And when I'm not busy on the computer, and Shota's not busy saving old people, we have more time (and energy) to visit new places. Like these ladies adult costume shop. Hint: it's not called adult because the costumes come in grown-women sizes, though I'm sure that's part of it.

We both felt the awkwardness and left soon after.














My niece, who is now 3..!! Holy crap I remember seeing her after she was fresh from the box. I feel old..ಠ_ಠ

She loves laughing at me/with me (not sure which). Anyway, we're 'nakayoshi' and I will turn her into my English speaking prodigy :3

Here's to our 4-hour car trip coming in August!! :D Lots of giggles to be had.




On a recent outing, I did do a tiny bit of shopping, the most expensive thing being that Addidas tank top (that I thought I would need but now turns out I won't. Rage) :/ I feel like I should go running or something to make up for it but.. I hate running. (loove Yoga though :3)

The leopard print top (like I need more leopard print things!?) I thought would be great for summer since it's super light-weight  and lets a lot of air through. And it's smexy.










My new babies!! I love these shoes so hard ;w; They're pretty comfortable (even moreso if you don't have wide feet like meeeee). I plan on wearing these all throughout summer and as far into winter as I can.


AND THEN. Some outfits from the past few weeks :)

This I wore when hanging out with my nice. It was still pretty cool outside at that point, so I kept the long-sleeve button up handy. Then I realized it made me look a lot like Garth from Wayne's World D: (minus the blond locks).

But that's not really a bad thing :D

Party time! Excellent!!

Cover photo by Jason Arney

Good day all!
I don't know if you've heard the good news or not, but the June issue of Tsuki is out and about.

Tsuki is a literary and art digital magazine featuring work by expatriates living in Japan. Awesome concept, eh??

This is the second issue and it's coming along beautfiully..! Check out that cover..! D: Gorgeousness↑↑

This issue features some prose, poetry, illustration and photography PLUS an interview with an upcoming Malaysian musician making his debut in the music scene in Japan.

So definitely check it out! I'm in there too, but I won't tell you what part, you have to guess :P

EDIT
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! (sorry, In Living Color joke was totally necessary)
If you enter this code, you can get this issue for only $.99! That's pretty cool :)


The magazine can be purchased here: http://jesto.co.jp/tsukimagazine/currentissue/
The discount code is: thanku62
(highlight it)


Now go, and enjoy! :)
New post on another (YES, ANOTHER) shopping center. You can never have too many. Really.

★Peaces★

This sign is located 1/3 of the way up the mountain.

Now, I know what you're thinking. What's this air temple? Did the Japanese formerly worship the air or something??
..No.. this is just my fandom slowly try to creep it's out from my imagination... but I can't help it. It's Saturday, and new episode of The Legend of Korra  should be released. And since Game of Thrones is already over.. I NEED this. (I don't, but I'll keep saying I do).

But all silliness aside, I'm loving this new Avatar series against my will, and this adventure out on Mt. Ikoma in Nara Prefecture only increased my enthusiasm for.. air. :x

See that in the background? That's Ikoma. Now climb it.

A trip out to Mt. Ikoma is also a great retreat for the less monetarily inclined i.e. me, and costs nothing to climb and explore

 It's really close to Osaka City (about 17 minutes from Osaka Uehonmachi Sta.), and awesome for those times when you want to get away from the noise, pollution and random stabbings (though we did go here before the stabbing occurred).
Osaka is still totally safe, but sometimes, you just gotta wonder and then get out for a few hours.


Access:
Ikoma Station is located on the Kintetsu railway system and the Osaka Municipal subway system via the Nara Line (Kintetsu) and the Chuo Line (subway). After exiting the train station, the cable car for riding up the mountain is immediately visible and pretty easy to get to as it's also connected to the train station. Or, if you're hardcore, you'll just walk your way to the top.

We were feeling frisky, and in need of exercise, so we decided to walk to the top. We didn't really research how to get there, so we just started walking in the general direction of the mountain and taking whatever roads lead in that direction.

