2016 Japan Trip Full Day 1: Pokemon Center Osaka

My friend Carol and I arrived in Osaka on Sept. 13 in the afternoon and spent a while getting to our bnb (booked through airbnb.com)  and then explored nearby. The first full day was Sept. 14, when we went to the Pokemon Center!

As you come off the escalator~

It is very easy to access and find. There are a number of stations you can go to. We took the JR as it was easiest from our bnb and alighted at Osaka Station. There are several department stores connected directly to the station. The Pokemon Center is located on the 13th floor of 大丸梅田　Daimaru store. There are various maps in the station to help you find your way as well, though it's unlikely you'll get lost.

Because it was mid-late September when we visited, Halloween styling was in progress!!!  Taiwan has very few Halloween things, sadly. I think we should just tack Halloween on to the end of Ghost Month and make it a two-month long celebration of all things spooky!!

OK, off-topic aside...

First Self Vacation: Osaka and Kyoto

Happy belated Moon Festival!  I'm back from my first time taking a vacation on my own!  I went to Osaka and Kyoto over Moon Festival break.
Well, I went with a friend, but we explored mostly independently ^u^v

I went with a friend other than Teddy, that is

Of course my main focus this time was the Pokemon Center in Osaka as well as Lolita shopping!  I also experienced an in-person lucky-pack sale at Kyoto-branch Angelic Pretty.  I also went on a last-minute trip to Universal Studios Japan, so that was amazing as well.

I plan to break the trip down into sections and post about where to find shops and what I experienced! This time of year is close to Halloween so there were  loads of Halloween special events and goods that will not be available if you visit at another time, however.

Anyway, it will likely take some time to organize all the photos I took, and I'm in the process of searching for and moving into a new place again, but I hope  to get everything posted within the next month!

Have a great day everybody ^u^v

Simple T-shirt Reconstruction

If you follow me in instagram you will likely have seen this simple T-shirt reconstruction I posted:

Slightly spooky?

 Though it's easy, I personally really like to see simple sewing tutorials. T-shirt reconstruction is actually what got me started in both sewing and Lolita fashion, actually!

I'd been reconstructing my Theater (school drama club) T-shirts and looked online for ideas and tutorials. I found the t_shirt_surgery community on livejournal, and one of the recent posts was a Lolita t-shirt surgery with links to BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT and Angelic Pretty websites!  I'd previously only known about Lolita fashion through visual kei, Mana-sama, and Moi-Meme-Moitie, but this completely different style of sweet Lolita led me to the egl community and the rest is history~

OK that had nothing to do with this post -_-;

Easy Changeable Custom Phone Case

When my old phone died back in April/May, I bought a new phone but was unable to find many cases for it. In the end, I decided to buy two clear cases and customize them myself. One I intend to do decoden, and the other I am using as a "changing" case by making custom inserts.

It's a very easy project so this is not so much a tutorial as sharing my process :3
This is an affordable way to be able to change your phone to match your moods (or outfits if you are really into a completely matching aesthetic??)

PILI and Ghibli's Animated World Exhibits

Today I finally got some time to go to the Ghibli's Animated World Exhibit!
Unfortunately, it was immensely crowded and very dark inside, so it was difficult to get pictures...

Before we could even enter, we had to take a number and wait for an hour! So we went to the nearby Syntrend building and took photos with the Pili puppets (modernized traditional Taiwanese puppetry art and performance) and statues!!

I like the design of this one the best