This month I was really lucky to visit Japan for the first time, and it was an absolutely incredible experience that I feel like I'm still coming down from! Getting to see so many places I'd watched in vlogs a hundred times—but now in real life!—was honestly indescribable.
Because I love reading/watching these from others, and because I think it will be fun to look back on, I've documented the major things I bought below. Now, obviously this is not a normal amount of spending for me for a 2-week period, but I had budgeted a lot of money specifically for the trip and the novelty of getting to shop so many brands I love in person. (I'm also going to be on a no- or low-buy for several months while my wallet recovers!)
As well as the obligatory Laforet trip, one of my main goals was to pick up lots of unique accessories, especially ones made by independent creators I wouldn't have easy access to in the UK. I also wanted to look for toys, figures and dolls that are easier to find in Japan.
I'll start with EGL stuff first and then veer off into other categories, so you can stop reading if you aren't interested in the toys or hobby stuff I bought. (Sorry the lighting is so variable, I took these photos at different times of day and my phone camera is not the best.)
clothing/accessories
angelic pretty
The first thing to talk about is my incredibly lucky score of a pink Strawberry Cake Party shirring JSK. I wasn't initially interested in this dress when the scallop JSK and OP cuts were shown at the fashion show, but my interest was piqued by the Spoon magazine model images showing the shirring cut. I still wasn't sure, though, and was assuming the dress would be polyester. Well, the first week I arrived in Japan, I saw various cuts and colourways of it on display as a preview and realised: it was cotton!
I'm not against non-cotton dresses in principle, but I'm also not the biggest fan of the poly AP is using at the moment for the majority of their prints (though I do own one piece of it). Cotton drapes much more beautifully over a petticoat to me. Anyway, with this new information in mind—and reflecting on how much I really did like the print, having seen it in person—I decided to enter the lottery for release day at the Kyoto store, which was where I'd be on the Saturday. Obviously, I had my heart set on the pink colourway.
I was stressing out about what attending such a popular in-person release would be like, and the fact that I was travelling from Nagoya to Kyoto that same morning, so would struggle to make it on time to an early slot, if I was lucky enough to get one. But it ended up not mattering at all as I was not successful in the lottery. Boo!
However, sitting in the Kyoto Imperial Palace gardens eating lunch, I saw a tweet from AP Kyoto announcing that those without lottery slots could now enter the store, and, crucially, they still had stock of the pink shirring JSK left! So that's how I ended up frantically Ubering across Kyoto to scoop up the last pink shirring JSK in the store. I also got to try it on before buying which was a fun new experience!
The very cute Lyrical Bunny on the dressing room wall in AP Kyoto.
I feel extremely lucky that I was able to pick up this dress (and the matching OTKs!), because I'm pretty sure most other branches were completely out of pink colourways by the time they opened to the general public again, so if I hadn't been in Kyoto, it would not have worked out. And it feels extra lucky that it released while I was in Japan, too!
Here's my first coord with the dress, using basically what I had in my suitcase, which I wore to Q-Pot. café in Harajuku. Of course, the fully shirred cut is ridiculously comfortable—this probably takes the crown as comfiest AP dress I own. I hope AP continues with these fully shirred cuts (previously seen on Happy Cakes also) as it's obviously very comfortable and accessible to more body types, but I also just enjoy the look aesthetically. This dress also has adjustable straps which I appreciate, and the waist bow is detachable.
Anyone who knows me knows I love strawberry prints, but I really love the picnic theme to this one, as I prefer my strawberry prints more on the kitschy side (e.g. Sheep Garden, Little Bunny Strawberry) than the elegant side (e.g. Dressing Up Berry, Melty Berry Princess). And I really love the cute plush bunny enjoying said picnic! I can't wait to coord it again already. I'd like to try a coord that pulls out the little sax accents in the print, maybe?
Other AP purchases—most from the Harajuku store, but the cardigan and necklace are from Nagoya. In general I found Nagoya to be the least picked over store, as it still had stock of these two items that I'd wanted on release but had been very popular.
The applique cardigan is super cute and soft. It's actually my first ever AP cardigan as they tend to go for so much secondhand! So I'm hoping the relatively simple design will make it easy to coord with lots of items.
