloweiners!"

This is the first year I've been away from my family on my favorite holiday. I wasn't expecting much Halloween festivity here in Japan, but much to my pleasant surprise, I'm being proved wrong.

The hyaku en stores are stuffed with capes, witches hats and home decor; the lolita shops in the Nova building have decorated for the occasion. I pass by restaurants on the street and see orange pumpkins on the registers, or along side the plastic display food.

In Apita, the local department store, a frightening favorite rattles on in the background.

And down stairs, a display that will make any little girl scream (with delight).

Even the karaoke place is getting in the spirit. At Shidax, they have Halloween themed dishes, including Pumpkin Pasta (with kabocha, what you can call Japanese pumpkin.)

I wasted no time getting my ghoul on. As soon as October first came around...

To top it all off, San-X celebrity Rilakkuma and his posse have teamed up with Lawson conbini marts this month, with a slew of adorable bear goods. The other night I ran in to pay my electric bill, and couldn't resist this "Strawberry Yogurt Dessert".

It was more like creamy strawberry jello with strawberry puree at the bottom. I just wanted the mug anyway, so I am satisfied.

Till next time,

Cherie

Halloween in Hawai'i

ハッピ ハロウィン！

I made a cake for my family's Halloween Party. With a blend of rich dark chocolate and roasted peanut butter, it really brought out the sweet tooth of our visiting ghouls.

I made the recipe by slightly customizing one I found on All Recipes.com.

Cake Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package Devil's Food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Follow instructions exactly as the link above.

Drizzle Ingredients

• 3/4 cup peanut butter 
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• Milk

Heat the peanut butter in a small pot (I coated mine with Pam, in case it got sticky). Add in the powdered sugar a little a time. Stir with a whisk as it melts down. Add milk as it melts to keep it from drying out. When it is smooth and runny, drizzle it over the cake.