For the most part, it is easy to follow, but there's no direct root from the station to the mountain. You have to follow roads with tiny sidewalks and hair-pin turns. So be careful and look both ways. Twice.
This shot is probably about.. a quarter of the way, almost a third. By this point, we were drenched in sweat, but we were also grossly overdressed for hiking, so I guess that was our bad.

The view was lovely though.




After making it to the 'Welcome to Ikoma' sign, you'll encounter your first collection of shops. It was pretty quiet though, even for a Sunday, so we didn't try anything out.

 Unfortunately, this path leads no where near the more historical Ikoma Shrine that dates back to the 5th Century. I would have totally loved to visit that, but that must be saved for a different train stop and trip. :<



 Here is, opposed to Ikoma Shrine, the lovely entrance to Houzan Temple (Houzanji) which would roughly translate to 'treasured mountain' I guess.

Fun fact: they produce a rather famous brand of incense here that I used to sell at my old part-time job back in D.C. What a small world. Sort of. :D



This temple is pretty huge, and extends far into the forests of the mountain. We probably spent a good hour or so, just checking out all the smaller temples and paths. Tons of fun, and awesome refuge from the sun.

I really wanted to find a path to that Buddha in the mountain. There's a small temple next to it, so it seems reachable. Maybe it's one of those things that's for monks only, but I really want to ask when we visit again :x

If I were an airbender, I could just air bend my way to the temple D':




I've been to quite a few temples throughout Western and Eastern Japan, and I have to admit, this is one of my faves. The architecture is what really drew me in the most. And what can I say, it was my first time seeing a Buddha carved into a mountain (or at least placed into one) in person.

Also, I just read that this tmeple used to be a training place for monks. Completely validated my Western Air Temple theory. All it needs is a few flying bison or winged lemurs :3 *end of fandom. maybe*

And to top it all off, there's an amusement park located on the top of the mountain. How quaint :D. Aang would love that~

It's only a children's amusement park, but the restaurants do serve beer, which would make for an awesome-yet-counter-productive celebratory beverage after hiking up a mountain all afternoon.

Oh, and the view is pretty damn cool.


This view. This is the one. My favorite one really. I'm sure I just sat there and stared for a good 15 minutes. That and checked my phone for messages, but all part of the relaxation process.

Osaka is there, off somewhere in the distance. Probably where the large gathering of skyscrapers is. It makes you realize how small you really are, until you remember how small Japan is, and then how insignificant the Earth amongst the billions of trillions of stars and systems.Still love this view though :D

Anyway, it was a great little trip. I loved being outdoors, not near some sort of shopping center. I'm sure Nara is full of hundreds more ancient temples, and I probably won't get to them. But at least I can say I've been to Hozanji, that means treasured mountain which obviously means it's the best one in Japan. Yup.

Check it out sometime! :3

★Peaces★

Whooaaa..throwback to early last year ;D I totally dropped the ball on these..

But not because I didn't want to do them, promise..! It's just getting harder and harder to think of things to teach. Kansai-ben is pervasive, it's everywhere and noticeable, but also so subtle. It's even hard for me to stop to speak normal Japanese D:

Anyway, I've saved up a couple from the past few months. Hopefully some things you haven't heard of before :)

言わんといて・言わないでおいて I(u)wantoite/I(u)wanaideoite - kansai-ben for 言わないでちょうだい(or くださいkudasai) Iwanaidechoudai. This phrase means 'don't say it.' Unfortunately, it's something I use a lot with Shota because he likes to just say things without thinking (I used to have the same problem..). But it's also used a lot in things like manzai (a comedy act consisting of two people). A small mention on pronounciation, it's said yuu-wan-toite instead of i-wan-toite, but I think that applies all round for this word, right? It kind of reminds me of funiki and fuinki :P

Usage Example:
№1
A: Hey Alyse, have you gained weight?? 「おいありちゃん、ちょっと太ってきたんちゃう？」
B: Shota, don't say such things..!! 「もうしょうちゃんそんな言わんといて！！」