The Milky Bear pouch is a bit rogue but I kept seeing it on store mannequin coordinates posted on Instagram and I thought it looked so cute, so I knew I'd pick one up if I saw one in person. I've already used him in a more casual outfit and his fur is super soft! He's a darker shade of sax so I imagine he will be a little tricky to coord, but I'm also happy to just wear him out with jeans.
The Sugar Hearts bag was on sale for 60% off, making it very cheap and therefore a price I was OK with paying for something I'm sure will peel eventually, LOL. It is a really iconic design to me so I'm excited to coord this one.
I love Compact Toys (despite the fabric—it's the poly print I mentioned owning earlier) so picking up a little pouch was a no-brainer. I like keeping my boring stuff like medication in very cute pouches!
I've wanted one of the super small Lyrical Bunny plush for a while. So much potential to coord things with Lyrical Bunny peeking out of a pocket somewhere!
The Dolly Heroine headbow is to match a specific old-school piece in my wardrobe—I find old school and lavender can be hard to find together so I'm happy about this one.
And the Lyrical Bunny necklace was another release I'd missed but really loved as it reminds me of much older AP jewellery. Super excited to have this!
baby, the stars shine bright
I honestly thought I would buy more from Baby, but I was mainly interested in legwear and they had poor stock in each shop I visited. Couldn't resist the cute leaping Usakumya ring however, or the chance to own a really well-constructed and nice quality mini crown.
metamorphose temps de fille
Capsule Toys released while I was in Japan, so I was able to snag these clips. It'll be useful to have some mint bows as it's a harder colour to come by, and the embroidered patches are detachable so they're really versatile.
maxicimam
I was very happy that this old sample piece was still in stock at Maxicimam - I think she'll be so cute coorded with my chocolate prints and she feels like a real piece of EGL history. The candy is detachable which I'm pleased about as I have plenty of brown x pink in my wardrobe... but nothing brown x pink x red!
I intended to buy more Maxicimam pieces while I had the opportunity to shop there in person, but to be honest, the shop assistant was really unfriendly and made me feel really awkward. I've heard other people have had better experiences so maybe I caught her on a bad day.
chalmiere
Chalmiere's Kyoto location was having a special sale so I picked up this sweet cat print dress for 30% off, and a gold crown necklace.
I own the Axes Femme Kawaii laundry print JSK and wear it all the time casually, and this dress is basically the exact same cut, so I know I'll get use out of it. The necklace I think is a great staple that will match many outfits.
nile perch
Before I write anything about what I bought, I have to gush about how sweet the shop staff are at the Nile Perch store (I only visited the big one, not the Laforet one). My favourite shopping experience by far. I visited the store wearing a strawberry themed coord (... not Strawberry Cake Party), and the staff member pointed out all the strawberry themed items across the store that would match my outfit which was very cute.
Anyway: I've always wanted a Nile Perch cardigan, so even though I tried on the strawberry one, I came away with this lavender unicorn design as the colours were just so vibrant and cute. I'd like to try coord it with Sugary Carnival sometime but I also want to try some more casual outfits with it. You can really see the work that's gone into these handmade pieces when you look at them up close.
Also picked up two embroidered brooches; a strawberry (duh) and a set of balloons. I love how versatile these brooches are. And a strawberry themed postcard for my wall.
gunifuni
I'd seen Gunifuni pieces owned by both friends in real life and mutuals online, and knew I wanted one myself, so I emailed her about a month in advance of my trip with details about what I wanted and then collected the backpack from her shop in Koenji on one of the last days of my trip. It's an absolutely incredible piece and no photograph really does justice to the amount of workmanship that has clearly gone into it. The large star at the top is overlaid with a fine net fabric that has gold glitter on it, so parts of the bag even sparkle!
Ordering the bag was really easy, Gunifuni was very communicative over email and let me choose the plush animal I wanted to be dismembered made into part of my bag, as well as the general design and colour choices.
The bag is HUGE inside (I ordered the large size of backpack) and despite all the details, it doesn't feel particularly delicate or like I would be nervous wearing it out in case of damage.
She was also absolutely lovely in person when I went to collect the bag, and I adored getting to see her little studio! It's a tiny room covered in vintage fabrics and trims, plushies, vintage clothing, and knick-knacks. It also smells like lovely incense inside (as does my backpack). She was working on another piece while I was there which was very cool to see. I don't speak Japanese and she doesn't speak much English but we still tried our best to chat.
