Not dead.

Sorry for the long time without an update.
I'm in the middle of getting my apartment and internet set up properly here in Tokyo, so there won't be many proper updates until all that is finished! To use this blog I currently have to go and sit in the Starbucks in shinjuku and leech their free wi-fi.

Don't worry, things will be back to normal before long and then everything will be running smoothly again.

Love K.

Long time no see.

I only noticed the other day that I haven't made a blog post in over a month!
I've been pretty uninspired, but then suddenly everything seems to be happening all at once and I've been rushed off my feet! There was christmas, and then new years, but on new years eve I finally got my start date from my new job....19th of February....I have to be there and ready to start work. This basically means I have a month to move myself to Japan. 

I handed my notice in at my current job yesterday, this afternoon I'm booking my flight, next week I'm going to London to get them to stamp my work visa into my passport, and on the 18th of Feb my apartment will be ready!

I'm leaving on the 15th Feb.....everything suddenly seems so real rather than just something that was going to happen at some point....

 

I'm going to try and make some blog posts between now and leaving, and I'll be starting up a youtube channel for you guys too, so keep your eyes peeled!

Snap Snap. Date night in Pictures.

I took a short trip to Akihabara during the day (It was PACKED. Thanks Comiket) I agreed to go meet Chibi after he finished work. So a good wait on the Ginza line took me down to Gaienmai station (Close to Harajuku) where I was to wait for 8pm. I arrived there at about 7:45, so I took a few minutes to linger around the area (not that exciting...) while I waited. The boy arrived at about 8:10 and propmtly dragged me off to Takeshita dori, walking up from the bottom and crossing up onto the main shopping area from the Laforet side. We went to take purikura first before anything else, wanting to get there before the place closed (no need to rush in the end, it was open until 11pm ^^;; ) I'll scan them and upload them when I do the rest of the ones I took on the trip! After that, we headed up towards the subway station and to a cute little Izakaya. I've never come across these computers before (we always had a server at other Izakaya) but Chibi dutifully explained what was where. All we needed to do was press what we wanted and someone brought it over. (We need more of these in the UK!) Beer, Ray fish, Chicken and Tuna fish. (Yummy) It was a cute, chilled night, but I voted to go back to the hostel instead of spend the night in Sagamihara (Down near Machida), because I had plans for the next day. It was really bizarre sitting on an empty train platform at almost midnight...spooky....

Friend date.

On the 9th I had set a date with a friend of mine before I even arrived in Tokyo. Meeting at 1:30pm by the Takeshita Dori entrance of Harajuku station! Just that morning I'd arrived back in Tokyo on the night bus, so suffering from lack of sleep I dragged myself up and out to go and meet 'Jellyfish'. He'd spent the morning telling me it was too hot, so I eventually told him just to wear something easy and cool which turned out to be a Jinbe. Cute. We met up at the right time, walked down Takeshita dori before deciding it was way too hot and way too crowded, it only took him a moment to suggest going back to the station and crossing over to Meiji jingu shrine.

Under the shelter of the trees and away from all the people it was much much cooler, but the noise from the cicada was almost deafening in some places! (We don't get them in the UK). Wandering around..boys will be boys, and 'Jellyfish' insisted on poking at every single bug we came across, even the spiders......I've never seen such huge blue and black butterflies either than in Meiji Jingu! It wasn't a very exciting day to report on, but I thought I would add it in. We spent an hour or so wandering around the shrine and the surrounding park, talking and swapping the dictionary back and forth when we got stuck, we went and sat down on some grassy area and chilled out with the skyscrapers towering in the background. I always find going to these places in the middle of Tokyo a surreal experience.

After our walk we hopped the Yamanote line down to Yoyogi and went for another small wander before 'Jellyfish' decided he was hungry and we stopped off in McDonalds. Teriyaki burger ftw. Having to catch the Shinkansen to Akita tomorrow, and me needing to catch up on sleep and deal with Kiryu photos, we didn't stay out too late, instead deciding to part ways at around 6pm.

10th August - Gaienmae fireworks!

Kiryu photography work.

On the 7th of August me and Ku caught the night bus from Tokyo back to Hirosaki. What I thought was going to be a horrific journey turned out to be quiet alright, I'd say the night bus is a pretty decent budget way to travel long distances in Japan, and certainly cheaper than the Shinkansen!!!
So after a 9 or 10? hour bus journey we arrived in Hirosaki early in the morning on the 8th. We went and crashed at Ku's place ready for the evening ahead. Taking the train over to Aomori in the afternoon we went for food and then to head to the venu, loaded with my photography stuff and a nervous buzz. We had to walk past the line of fans to get into the venu before hand (ignoring the looks of curiosity and hatred), we received our press pass stickers and went to set up! Faced with a half dressed band as soon as we walked into the hall, I left Ku to do the talking. I also never really realized Takemasa was so tall......Oh and their manager is terrifying.....

