Tokyo Decadance — thefashionatetraveller.com

Next Tokyo visit, next week!

October 12, 2012 by trashtastika

I take off for Tokyo next Friday…and am getting excited!

It has been 11 months since I was last there, unlike when I used to go 2 to 3 times a year. Last November I spent 9 or 10 days there and here’s a little recap of the highlights.

Shopping!

I bought this now favourite jacket of mine, a teal feather jacket from gal brand Sly – seen here with Issey Miyake Pleats Please lurex top and multi cross necklace from Black Peace Now. I’ll be wearing another Pleats Please top I bought in an upcoming outfit post, but in bright aqua.

Post Tsunami Tokyo Decadance

April 14, 2011 by trashtastika

Originally, my Tokyo dates coincided with Japan Fashion Week, but meant I missed out on Tokyo Decadance. However, due to the tragedy on March 11, Adrien rescheduled (whilst having some R & R in Thailand) – meaning I got to go!

The first part of my evening involved me going to see one of my fave Japanese paddy punk bands, the Cherry Cokes (who I’ve written about before here and here). I’ll save them for another post all their own 🙂

Home from Shimokita after the gig, I changed and got ready for Midnight Mess – also the first after the earthquake and tsunami.

Well, I expected it to be a little quiet and I was right. BUT the faithful few, both Japanese and western residents, gathered for their first time to party after 2 weeks of mourning and gloom. How good it was to catch up with old friends like Tara (see below), Kenny, Maya of course, and meet some new people too, like Lily. It was like old times listening to Selia of Seileen sing…

But, I had other old friends to see, and the splendour that is Tokyo Decadance to experience for 2011, so off I went to the Christon Cafe, swapping my D Squared skeleton heel shoes for flats for the 10 minute walk through Kabukicho.

Tokyo Decadance

The theme for this TD was white and yellow (white for White Day that it was originally scheduled to celebrate; yellow for giving or charity). This meant you were supposed to dress in white or yellow :/

Easier said than done for those of us of the gothic persuasion! Although I did have that fluoro yellow/green belt, I opted for my favourite white corset with the ribcage on the front, and white tights, hoping this would earn me some discount off the price. It did.

But I tell you, if I wasn’t dressed to the nines as I usually try to for Tokyo Decadance, the other party goers went all out as they always do. I was staggered yet again, at their ingenuity and creativity. Whether just amazing make-up & outfits, or actual costumes, everywhere you looked, people looked fantastic – in the truest sense of the word!

There were these three, for example, in some kind of cyber-militia space suits:

When I first walked in, I had barely scanned the entrance when I got leapt on and given a big bear hug by a guy with an eyeball hanging off his face – yes, Ryo, of Sexpot Revenge fame! Here we are below left, and right is us last year at the White Decadance (see more at my post here).

OK, so yes, I used to dress up quite a bit more…this time I don’t even have a wig on or fake hair attached to my head! But having come from a punk gig and with little time to change much, it just had to do 🙂

One old friend down, and a few to go! Next up was Suzanne and Jab – but doh! Suze had just left to go looking for me at Midnight Mess! But before long, we were reunited, and photos were had.

Soon we were joined by the swoonalicious Kenny, also clad in white like the others:

And let’s just see those shoes of mine that I wore, shall we?

I stayed until almost the end, but headed off just before as I had to get some shopping done the next day before heading to the 13th Moon gig. Hey, it was after 5am!!

I should really have got lots more photos – including some of Jab who took all these ones, and Kenzo, Coco, Adrien, Kengo and all the familiar Decadance bods. But I really just went to enjoy myself and catch up with friends, chatting with them about how it was for them the day of the quake and since, hearing their stories. That I achieved in spades.

Sometimes for me, just being a person takes precedence over finding content for the blog. If I happen to get a few good pics on the way, fine, but be sure, I’ll always have had a good time, and have given my friends my time and attention. So yah, I ended up pretty cheery, and with a few pics that were too blurry to post, and video that wasn’t really useable. Hey ho – maybe next time!

Coming up soon – Cherry Cokes, Haggis and 13th Moon gigs.

Filed Under: Blog entry Tagged With: Midnight Mess, Tokyo clubs, Tokyo Decadance, Tokyo fashion, tokyo gothic, Tokyo nightlife

Sex Pot Revenge store in Harajuku

January 19, 2011 by trashtastika

I mentioned in my last post how I visited Ryo, who manages the Sexpot Revenge store in Harajuku. Ryo I’ve known for quite a while now, and we’ve partied at events like the Tokyo Decadance White Party, and at the Decadance Bar. Sex Pot Revenge is a brand I like and wear a lot; last year I posted about the Sexpot Revenge Spring/Summer 2010 collection. It is a really good place to go for cool and casual alternative gear, especially if punk is more your thing than Visual Kei.