I also bought a handmade parfait-themed necklace while I was at the shop. I really can't recommend commissioning Gunifuni enough!
romantic standard
Look at this perfect and ridiculous creature. He's a bag, of course, but one of those that we EGL-wearers enjoy that can store a lipstick and a pack of tissues at most. I saw him hung on a rack outside Romantic Standard's shop in Harajuku and fell in love. He just looks so polite! And he was very affordable. I might swap the dark pink ribbon on his dress out for a thicker and silkier ribbon, maybe a sax or a lavender shade.
melon melon
I bought this tote bag from Spank! - it was the last Melon Melon tote left so I was very chuffed as I had a blue tote bag on my wishlist! I love Melon Melon's artwork so I'm thrilled to own a piece of it, and as you can see I've already put some cute charms on it. (The Tama charm is from Rosy Chen.)
misa pinkmilk
I bought this headdress at the ACDC Rag Harajuku store but it was a consignment piece from independent brand Misa Pinkmilk. It's so cute and I love pink x mint items, so I couldn't resist this one. I already wore this while in Japan with my Chalmiere x Maki Fancy Dolls skirt, as it felt like the vibes matched.
other jewellery
The sparkly heart & pink star ring at the top are from Paris Kids. Just some simple staple pieces. They had some really cute items but the store in general felt very Jirai-oriented which is not really my style.
The cherry cream whip ring, churro/pretzel bunny bag charm and chocolate bunny necklace are all from Kawaii Stars, which is a consignment shop in Harajuku that stocks pieces from independent makers. The necklace is from Sugary Haruru but unfortunately I don't know who made the other two pieces. I think I'm going to turn the bag charm into a necklace.
The bracelet, heart charm, strawberry beaded ring and knitted worm clips on the right are all from a tiny shop I found in Kyoto that was full of retro Showa/Heisei era items, and handmade accessories. The shop owner was really sweet! If you happen to be in Kyoto I recommend visiting - the shop's website is here. It's a real treasure trove, and it looks like you can also order online. They also have an Instagram.
dolls/figures
pullip
AAAAAAA! I have always wanted a Pullip doll since I discovered doll photography on DeviantArt as a tween, but knew I'd prefer to find one in person, second-hand in a Mandarake or Hobby Off, as I thought it'd feel more special to find one through luck (and a lot of my favourite Pullips are older releases).
We visited quite a few Mandarakes but none had any of the Pullips on my wishlist. I was thinking I'd be heading home without finding one until I decided to check the Hobby Off website and randomly saw this 2007 Hello Kitty Pullip listed at a Hobby Off about 20 minutes from our hotel. So, we hopped on the subway, hoping she was still in stock as the website indicated. It was a very non-touristy area compared to where we had visited in Tokyo so far, so it was refreshing to wander around without being held up in huge crowds.
She was there once we arrived at the Hobby Off, of course, and I snapped her up! She was relatively cheap because of the discolouration on the box, but I knew I'd want to unbox her anyway so it wasn't a concern. (As an aside - unboxing a real collectors doll felt like defusing a bomb. I've previously only collected playline dolls. It took at least half an hour to get her out!)
I love the silliness of the giant hood and the big plush shoes on this doll. She's really everything I dreamed a Pullip would be—I'm already thinking about buying her more outfits or some furniture to pose with! If you have any recommendations for where to buy clothes and accessories that fit Pullip bodies, please let me know.
Even though we visited Nakano Broadway later in the holiday, I found that Hobby Offs and Mandarakes in smaller areas were less picked over, had more interesting stock, and were much easier to browse. In Nakano Broadway, it felt like almost everything was behind a glass showcase—even small things like keychains—which totally defeats the fun of rummaging around for me. So I'd recommend looking off the beaten track wherever possible for second-hand dolls and trinkets.
licca
I knew I wanted to expand my Licca collection (prior to this, just the Swimmer x Licca doll) when I visited Japan, and these are the two I chose - I haven't unboxed them yet but I think I will shortly. I love Econeco's artwork so it's very cool to have a doll that features it. And I mean, I couldn't resist a My Melody themed Licca.
uma musume
Unfortunately I am a fan of this game, and so I picked up a few secondhand items from Lashingbang while I was looking for a friend's favourite Umas at the same time. Nice Nature is my all time favourite so I bought my first ever figure - an Ichiban Kuji prize. It's really cute and pretty detailed in person! I also really enjoy this weirdly cute bean-shaped plush of Mejiro McQueen.
toys/trinkets
sanrio
I thought I would buy more Sanrio stuff than this, but most of what I saw in the stores seemed more aimed at tourists than the real sommeliers of character merchandise, like myself (LOL). I prefer character goods that have a specific theme or art style instead of just the default or most obvious depiction of the character, which was a lot of what I saw. I got pretty lucky with the exclusive blind bag doll keychains from the Sanrio Harajuku store (middle of the picture)!
