So apparently, Blogger has locked me out of my last post and won't let me edit it because there is probably too much in it already. I've decided to upload more cosplay photos here instead so that you can still see them.
Again, I would love for everyone to reply to my cosplay post and let me know what you think. Just look at this post as the Photo-tour of Harajuku/Cosplay to go with your thoughts.
Thanks everyone!
Lady Jones
Harajuku Station is pretty much a copy-pasted German design. I think it's rather cute. The bathrooms there often serve as last-minute dressing rooms for cosplayers who hope to get out of their house without their family seeing their costume. This was a busy Sunday morning in 2006 (JLG 2006).
To contrast the last photo of Harajuku bridge I put in my prior post, here is a photo of that same bridge on a weekday when everyone is in school or at work. Crazy how empty it is in comparison!
A Western Girl (probably American) asks these two Fruits Fashion enthusiasts if she can have her picture with them. When asked, they said their inspiration for their outfit was the American cartoon series, Strawberry Shortcake. (JLG 2006)
Super cute fashion sense, and they were very nice to let me interview them as long as I did! (Sometimes I have a habit of interviewing for too long and I feel bad about it afterward.) (JLG 2006)
Across from Harajuku Bridge and the entrance to Yoyogi Park, you will head across the street towards the Snoopy Store and the path will lead you to the famous Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street).
Heading down Takeshita Dori, you can already see all the stores filled to the brim with young shoppers looking for great discounts and cutting-edge fashion. This particular shot, aimed down the street below the sign, is commonly taken by travel photographers. (JLG 2006)
One of the stores down the street, Mighty Soxer. My favorite part about this store is not just its fabulous selection of cute leggings, stockings, and socks - it's actually the store's motto, "With Beautiful Smiling Face." 'Cause using English is cool and trendy, you know? (JLG 2006)
Seriously, their legging selection is super awesome. It's great for a dancer like myself because I'm always in need of new leggings. (JLG 2006).
Harajuku Daiso is one of the growing-in-popularity 100 Yen Shops around Tokyo. I'm a big fan because it's one of the few places I can actually afford to buy some dishes. While it's true that most of those dishes will be made from cheap plastics, I can't really afford to be picky. Besides, most of the stuff in this store isn't half bad. Much higher quality than US Dollar stores for sure. (JLG 2006).
This is a silly shirt. I mean, I can understand why it would be "cool" or "motivational" but I think it just comes off as sounding pretty silly. Again. English is trendy/cool...right? (JLG 2006)
A packed-to-the-gills, discount jewelry store. By the looks of it, most of this stuff was imported from China and Thailand, but it's an inexpensive way to pick up trendy goods. (JLG 2006)
Every bit of 80's and 90's clothing you can think of has made it into this store. It was amazing how much vintage and used clothing you could find in Harajuku that would be sold in America for pennies at a yard sale. Here it sells for 20 - 30 bucks per article of clothing, and it makes me wish I saved all my cheesy 80's and 90's clothing to sell here in Harajuku. My favorite bit in this photo, by the way, is that dollar bill pinned to the vest on the right. I don't know what makes it cool, but sure, why not? (JLG 2006)
Crepe Shop!!! Weeeooo! I have to admit I love crepes. I especially love the dessert crepes. MMMM Strawberries and Cream...or Blueberries and Cream! (Great, now I really want one...) Crepes are handy because you can cruise around and shop with them in your hands and they're not too messy. (JLG 2006)
Another dessert favorite from the area - This is a green tea ice cream cone with bean paste and other fun Japanese accents. It's from the 31 (Baskin Robbins is called the 31 in Japan). (JLG 2006)
Another American-style, vintage clothing store in Harajuku. This one sold clothing my mother wore pretty much every day in the 70's. Each article ran anywhere between 10 and 200 dollars depending on its "rarity." (JLG 2006)
Body Line sells Gothic and Lolita clothing similar to the iconic "Baby the Stars Shine Bright" from the internationally successful film, Kamikaze Girls. I was able to find a black and purple flower, gothic-kimono, outfit for myself here, and it actually fits quite well despite me being a size 6-8 and usually having a hard time finding clothing in Japan. (JLG 2006)
Takenoko is....well....an interesting store. It's kind of a costume shop, but it also parallels along that "other kind" of costume shop, and by other kind, I mean fetish shop. So you can dress like a magician's assistant, a cheerleader, or pick up a lolita-maid outfit. It's all up to you! Quite the interesting mix of stuff in Takenoko. Notice the little "No Photos" sign in the middle. Well, sorry, but I needed this for research. Science demands it! hee hee. (JLG 2006)
Teens hanging out near the Harajuku Bridge. (JLG 2006)
Some Westerner (shown on the left) gives a strange looks to these Visual K Cosplayers. Contrary to what he was probably thinking, these guys were really nice. (JLG 2006)
More views of the bridge. (JLG 2006)
Last photo for now! Look for more soon.
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