The live itself was packed out! Something of a surprise, but it being a one man and all...I guess it was expected. Personally I've never listened to Kiryu, but I was given a good show and the band ended up being a lot heavier than I expected! Mahiro sounds awesome live. I wouldn't mind paying to be in the crowd to see them one time, it was a very active gig with much jumping and headbanging (unusual for a vk show it seems). Soon after the live was finished we had to pack and leave pretty sharpish, only waiting for the venu to empty and to beable to speak to management, because I was back on the nightbus to Tokyo the same evening!!

Overall I think it went well! I got some good shots (I took over 600 photos that night) and once they are published I'll link you all too them! I can't post any of the band on here because they have to be run through management first and then published with the article, but I'll give you a couple of ones I CAN post.

What happens in Tokyo....

So...after two consecutive nights of drinking, one at random Izakaya and the other at The Lock Up (after which we crammed 8 of us into a purikura booth) we joined some friends for a house party in some back-end suburb in Tokyo. It was beyond fun...and definitely eventful! I don't think any of us expected it, but it was hella fun. We had drunken fireworks at about 3am in the kids play area across the parking lot, but who cares, everything is a good idea when you've consumed your body weight in alcohol!

 




Somehow the amount of alcohol consumed doesn't affect your ability to play guitar.....strange that. The boys were amusing and I spent a lot of my free time in Tokyo hanging out with them, we went to the Hanabi at Gaienmae on the 10th and had a group of 8 of us there which was nice, spent the evening hanging around with food stalls and beer a-plenty! 

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Plasticzooms / Style Band Tokyo.

Sorry for not blogging much recently, but all I've been doing is working! Nothing exciting at all. 
 
My Japan trip is creeping steadily closer, and one piece of good news on that is that I managed to score a ticket to see Plasticzooms after a brief talk with one of their members over twitter. He was the one who dealt with my overseas order when I wanted a shirt, and he's beyond nice. So rather than be an in-depth entry about something, this is just a quick one to let you all know that I haven't DIED.
 
Plus. If anyone is in Tokyo on this date and wants to come hang, COME TO THIS EVENT. It's not just Plasticzooms, an it promises to be amazing!

代官山　UNIT 

■OPEN/START 13:30/14:00
■ADV/DOOR ¥3,000/¥3,500(+1Drink)

STYLE BAND TOKYO 5th Anniversary Party
[Bo Ningen 来日公演ツアーファイナル！]

[LIVE ACT]
Bo Ningen
PLASTICZOOMS
世界的なバンド
ZZZ’s
moja
HATENOHATE
and more„„

[DJs]
TOMO(STYLE BAND TOKYO)
SUMIRE(TWEE GRRRLS CLUB)
HMS CONTROL / SAM & MARK(TOKYO INDIE)
APU(AFTERDARK)
U-HEY(BLACK NEON PARTY)
si oux(VIVE VAGINA)
TOMMY(BOY)
IAN MARTIN(Call and Response)
wizzjones
Judy(Throw that beat!)
Foujita(Less and More)
and more„,

Brand Series: Chrome Hearts

Chrome Hearts Tokyo first opened its doors in December 1999 as the first and only Chrome Hearts boutique in Japan. On April 26th, this location will reopen as the brand new flagship store.

Since its inception in 1999, the concept of Chrome Hearts Tokyo has always been make yourself at home. “Over the years, we began to feel that we’d like to take this concept even further,” said Richard Stark, the designer and founder of Chrome Hearts. “Along with the Chrome Hearts family and staff, we wanted to actualize and extend the Chrome Hearts world, and to share the ‘at home’ feeling we cultivated internally with everyone.” After 2 years of development, the innovative re-creation of Chrome Hearts Tokyo is complete.

The new space has expanded over 2,000-square-feet from its original size and now occupies 7,000-square-feet in the Aoyama shopping district, making it the largest of all existing Chrome Hearts stores around the world.

 A brand often favoured by musicians, Chrome hearts is an american brand but their store in Tokyo is just STUNNING. A must visit for anyone looking to see some amazing jewelry and interior design when in Japan but still keep a bit of the vk vibe! I'm still saving up to buy something from them (be warned, it's EXPENCIVE) but I'm sure it will be worth every penny.
And yes...they do have a basketball court outside...space inside for a band to play too. 

You can buy chrome hearts in store and across various online stores all over the world.

