109 Sales and Gets

On the 2nd of January 109 began their massive 7 day sale. I'm sure by now everyone knows the drill with New Year sales in Japan; most stores put out 福袋 or lucky bags in English. These bags could contain past season goods or clothes created just for the fukubukuro. This year most of the bags were open, as in their contents had already been relived in store blog posts, magazines or by shop staff. I kind of hate this because in my opinion it really takes out the 'luck' aspect of it, but I guess with people having less money to play with it's a safer bet to let them know how awesome the bargain is that they're getting. One brand that doesn't reveal their contents however is D.I.A and it's their bag I wanted to get.  The D.I.A fukubukuro is notoriously hard to get your hands on. Last year they sold out in 3 hours so I knew I would have to get to 109 early. Early as in before 5am that day to queue in the underground station with all the other crazy people (who also all wanted the D.I.A bag as I worked out from....well eavesdropping).

People with their bags outside getting ready to trade stuff

We were finally let into 109 at 7am. The D.I.A bags being as coveted as they are had a whole special procedure to get them. I had to go to the 8th floor (people were running up the escalators) only to go down the stairs until I met the end of the queue. This was at the 6th floor when I got there...going down! I had to go down 6 flights to go back up 8 again to get my bag...and I arrived early! This year the bag sold out before 8 I heard...that's 1 hour. Mental. I can see why though, for one bag it is packed with goodies:

So much D.I.A goodness :Q____

There were 16 items in total, including jeans, several hoodies, tops and one pieces. All the stuff isn't pictured in here, some because I traded with Chriss (the jeans and a one piece) for her Real Mars fukubukuro jacket and some just because I couldn't fit it into the picture. So yeah, getting the bag was madness but it was definitely worth it and I got to strut around 109 feeling like I won at life. 

Other sales gets were this JSG one piece (it's so soft and moku-moku I just love curling up in it...in fact I'm wearing it as I write this) and this Glad News under top. It was super cheap and it's so useful to wear under things. It goes super well with the JSG one piece so I'm wearing that atm too. Chriss got a top from D.I.A in the sale which meant I had to stand outside with all our bags for awhile. I wanted to go in too but there was just no way with it being so busy. We had to take it in turns, waiting outside with all the bags like all the other  overworked looking boyfriends and dads. D.I.A was crazy.

My shop staff isn't actually in this pic but somewhere inside the crush of the store

I went the next day too when I was less shattered and the crowds had died down a bit and my D.I.A shop staff had totally lost her voice. She still went up on the step ladder to attempt to shout to customers though. Wah she's so adorable I love her. Also I realised how mistaken I was thinking people would be buying less considering the economy. People were buying shit loads, it made no sense to me how they could afford it. Clearly they were blowing all their お年玉 or New Year money on 109. There were so many boyfriends laden with bags while their girlfriends shopped. My friend went that evening and saw guys waiting around with D.I.A bags which is how you know they've been there since the early hours >.< One woman brought her whole family (including her two young boys) to make them carry the bags. I know this because she was bragging about it to reporters when we were queuing underground in the early hours. Now I like to shop and all, but some people have some messed up priorities.

I also bought some stuff with wasn't on sale. I got the Real Mars one-piece which I adore. Totally ageho! The D.I.A jumper is lovely and Emmie ended up getting the same one so now we can twin. The belt I wanted for a while and basically all the staff wear their's constantly. I got it in the end and I think Marie might have bought the same one too.

All in all, New Year is such an awesome time to shop in Japan and I don't think I will forget the madness that is 109 on the first day of sales for the rest of my life. It was some next level shopping!

On another note I'm super lonely now because Chriss and everyone have GONE BACK TO LONDON. I started tearing up in grammar class when I suddenly remembered Chriss wouldn't be back at home when I returned. We spent so much time together having so much fun. waaaaaaaaaaaah

Oh and I've started a new tumblr which I've been trying to update regularly. Check it out if you wanna see daily snapshots of my usually mundane life as a student in Tokyo here.