Usage Examples:
№1
A: I told you not to eat my cookies!! 「なぁうちのクッキーを食べなっちゅうてたやろ！」
B: Ah sorry, I forgot... 「あ。。ごめん。忘れちゃった。。」

こっち来い・こっちきい Kocchi koi/kocchi kii - kansai-ben for ここに来てくださいkoko ni kite kudasai. A pretty easy phrase, no word. The words used are 'here' and the verb 'to come' so when put together, it means come here. And from this, you would also be able to infer than こっちkocchi is kansai-ben for ここkoko which means 'here.' How bout that, a two for one :)

Usage Example:
№1
A: Hey, come here for a sec. 「おい、ちょっとこっち来いや」

～せん(でいい)sen(de ii) is kansai-ben for ～しない(くてもいい)shinai (kutemo ii) which is used when you want to tell someone not to do something, or that they need not do something. せんsen is often used in kansai-ben in replace of しないshinai both of which mean 'not do.' I think this is one instance where an intermediate level of Japanese would be necessary to really understand how to use it, but hopefully the examples will help too :)

Usage Example:
№1
A: Should I move this over there?? 「これをあっちにおいたらいいの？」
B: No no, (you) don't (need to). 「いやいや、せんでいいや。」

№2　(past tense)
A: Hey, did you open my juice?? 「おい、うちのジュース開けたん？？」
B: Nope, I didn't. 「いや、せへんかったよ」。

As always, when speaking dialects, you have to keep in mind that certain ways of speaking are not accepted in certain situations, and while it is still possible to speak kansai-ben while observing this, it's very subtle and I haven't done much to highlight the difference. Basically, what I'm saying (typing) is leave your practice of kansai-ben for people you know already, don't walk up to strangers screaming, "OI OBAHAN" because that's rude. I would not want someone rolling up on me like "'EY YO HOMIE WUT UP" though it has happened a couple times in Japan :/

Take care!♪

So a couple weekends ago, I went out to a fashion show put together by the alternative fashion magazine KERA. I've been a fan of KERA for a while now, probably since I feel in love with Harajuku back in '02 when I first visited the place. That's going to be 10 years ago this summer, HOLY crap.. I feel old.. 

*wanders off with a cane*

Anyway, they were working together with the fashion department of a local technical school (think Art Institute). I wish my Art Institute had done some equally as cool.. even though we don't really have alternative fashion mags stateside :x..

KERA caters mostly to VK and Lolita styles, so brands like Angelic Pretty, SEX POT ReVeNGe, Super Lovers, PEACE NOW, Metamorphose, HELLCATPUNKS, and ALGONQUINS, but sometimes you'll see more casual brands pop up like Glad NEWS. Now, I don't own anything from these brands except a HELLCATS bracelet, but I still love looking at the outfits and what's for sale. I'd love to dive back into the more colorful brands like Super Lovers, but I feel kind of silly about it at my age. Especially when I'm usually the oldest person browsing around the shop for stuff. ;w; Plus, these brands are kind of expensive.. D:
So the show was a fashion show of those previously mentioned brands as well as some work from the fashion school. It was all run by the KERA Shop Arena manager AITO who turns out to be something of a net VK idol? She's one of the boy's style bloggers, but she seems to make jumps from girly styles like to Lolita as well. You can check out her blog here.
She also has a live stream on niconico video but I don't have an account for that, so you'll have to pull the link from her blog. :)　She's really nice and accommodating and was the one that ordered my horns for me..! >:D

Most of the pictures are the same as the ones I've already posted because I wasn't getting their early to wait for seats lol So I'm going to bunch them all together and throw them onto the We♥Kansai tumblr, Check them out if you are so inclined :)

And then some video I took of the event:
PART 1: VANTAN's Fashion Show (the tech school)
PART 2: KERA Brands

If you've like more close-up pictures of the outfits worn, they are all posted on KERA Shop Arena Osaka's staff blog..! How lucky..!! I'm probably going to go through them later :3

I'm still working on a Kansai-ben post, but it's really hard to think of words instead of phrases, so please bear with me for a moment longer. Also, if you have some words or phrases you'd like to know, I'd love to help you out if I can :)

Take care!
★Peaces★

I would add a comment on freetime, but.. I still don't have much of that. I've been taking major steps on improving my art skillz, which means hours and hours of working at my computer. A blessing and a curse. D:

But I get out sometimes too. Nothing planned, so the photos are quite random and seemingly unsorted. But they sort of are. Sorted I mean.