I'm a My Melody/My Sweet Piano/Cinnamoroll girl first and foremost so it's surprising that all three plush charms I got were Hello Kitty, but they felt the most unique. And I mean, obviously I was gonna buy a Hello Kitty wearing a red gingham dress and a strawberry hair clip!
sylvanian families
Oh, the Sylvanian situation in Japan was SERIOUS. I was shocked (and delighted) to find that they had a strawberry-themed pop-up at the Yokohama Strawberry festival, which we visited, and we also ran into two Sylvanian Families-specific stores in different malls that had so many items that you couldn't get in the UK.
I'm absolutely delighted to have the hamster family as I think the babies are some of the cutest new designs in a long time!
From the Yokohama Strawberry Festival pop-up. I'd trade an organ for one of these.
Every staff member at the Sylvanian stores or pop-up was absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed playing the kuji at each different spot! I just have to figure out enough space to display all these new figures now, LOL.
little guys
Plush I got from Gachapon machines, and then the two on the left are from Ghibli Park (which was amazing)! The pink rabbit with the tiny eyes and red nose is also from the retro shop in Kyoto I mentioned earlier.
You will absolutely see me trying to wear some of the smaller plush on my head for OTT coords in the future.
pokémon
My two favourite Pokémon are Spheal and Marill/Azurill, as you can see. If it's round and blue I'm all about it.
gachapon & misc.
I felt super lucky to get the strawberry-themed Mofusand can badge from the literal "can" badge blind box. Also exciting to find artwork from AAMY in a gachapon machine. And egg magazine?? I also really adore the tiny animal figures in tiny packaging.
Had to show these two separately because they're so detailed.
paper goods
Just documenting these because they're fun to look at. They'll all go on my wall in my EGL room.
From the retro Kyoto store mentioned above. The card on the left is the store info.
Sanrio stickers and postcards (I thought the frog theme was really cute).
From Sylvanian Families shops/the Yokohama pop up, the Strawberry Festival itself, Q-pot. and Minacute for the Swimmer sticker.
From Ghibli Park and a random art pop-up we walked past in Kyoto, featuring art from Nanaco Yashiro (who I wasn't aware of before this trip but am very happy to have discovered).
From the Spank! store, and the random My Melody sticker was a free gift at the Harajuku Sanrio store.
This book has printed dolls inside and a sticker book wardrobe to dress them up with (so nostalgic!), but even more excitingly, it's a collaboration with Liz Lisa so it's all Liz Lisa clothing. The pouches at the bottom aren't paper goods but I'm squeezing them in here - they were blind boxes from Don Quijote featuring anir's artwork, which I was really happy to find!
makeup & skincare
I picked up a lot of the usual highly-recommended and relatively unexciting items for makeup and skincare. I used to be super into both, but I culled my collection and now I prefer just finding simple things that work well instead of buying a lot that goes unused. I am excited to try the lavender Canmake blush however!
Listed below in case you want to find any yourself:
- KISSME Heroine Make mascara & eyeliner
- Laneige berry lip sleeping mask
- Bioré UV sunscreen
- Tamagotchi bath bomb (LOL)
- Canmake Cream Cheek in P05
- Make Me Happy Berry Bloom Eau de Toilette
- Daiso brush & powder puff cleaner (recommended by a friend!)
- Kose face mask multipacks
- Bioré The Face Moist foam cleanser
- &honey shampoo and conditioner
- Hada Labo Gokujyun hyaluronic acid moisturiser
- My Melody headband
So far I'm really loving the Biore face wash and the &honey hair products (which smell amazing). Biore UV and Laniege are my go-tos already. The little strawberry perfume smells delicious and not too sweet.
