On to Tokyo

So the very full plane I was on landed at Narita Airport and we all headed to Immigration. And I do mean all. Because of all the people who changed from Kansai Airport to Narita, Immigration was packed with people. And at one point, the line did not move for about 20 minutes. I have no idea what the problem was, but 2020 Olympics aren't that far away. Fixes are still needed.

So I was late getting out of Narita and had to wait for the last N'EX train. I finally arrived in Ikebukuro around 11:30 pm, that's 23:30 for those going by Japan time. I was exhausted since I did not get much sleep on the plane. Problem child that cried and yelled every time his mother would not hold him. Which happened a number of times. Kid was at least three years old so yeah, it was a problem. To the point that a Japanese guy yelled at him because he was going non-stop the whole time we were descending to land. Because his mother had to put in in the seat next to her. So when I did fall asleep, I was woken by this kid. A number of times.

I get to my hotel in Ikebukuro and up to my room. Only to find they gave me a smoking room even though I put on my reservation for a non-smoking room. Since there were no other vacancies, I did not have a choice. I asked for a clean pillow and if they could give me a non-smoking room the next day. Thankfully they did. Sadly I was not able to sleep much that night. What helped is I brought with me a bottle of BPAL's Victorian Goth scented oil. I put a little on the bed. It saved me.

Ikebukuro. This was my second time staying here. Where my hotel was, the area is nondescript. Cute kittens and puppies in the pet store across the way. At least the konbini in the area have decent food. 

These signs light up in different colors at night. And night time is a little interesting around here. The area seems to be a place where people go out on dates or hook up. Interesting side of Japanese behavior happened now and again. 

As to the weather, the sky was beautiful after Jebi blew through. The temperatures were in the 90°f and humidity was super high. Summer in Japan. But I was going to brave it because there were places I wanted to go.

Like Shinjuku. I did have a list of places I thought I might go to, but in the weeks before I left, different events were presented. So my list changed. It was all good. 

Shinjuku, showing off the ikemen.  

And ladies. The area seemed a bit less crowded than usual. It was the heat and humidity. 

Thankfully the place I was going was cool. Very cool. Ah, the old Moi-même-Moitié gates. It means only one thing, KERA Shop. And seeing all the new items they have. I was tempted to buy a number of things and I was happy to see them in person. I now have my want list. In time, it will happen.

The other reason for going was this display. Because of the MALICE MIZER 25th Anniversary concerts, KERA Shop and Moi-même-Moitié set up this photo area. Photo areas are very popular in Japan, especially those using anime, manga and game characters. This one was a little different because it was for fans of Mana, founder of MALICE MIZER and the creator of Moi-même-Moitié, and for people who love the fashion. 

It was a great idea because besides fans in Japan, people from all over the world were coming to Tokyo to go to the concerts. So having this event was a nice way to draw customers in. Besides the blue roses and posters were a few things that have not been shown to the public in a while. 

These cross tombstones are from the original Aoyama Moi-même-Moitié store. 

Just part of the decoration of that store, it was nice to see them as part of this display. 

A bit of Moi-même-Moitié history. 

A few posters from different times in Mana's career. A couple of his looks as leader of his band, Moi dix Mois. 

And modeling photos of Moi-même-Moitié outfits. 

There were props for those who wanted to take selfies.

Since I have posted photos of items from the old Moi-même-Moitié stores a couple of times, I thought I would share a few photos of those stores that I found on the internet. Here is how the gates were used originally.

Along with the cross tombstones.

Like I said, there were a number of things I wanted to buy. I knew I was going to get something, but I was surprised at what I was able to get. Because only a day or two before, it was announced that they would be selling the jewel cross pendants again. This is a classic piece with colored crystals, which were only offered in certain colors at certain times. I had wanted a blue one, but it was sold some time ago, and never seemed to come up for resale. So I was very happy for the return of the blue crosses. There are also red and black versions. I may get a black one, it has a cool gothic look.

After this I headed back to my hotel where I was able to change rooms. What a relief. And later, I did explore Ikebukuro a little. Which will be my next post.