Went to Harajuku to check out the new H&M. My brave companion was 爽-chan (So-chan), a girl from Hosei university I met this Halloween. Scheduling meet-ups is a bit of a chore here; it's hard to make dates less than two weeks in advance. This Harajuku just opened up, and it's currently home to a new collection by Comme de Garcon designer Rei Kawakubo. Hence, the line was spectacular.
In front of Harajuku station, waiting for So
They had a whole blue-uniformed taskforce maintaining order in the two-block-long queue.
Would-be budget fashionistas waiting to get in. The line actually moved pretty quickly- we were probably waiting all of 20 minutes or so.
Made it in!
They kept trying to stop me from taking pictures, but how could an ignorant foriegner like me understand their Japanese instructions?
More ridiculous mannequins.
Despite their well-executed intake control, it was packed. There were no baskets, either, so carrying selections around got dangerous- I snagged someone's bag/jacket/person or was snagged several times by hangers poking out of people's armfuls of clothing.
A Japanese subculture expert might correct me on this, but I think this dress could best be called "goth-loli" (the popular and not-at-all-twisted gothic-lolita subculture). So tried it on under protest, but I think it's pretty adorable (might need different footwear, though).
In return, she wanted me to try on a hideous purple polka-dotted dress shirt, but thankfully, they didn't have my size. This awesome rock-star faux-fur coat was a "compromise" (I made a token protest, but if it wasn't $200, I would have bought it right there).
Checkout time! My haul: one pretty nifty chock-full-o-pockets jacket, with a cool offset zipper.
She wouldn't be a Japanese girl if she didn't make the requisite "V for Victory!" sign in pictures
Otsukaresama! Italian food for these two tired shoppers (her more than me, I think- she fell right asleep once we got on the train home). Dinner was spaghetti and seafood pizza; dessert was chocolate and green tea tiramisu.
Ususally I'm into green tea-flavored stuff (when I want a break from beer or sake, I love ochawari-umeshu, tea mixed with plum wine), but we decided this was a little too bitter.
The chocolate, however, was spot-on. Both were dangerous, though- the powder had a natsy habit of attaching to our teeth and refusing to let go.
Post-dinner walk to look at the Gap christmas decorations. Dunno why everything's blue, but it's sure pretty.
All in all, a fun night. The drinking parties and clubbing expeditions are good times too, but it was a nice change to be able to spend a comparatively quiet evening talking, exploring, and getting to know someone better. I'm off to bed; tomorrow holds an internship, preparing a presentation on a survey about lunchtime eating habits for Japanese class, and all the studying I meant to do this weekend. Cheers!