New Jeans

My mum sent on the jeans I ordered!�

I've wanted these since Unni visited and brought Emmie's pair.

She couldn't get me any when she returned but randomly while we were on msn together we sawthem on Nelly.com.

I had to have them sent home first!and my mum wasn't too impressed (she didn't like my extensions either lol!)

I'm now so ready for ageho skank day in the land of the rising sun.�

DINO

I finally bought the dino sweater I've been coveting. It's silly how happy wearing this makes me. Now me and the gang are off to all night karaoke!�

New 109 stores

Now as I'm sure a lot of people know from Mitsu blog post here there's been huge turnover in the shops in 109. I went last Saturday when most of the new stores opened up and since I figured people might be interested I thought I'd blog about it.

Now most of the new stores are on the upper floors. The first I went into was Pinza on the 6th floor opposite Ank Rouge. It's not my style at all and I just went in to check it out while my friend was trying on stuff in Ank Rouge. While I was in there there was some guy in a Lolita dress who was getting a lot of staff attention. He was the only other person in there. Wow, sucks to be Pinza. I didn't feel too bad for them though because one of the shop staff gave me a dirty look when she saw I was wearing trainers ¬¬ In an empty shop don't try to be picky about customers lady! The cloths were nice, very cute and ladylike but nothing to scream and shout about.

Ungrid on the 7th floor, unlike Pinza was PACKED with people. It's a smaller shop but still, it was full. I wondered why and then I realised a lot of people had come to see the model that had turned up. I was literally forced around the shop by the  movement of people in there and I couldn't look at anything really so I went back later for a better look. I like most of the stuff, especially the burgundy jumper you can see in the picture above. The layout is actually alright as well when there are less people about.

moohoop was my first stop on the 8th floor and the store I was most interested in looking at. It's crazy small and quite a few people were in there looking about but I could still look at everything without feeling too swamped. I like the stuff they have in but it has a different feel to the rest of 109. I like that the clothes are cheap and the shop staff are friendly but I also had a bit of a jumble sale feel to it. It's currently on the list of models such as Suzuki Aya and Kanako though and is definitely worth a look at. I really want the dolman sleeved batman hoody. Super cute

GYDA is nice but so expensive. I saw a few things I liked such as the shoes you can see in the pic and some other bits and pieces but things would have to just be more spectacular for me to pay what they want for it. They were selling a set which included leggings, a t-shirt and fluffy waist coat for like 80 quid or so? They must be on crack. But I think that about a lot of pricing in 109. How does it cost so much? It's not made that well and I hope the corridor of space they have in 109 isn't raising the costs that badly.

When I first went Repipi Armanio was full of children so I didn't even go in. Then when I went back later in the day (yeah I went to 109 twice in one day) my friend dragged me in to look at thier fluffy back packs with ears. It's a really sweet shop and the prices are low but...it's for kids tbh. Some of the stuff could work into other outfits but I couldn't see it ever being a shop someone almost exclusively buys from. I mean it's the kinda AmeKaji style of CoLu or w♥c but somehow just doesn't have a grown-up element to it at all.

So there we go, all the shops I went to that day. I went into Garula too and again like a lot of stuff there but would not pay that much for booty shorts. That 16-year-old is crazy. Where do these gals get their money from? My favourite atm is moohoop.

I ♥ Shin-Okubo

Now in my last post I made a brief mention to all the k-pop everywhere in the things that I liked and I showed a brief look at k-pop corner. Well I didn't bring any of that stuff with me. I went on a little jaunt to a place just a bit away from me called Shin-Okubo. This is the Korean area in Tokyo. It's like k-pop idol mecca. They sell so much stuff, some of it legit goods some of it made by them.

