Leave a comment

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 19:33:49 UTC
Oh okay.. that sucks ;__;

Did you visit the lolita stores on Takeshita dori & at Laforet? That's where I saw most of them. They were all busy shopping :P

your english is good. english is not my first language either (french is ^^)

Oh sorry I misunderstood your question! Sorry! Yeah I can speak "okay" I guess. I used to be better but I haven't studied enough recently and I don't practice as much as last year (I dated a japanese boy for a while last winter/spring but he went back to Japan so I don't have anyone very close to practice with. All my japanese girlfriends work all the time and always want to practice their french or english when I see them -__-;)

I'm at intermediary level in japanese. My teacher said I could pass the JLPT (japanese language proficiency test) 4&3 (4 being the easiest, 1 being the hardest) and if it wasn't for the damn kanji I guess I could. Unfortunatly I don't know as much kanji as I'm supposed to. There are ~1945 kanji used in everyday life... I'm supposed to know around 400. But honestly I think I only 100. It's very hard because there's many pronounciations for each kanji (chinese & japanese prononciations.. often more than one for each.) There's alot of kanji I can READ or recognize when I write on the computer but if it comes to writting them by hand... I suck. :/ Even my friend who spent a year studying in Japan (the guy you see on the pics in this journal) has forgotten them. (he hasn't studied seriously since he came back) Even simple kanji... if you don't use them everyday, you forget. Japanese really requires ALOT of constant studying. It's a big challenge. ^__^

Reply

kat_thirteen March 23 2008, 19:55:38 UTC
I didn't visite many lolita stores. I entered in one or two Lolita Stores. But next time I want to go more days, and go to Harajuku more times, because I LOVE Harajuku. But it's hard to see everything that we want. Because our friends want to stay with us, and we lose much time with that. (but I love to stay with them... but you know... the time os short).

How many times did you go to Japan?
Did you go only to Tokyo?

No problem (^_-)☆ I didn't make a correct question.
Yes, it's hard to learn, when we don't speak daily. I never learn Japanese, but I would like. But it's manyyyyyyy things to study, and I think "oh, not now... One day I'll learned Japanese". o( _ _ )o
I have the same problem... All my Japanese friends study Portuguese, so... when we're with them, we speak Portuguese.
But if you'll really go to Japan, you can speak every day, and you'll speak very well.

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:07:13 UTC
I only went to Tokyo once. But I got to see alot of the non-touristy stuff coz I was there for a month and I stayed at my friend's place instead of staying at the hotel. I didn't visit the usual tourist attractions like temples. I tried visiting the places the teenagers hang at and do the same stuff they like to do . (go to concerts/partys, karaoke, shopping!, cosplay/go to maid cafes LOL..)

I was supposed to go to Kyoto & Osaka at first. But me & my friend's budget being limited... and seeing how much fun I was having in Tokyo. I decided not to go to other cities. I knew I would go back someday so It didn't really bother me not to go. ^_^

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:10:38 UTC
Oh and I think I saw alot of lolitas because I searched for almost all the stores possible. Before leaving I had printed a list of ALL the lolita/visual kei stores in Tokyo with maps, phone numbers, etc. So I spent LOTS of time shopping and just drooling all over the brands. XD

Reply

kat_thirteen March 23 2008, 20:23:54 UTC
Ah, it is much better as you did. I want to go to Japan, and stay 1 or 3 month.
Our Japanese friends invited us, to go to their homes. And it's is a good idea. We save money and can stay there more days.
Oh Karaoke!! I loved!! \(@^▽^@) Here in Portugal I don't go to Karaoke, but in Japan I loved.
What are your favorite Japanese bands?
And... you don't have curious to see the tourist places?

I went to Kyoto, and I liked. But in second time,we only went to Tokyo. Tokyo is really cool.

Ahh! Do you know Visuak Kei stores? (that selling CD's?). I could not find Danger Gang CD's when I went to Japan (T_______T)

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:43:08 UTC
If you have the opportunity to visit your friend 1-3 months.. I say, Go!

Same for me... I didn't like karaoke before I discovered japanese-style. Here in Montreal we have japanese-style karaoke places so once in a while I go with friends. Makes me nostalgic though :P

My favorite japanese bands.. hmmm tough question since I like many types of music. I'm not so much into j-rock (I like the look more than the music) but I'm a die-hard An Cafe (アンティック珈琲店. http://www.ancafe-web.com )fan. I think I like the bands who have happier type of beat. I like j-pop too.. but not all of it. I admit I like some of the Hello project-type of stuff though. It's weird how I HATE american pop music but tend to like j-pop... maybe it's just the fact that their videoclips are so cute and colorful and they always have crazy dance moves. And they have such cute voices too.

My favorite japanese singer is YUI. ^__^ very sweet girl.

I also like older bands such as Shonen Knife and japanese punk/ska bands. (Tokyo paradise orchestra is one of them.)

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:48:38 UTC
oops my comment got cut!

I did check out some tourist places... but it wasn't my main interrest. I wanted to spend more time learning about japanese sub-cultures. ^^

Hmm visual kei stores that sell CD's. I don't remember the names. I went to this HUGE used/new CD store in Harajuku (many floors!) where I found lots of j-rock & j-pop cds. There's also the Closet child in Shinjuku which has a whole floor dedicated to V-kei CDs and memorabillia.

HMV over there also has most band's CDs.

And there was also a store in the MARUI YOUNG department store in Shinjuku that only had V-kei music. But I don't know the name. I think it was on the same floor as the KERA shop. But I'm not sure.

Hope that helps!

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:51:06 UTC
Here's Closet-child online shop for CDs: http://closetchild-cd.ocnk.net/

Reply

shukketsuichigo March 23 2008, 20:58:32 UTC
Oh and here's the address of Closet-Child's CD store in Shinjuku:

【CD】
〒160-0023
東京都新宿区西新宿7-16-12 YSビル1F
TEL:03-3365-6316
営業時間:11:00-21:00
買取受付:11:00-20:00

Translation:
ZIP CODE: 〒160-0023
Tokyo to Shinjuku-ku Nishi-Shinjuku 7-16-12 YS building 1st floor.

(Nishi means east. If I remember correctly there is a Shinjuku East exit to the station the 7-16-12 is the adress. YS building is the name of the building.)

then you have the business hours for shopping and the buisiness hours for bringing goods to sell I think.

Reply

kat_thirteen March 24 2008, 21:52:28 UTC
Oh, I think here in Portugal don't have japanese style karaoke (ー_ー;) 
But, when I see my videos of Japan, makes me nostalgic too. I understand you.

Ahahah. I think the same way as you. I like japanese pop bands too, because I like her video clips and cute voices.
Like this:

This type of music, reminds me Japan - the stores for childrens and Game centers ♪( ⌒,⌒)

From your list, I only know An Cafe, so... I'll see more about the rest. Thanks. \(@^▽^@)
I couldn't find Danger Gang Cd's in HMV. But I think it's hard to find their CD's.
And Thanks VERY MUCH for your help. When I'll back to Japan, I'll go to these stores (I know [on internet] Closet Child, but I never went there).

Reply


Leave a comment

Up
[]