Yes, Japan has girls too!

You might not realize from reading my blog, but, yes, Japan has girls, too. I certainly appreciate female fashion, but it takes some extra originality and flair for me to strike up a conversation and snap a photo. These girls were dressed in super 80s neon to attend a concert by Okinawa alt rock band Orange Range. I am sorry I didn’t capture their pink sequined sneakers.

In true fan girl fashion, and being loyal to the theme of this blog, I can’t help but include a photo of the 5 band members!

Super Junior: fashion and dance princes

OMG. More. My high school friend, now in Taiwan, just introduced me to Super Junior, the world’s largest boy band. Created in Korea, with one lucky Chinese member, they are 13 pre-fabricated boys with complex hair and choreography, and some awesome fashion choices.

The sheer quantity of boys makes focusing on any particular one impossible. More than a simple “something for everyone,” which a 5 person boy band can amply accomplish, this 13 boy team is both a producer/management company dream and a visual overload. I can only imagine the enormity of the wardrobe and hair department.

Bruno’s self promotion

Will Bruno, the movie, make it to Tokyo? Many flamboyantly heterosexual Japanese men (hello, “ladies danshi”)– and the ladies who love them– could fail to understand how one Austrian fashion plate can terrorize so many delicate Americans. Here’s Bruno in character on David Letterman’s show.

People watching at Tokyo Dome

On a weekday afternoon, Tokyo Dome was alive with two groups of contiguous but not intersecting fans. On the upper level were hundreds of girls who had arrived hours early to watch a Johnny’s boy band called Katun. On the lower deck, hundreds of ojiisan (old guys) stand transfixed watching horse races on video screens and consulting their newspapers for betting stats.

I love the fan’s fan. Both groups have a similar intensity of purpose, no?

And the contrast between the girls’ “kawaii” fashions and the older gents’ uniforms of caps, muted colored slacks and jackets. There seems to be a group for everyone in Tokyo.

News flash: asymmetrical cardigan

Mrs O’s tour of Europe has been a triumph for the new America. Here she is wearing a Junya Watanabe asymetrical cardigan over a Jason Wu dress with the British PM’s wife. The fashion victor is clear.

Michelle makes us proud to be vaguely North American. Jackie, your heir has arrived!

Pink in Tokyo

Last Sunday’s New York Times has a fantastic magazine fashion spread, Pink Panthers, focused on men’s pink outfits modeled in Tokyo. Even the ties, shoes and flip flops are pink.

Although the designers are European and American, there’s something uniquely Tokyo about the male embrace of full-body pink. And I love how the fashion and models pop in front of everyday Tokyo streetscapes that are both ugly and evocative of my favorite mega-city.

Hotness in liberated America

Dorothy, I think we’re in Camelot!

Not to mix metaphors too much, but arriving in the United States after the election has been startling. A hot First Lady, and a liberation regime! No more torture, anti-family crusading, pro-pollution policies?!

Economic disaster, political corruption and American religious fervor will certainly constrain the new government’s actions. Still, this regime change is dramatic and captivating.

For more info on First Lady Michelle Obama’s stunning inauguration fashion, please click:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/its-official-michelle-o-i_b_159511.html

Thanks, Ericthefez, for the photo and link for this post. Michelle, you have charmed everyone!

フェデェラー 対 ナダル

テニスが大好きです。いまはウィンブレドンの季節です。もうすぐオリンピックがはじまれば、もっとテニスをみれます。すごい夏になります。

だれが一番のテニスの選手？フェデェラーですか？　ナダルですか？　両方ともエレガントでハンサムですね。

Federer versus Nadal
I like tennis a lot. Now there is Wimbledon. And soon the Olympics will make this an awesome summer of tennis.

Who is the number one player? Federer or Nadal? Both competitors are elegant and good looking.

More Hayami Mokomichi

Thanks to the netizens, I’ve learned some more important background on Hayami Mokomichi. Last year he appeared in Episode 8 of the tv soap Jotei (“Empress”) as the “Number One” host of Gorgeous, a male host club in Kabukicho. His hair is huge, he wears white suits, and plays some critical part in the female-female drama (which I had trouble following).

Other fun Mokomichi facts:

• his nickname is Mocomoco
• he’s 24
• he’s half Filipino
• he appeared in an ad for Edwin Jeans (check Youtube)

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Zettai Kareshi, the Dreamy Robot

Of course the perfect boyfriend is a robot. This anime has become a live action melodrama on Fuji TV, with Hayami Mokomichi as the dreamy robot with Johnny-su hair. Thanks, Yoko, for introducing us! Lots more photos here. Does anyone know if there’s fansub translations?

Here’s the preview:

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