When I first stepped out of the exit to Shin-Okubo I was a bit dazed. There was a really hyped up atmosphere ( and I think it was a weekday). We could so an idol shop with cutouts of the characters from Your Beautiful and you could stick your face in her face. This drama is being remade in Japan atm do it's really popular. They also had the world of all SHINEe goods (who are also kinda everywhere since the release of Juliette and SM Town Japan). As me and my friend were making our way over we saw this huge screaming group of girls. We went up and saw it was this new k-pop boy group (S.O.S) who we're promoting a performance they were doing in Japan's Coffee Prince café. We were gonna go to it but it was 2000 yen each and we had no idea who this band was (though we did squee a little when they talked to my friend in Korean)

So after that we hit the idol shops and I went a little bit crazy. It was so much fun there becuse everyone else there were just as big crazy fan girls. I kitted out k-pop corner from there (still need to go back and get some SHINEe stuff to finish it off) and I got a pigrabbit phone charm. Since the Japanese version is airing atm most a lot of people seem to recognise it if they see me with my phone on the train. While we were wondering around we saw some girls getting interviewed which we thought might be normal for the place. Japan loves Korea and loves hating it too so they talk about it all the time on TV, we though it was for that. We ran away since we looked bad and kinda stood out as the only foreigners there that day.

 THEN we saw why the cameras were really about that day. There was another crowd of people up the street and a big blacked out people carrier. We stayed to watch and saw some women getting in to the car. My friend asked the camera man in Korean who it was and he told us it was BROWN EYED GIRLS!!! We kya'd about that for a bit but then had to run away again because the camera guy realised it was a Korean speaking foreigner and therefore must be interviewed. I've been back since (looking better in case of interview) but it's never been that hyper and eventful since. And now to k-pop corner close up:

Oh and what might be that suspicious looking Big Bang box in top of my wardrobe you wonder? Let's have a closer look....

...

BIG BANG LIGHT STICK. 

Now I can stan with the rest of the VIP's

Shopping and Pilates

Yesterday my man friend had the day off work so we decided to hang out. I was really bad at thinking of something for us to do even though London is packed with interesting places (maybe because I've just been really excited thinking of things for b-gumi to do as a group when Unni gets here). However, once he found out I hadn't been to Westfield yet so we decided to go there. This was kinda useful for me too since there were some things I needed to grab. One of them was a bra so I have to leave that since apparently bra shopping makes man friend feel like a pervert even if he's with a girl *eyeroll* So I managed to pick up some basic light blue jeans on sale at uniqlo to replace my other jeans I broke the zipper of while I was drunk >.<

My nails atm. I like the effect with mostly clear polish

Apart from such sensible purchases I also baught the kicks I've been dying over since I fist saw them window shopping around Camden. I'm really into high tops at the moment anyway and these were just so adorable I knew I had to have them. The wait til after exams was awful but now I have them I'm super happy. AND I got student discount. ^^ Boy bought some kicks too but they were far less cute...as in...black low tops lol

Westfields is similar to places like Bluewater in that it has loads of laces to eat and a big cinema too. So, since man friend is obsessed with going to the cinema, we went to see Honey 2 (since it was the only thing starting at the time). Now usually I don't expect amazing acting from dance films because...well the main roles are played by dancers.However in this film the acting is bad AND the dancing is kinda basic. So glad I went on a Wednesday. There were girls on the row were really into it and kept making comments about the hot guys which was far more entertaining than the film imo. It was an alright way to kill time though I guess.

One thing about watching dance films though is that they always make me feel fat and gross and boring. It doesn't help that I'm kinda bloated atm but since I've not been dancing myself for so long at this point I am getting chubby. I have decided that I'm going to lose the weight I've been planning to to get back to my old figure (or a bit nicer *fingers crossed*) by the time I go to Japan. Now every now and then I do Cassey Ho's blogilates videos. She's really cute and I really recommend her to everyone. On her website I saw a link to an online food, exercise diary thing so I hope it'll help me keep organised and lose the weight I want to ^^.