Hi guys! I went to Harajuku on Halloween. You all know Harajuku, right? Japan doesn’t really do the dressing-up-on-Halloween thing (but their Halloween decorations are so cute! See my Halloween post). But I thought if anywhere would give me a taste of how Halloween’s done back in the US, it’d be Harajuku.
Once I got there, though, everyone was dressed normal! I went into some amazing costume stores where I was tempted by some sparkly Vegas outfits, but no one was actually wearing a costume. However, I tore myself away from the costume stores and bought some other “normal” clothes. I was so thrilled with them that I had to make a video revolving around my purchases! You can interrogate my level of taste later. But reserve your harshest comments for never ok! 😉
I’m such a liar! “I might come back for it…” And yeah, buy it with money I don’t have! Don’t say America never taught me anything! Hehe. But in all fairness, my Japanese language teacher did tell us that when expressing negative sentiments or declining in Japanese, you do it in the most roundabout way possible. There’s this young guy from France in my class and he just cracks me up. He just doesn’t get it (but I’m right there with him most of the time!). He asked the teacher in his gloriously thick French accent, “But if I’m at the store, how do I say, ‘I don’t like both of these! Take them away I don’t want them! I’m going to the other store!'”
The teacher looked taken aback and said, “…Ahhh, hmm. Well in that case you would say, ‘Sumimasen…dochira mo…chotto…'” Which translates as, “I’m sooo sorry…both of them are just….too….just…” while you make your voice trail away in a farewell sigh of regret. So yes, trying on expensive stuff in the store is a big deal. You can’t just say NO when they help zip you up into the jacket that’s too tiny for you anyway, and you can’t just say NO after they’ve watched you admire yourself in the jacket you will not be able to afford until you win the lottery. In general I’ve always had to work on being better at saying NO! But in Japan it’s hard to say NO because of the roundabout language thing, AND when I take into consideration the fact that the biggest ad campaign in the subway system revolves around not safety, but politeness. Sorry for the glare on these pictures but I will type out their message.
"Please be aware that applying make-up on the train may be bothersome to others."
"Please be careful not to lean against the person sitting next to you should you fall asleep."
"Please be considerate of passengers around you when using your mobile phone."
And note how they convey their message not with some overbearing authority figure, but benign cute little animals. Every time I hop on or off the subway I am greeted by the kitty, the parakeets, or the guinea pig. They all want you to have good manners! But even that message was expressed in the most roundabout/polite way possible — cute animals to blunt the bossiness! Something I took away from all this emphasis on manners was (among other things, but Imma focus on the positive here) that asserting oneself need not be a strident declaration; it can be a delicate persuasion. If only I knew Japanese better.
But in any case, I’m glad I told MYSELF “No” on spending $2000 on a leather jacket that would be too small on me one and a half pounds later. Nothing but real talk with me (this can be read two ways I think; one of them is like me talking to myself GET IT!?). I did however spend $15 on delicious special udon; food is something that’s always worth the money in my opinion. Here are the OGFSss!
the nabeyaki udon was served boiling hot in this stone pot! i couldn't even get a proper picture at first the lens steamed up! SO worth burning my tongue for.
now this is when it cooled off and i messed it around. SO. GOOD.
I love you YES I do for reading this! x Oh, and P.S. When I got back from Harajuku, I went to the gym. And on my way back from the gym, I saw all these men dressed up as cavemen and they were running a marathon led by a man dressed up as a referee. Or maybe he was a referee? And he was training them? And then these salary-men guffawed at them while they exchanged Laffy Taffys. Halloween in Japan. Somehow that seems about right.
swoopingcurve 