We do seem to feel the need to pull faces in photos; this was the last time I saw him in September at the Decadance Bar:

Onto the store itself: as always, it was full to the gills with punk & gothic clothing, jewellery and accessories.

There were some fantastic fake fur coats, and tartan jackets

The black jacket above has a bottom section that is detachable, so it can either be a more casual punk jacket, or an EGL type coat.

For more items you may be tempted to buy, hit the Sex Pot webstore

Again, back to the real store. Everywhere there are things of interest, like the skull on the table, posters, flyers for gigs, hair falls…

I also spied some silver and neon jewellery in various spooky designs, and settled upon this shiny skull ring for myself

Another point of interest is the gruesome critters in places like the ceiling – so remember to look up when you’re in the store!

So do pop in when you’re in Harajuku or Osaka. In Harajuku, the stores are just off the main drag of Takeshita Street; in Osaka it is near Parco in the Shinsaibashi area.

And here is my ring, when seen with 2 rings I bought in Closet child – a bony hand one, and one with an eye

Have you been there? If you go, do make sure you say hi to Ryo!

Filed Under: Alternative Fashion, Blog entry, Fashion, gothic fashion, Travel Tagged With: gothic fashion, Harajuku, Japan, punk, Sexpot Revenge, Tokyo Decadance, Tokyo fashion

Christon Cafe, Shinjuku – a great place to eat; skull contact lenses

January 15, 2011 by trashtastika

Though my visit to Tokyo was short this time around, I still managed to meet up with a few friends and check out some great places.

Christon Cafe in Shinjuku was the restaurant agreed upon by myself, and friends Jab and Suzanne (of whom you’ll have seen lots of photos if you follow the Decadance Bar and gothic scene in Tokyo).

Since Jab is renowned for always wearing his black sclera lenses, I decided to break out my skull lenses to match him. Cool, no? They have red eyes, and the little skelly smile underneath the pupil emulates the teary/watery effect I’ve seen in some circle lenses. I wore my grey vintage faux fur coat and turband (a great fix if you can’t be bothered straightening your fringe).

I wasn’t sure about Christon Cafe when Jab first suggested it, as I’d been to the Shibuya one and found the portions to be small and the prices large. But I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised!

As Christon is the location for the Tokyo Decadance parties, I’ve been here many times before – but only to walk through. For those who haven’t been, it’s filled with medieval religious icons and statues, with great Byzantine style chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

There are also some old refectory type tables and comfy booths, off in the section with the black walls where we sat, which was also adorned with chandeliers and religious items:

I’d never really looked around, or noticed the lovely olde-worlde books/menus they have. The ‘Epicurean Bible’ above was the menu, and I like the quote they used on the drinks menu from Isaiah 56:12

“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure”

Now to decide on the food….I quite liked the Chef’s Recommendation – Cheese with the Bible Toast (sic)

Here’s the Prince of Darkness with the gorgeous table menu, shaped like cathedral windows:

A little appetiser was placed on the table while we deliberated….a kind of waffle cone filled with cream cheese, sultanas, flaked almonds and a rose petal.

There was a sinful gnocchi with mushroom and tomato in a cream sauce, and beef carpaccio

We also ordered a raw tuna and avocado salad, which came with a big crispy triangular structure on top…and an upside down cross on one side.

Then there were creamy croquettes on pumpkin mash, and a lamb dish which didn’t need the sweet chilli sauce on it. Jab mused that perhaps Japanese don’t like the strong taste of lamb, and sought to mask it. Who knows?

And here are the diners themselves, seated in our cosy booths:

After dinner we headed to the Golden Gai, where unfortunately, my fave punk bar “Hair of the Dogs” was closed due to Tohru being sick. So, we went instead to the delightful “Bar Albatross” for a few bevvies. All in all, a lovely night in great surroundings with fabulous people.

My lenses were from Colorvue, and my lashes were from Okadaya, though I’m not sure if they were Diamond Lashes or DUP.

Filed Under: Tokyo nightlife, Travel Tagged With: Christon Cafe, crazy contact lenses, eating out, Tokyo Decadance

The Decadance Bar, Shinjuku, partying with kooky gothic friends

September 9, 2010 by trashtastika

I think it’s about time I shared my party pics from the first fabulous weekend in Tokyo, when I attended the Decadance Bar for Seileen night. I wrote about the Decadance Bar here, but for the first time I got to actually experience it!!

It was as colourful as I imagined…

though possibly smaller, and with more penises everywhere!! Coco didn’t seem to mind…

The best part was catching up with old friends:

I’m here with Sisen and Selia of Seileen

With G-Sus, Sayaka and Tara. I first met G-Sus at Walpurgis back in March/April, but we chat like old friends now. Tara I met LAST March, in ’09, so it was great to catch up with her again too. Sayaka is a new friend – you make ’em all the time here!