I want to end the year on a happy note. So I’ll post images of male hosts taken at this year’s 3rd Tori no Ichi festival, at my beloved Hanazono Jinja. It’s smack dab in the middle of Ni chome, Kabukicho, and the department stores. This year, I chatted with many male hosts who were seeking luck while parading style. So many inappropriate looks!
My eyes are always riveted in the wrong direction. We were at Jindaiji Temple for Girl’s Day, and there was a beautiful temple with monk musicians and chanting, thousands of daruma good luck dolls for sale (plus a return bin for those whose wishes had come true), a variety of snacks served by yakuza, and on-and-on.
I simply could not get enough of these boots. It combines two impractical elements: pointy form and white color– into one splendor of male vanity. Could I squeeze my fat feet into such gorgeous vessels? Would I need to buy a larger man bag to pull of the look?
At a large suburban festival, we saw *three* booths involving boy bands. My favorite was the one above which involved a rifle shooting game, with the boy band images as either prizes or encouragements. This older guy looks ready to teach the kids how to shoot to kill. The guy running the game was kind of an ikemen, with his fried hair piled into a glitter sequin watch cap.
Below two booths sold boy band imagery. Interestingly, in Japan, there is no equivalent girl band objects. I guess Japanese (male loving) women are just lucky in that respect. I also suspect that the imagery objectifying women is perhaps too dirty to be shown in public at a festival.
And still more. Plus there was a Korean store full of Korean bands and idols.
Tokyo Moe 