A captivating sunset over the Namba cityscape :D
Now that the weather is warming, I can stand out on my balcony and wait for more sunsets to photograph.

But with the tornadoes and 2 minute storms covering Japan these days, I have a feeling that the typhoons aren't too far behind. Dang :/



I also went out to a drinking party I guess. It was more like a get together of old friends, but seeing as Shota and I weren't a member of the old-friend-set.. Whatever, we drank and had an awesome time. Turns out on girl (the girl I'm with in this pic) is about as crazy about video games and animation as I am. Which is rare. We geeked out on everything from famicon's to ps3s. She was also the only member of our group that knew Cowboy Bebop (how is that possible?!).

So after lots of drinks, we went out to the arcade because we all get the urge to dance on a virtual stage and shoot zombie Terminator bots. Right? Right...

Then I went out to the KERA Shop ARENA in Big Step in Amerika-mura. I was picking up my horn hair barrettes (!!) and basically I've been wearing them ever since. Shota said they're fitting when I'm angry. >:)

A couple outfit shares then I'm out~ :P

I wore this to a fashion show KERA magazine put together with the local trade school Vantan. I took some photos of the event plus some video, but I'll upload those in a later post. :)
They were also doing a snap meeting for the magazine, so I wanted to put together this comic hero-inspired look.

It's a little crazier than what I've worn recently but.. I like that. I miss dressing crazy, the hair dying and piercings that went along with that. I'm still promising myself to start all that up again when I make the grand return home. :)



The low-key look for the meet-and-drink with those gaming girls. I actually ended up ditching the Litas before I left home though. In the end, stumbling around drunkenly in JCs, however fashionable they may be, is not a good look.

No inspiration here other than comfort and sleekness (? not really).










And the last bit, a new piece of jewelry..! I've been waiting to get my hands on an earcuff for a long, long time. I'd seen a lot of cool ones online, but once I saw this badboy in the KERA shop, it was a done deal. Not only skulls, but the cuff part is a skeletal hand. Neat..!!♪

It was only 2380 yen, so the material isn't good if you have sensitive ears (mine get itchy), but a coat of clear nail polish is supposed to fix that.

We'll see.

That's all for this post. There will be another daily life post soon plus the post sharing my pictures from the KERA event. All in due time. >:3

★Peaces★

Wow, talk about late. Lol I was late actually going cherry blossom viewing too. Most of the blossoms had fallen from the rain the previous week, but I still think the photos and video turned out well. :)

This outing was around mid-late April (the 15th I think), and started out with rain, but ended in a temperate evening stroll. Pretty good for on the fly planning for the most part lol




Since the weather had been so mild, I was able to go from 2 or 3 pairs of tights to one..! I will relish in this all the way until next winter.

I threw one of my lucky bag sweaters over a tank and was ready. So much love for anything but winter right now.




 I met up with my friends around 6pm, but I got there a little early to take some video and wander. When we finally sat down for some drinks, this cat was lounging right next to the eating area.

Completely at home around people. This cat didn't run or jump when we went to pet him, but he wasn't about to get up and play with the cat toys my friend brought. Lol



Everything else isn't really new. Just photo snapping and video taking, so if you'd like to gander at more sakura photos (like you haven't had enough already lol), then check out the We♥Kansai tumblr.

Or check this video. All the music is from one of my Top 10 movie list :)


After this post, I'm going to work on a video for USJ because.. I really want to make one, for some reason. I plan on going back to do another one toooo... This might turn into a problem lol
Take care everyone!

★Peaces★