Chrome Hearts HP

Tattooing in Japan

Most people know about the stigma attached to tattoos in Japan, but I'm not here to talk about that today. If you want to know more, then head over to google! What I will be talking about though, is where to go in Tokyo if you want a tattoo. Some places you can rely on to give you an intimate and amazing service without you having to worry about being fobbed off or refused for being a foreigner. (Not that places would, but the language barrier creates problems, especially when dealing with something like tattooing).

1. Scratch Addiction.

Scratch Addiction is one of Japan most famous tattoo shops. Located in Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. The shop is quite small but their artwork is good!. They have been home to some of Japan’s top tattoo legends. The artists are able to tattoo any style, and are highly skilled.
They are appointment only and with limited english, but depending on who is in shop depends on how good the conversation is! They are welcoming regardless and eager to help in whatever it is you need.

Website: http://scratchaddiction.com/

2. Horizaru.

Horizaru is an appointment only, custom only shop. He is amazingly skilled at Japanese neo-traditional work. The tattoos are beautiful, artistic, and is highly recommended by many people in the tattoo industry. His website runs in both English and Japanese, so take your pick!

Website: http://www.horizaru.com/


3. Studio Muscat.

Small Shibuya based tattoo shop with a female artist. She is renowned for her black and grey work and has a large client base. Her website is easy to navigate and Asao herself is very friendly! Take a look and see what you think, she can do any style but favours stronger line work.

Website: http://www.muscat-tattoo.com


I'll add more to this list at some point when I find out some good information, but for now, it's just these select few. If anyone else has any experiences they would like to share then feel free to comment!

Japan 2012 #3

This is just going to be a small spam of places I plan to stop off at while I'm in Tokyo. Either by myself or not, I don't really mind! I realize some of these are really geeky, some just a little bit weird, but I've always wanted to go and this time I'm determined to do so!


Number one!
@Homecafe


We all know about maid cafe! @homecafe is the largest in Akihabara, sporting several locations of varied type, they are also foreigner friendly, some of their locations hosting english speaking maids! Worry not about being refused entry for not being Japanese at any of their cafes.


Number two!
Taito Akihabara


Out of all the arcades I went to on previous visits to Japan, I found the Taito ones to be the most entertaining, namely because I'm easily amused by simple games and they have some good UFO machines!


Number Three!
The Trump Room

How cool is this for nightlife? Trump room is one of Tokyo's more interesting bars/venues, they do a lot of strange nights, but I've been told its an experience just for the decor of the place! I know it definitely looks like somewhere I would LOVE to go!


Number Four!
Ice cream city in Sunshine city (Ikebukuro)


Located in the infamous Namja town, Ice cream city promises some of the most bizarre and disgusting ice cream flavours you could ever imagine. E.g. 'snake' icecream, 'octopus' icecream and 'salad' ice cream. I promise to video my adventure here, feel free to nominate the grossest one you can think of and I'll try it with video evidence.


Number five!
Himuro Mansion


Anyone into ghost stories?
I'm a lover of horror and morbid tales, so the Himuro mansion tale has always been one of my favourite. No one knows it's exact location though, but it's still somewhere I would loooove to visit.
"According to urban legend, lying just beyond the city of Tokyo is one of the most haunted locations in all of Japan. The mansion is said to have been home to one of the most gruesome murders in modern Japanese history. Local lore has it that for generations, the Himuro family had participated in a strange, twisted Shinto ritual known as “The Strangling Ritual” in order to seal off bad karma from within the Earth, every half century or so. Many weird happenings have been reported in and near the old mansion; including apparitions of those who once lived there, bloody handprints and sprays of blood, which mysteriously appear on the walls.Sometimes, a small girl in a kimono is seen in one of the windows. To add to the mansion’s mystery, no one knows the significance of the vast tunnels the run underneath."

That's all for now on the places to visit post, but I'll come up with some more for you guys in another!

Japan 2012

So today was the day where I finally banked the cash I'd been saving, and then went ahead and booked my flights to Japan for this year! It's been a while since I've been back there (this will be my third visit) and I'm really looking forwards to it. Lots of things have happened over the past few months, and I only decided this week that I was really going to go for it. I'm really glad I have now, and I just need to make sure to keep saving hard between now and then!

I'll be going for the 30th July - 13th August and it's going to be HOT.

Living in Wales we don't get much hot weather, so my summer clothes are almost non-existent, I'm going to have to invest in a couple of outfits I can take, then I can stock up on nice clothes while I'm out there. I plan to spend at least a week in Tokyo itself, and then for a few days I'll be traveling up to Hirosaki to stay with a friend of mine! So I'll get to see a new part of Japan which I've not been to before. My other trips involved Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Hakone and Tokyo and a few other places, so it will be really nice to travel north and see somewhere different.

Is anyone else planning on visiting Tokyo this year?