dmjewelle | [Day 04] WALL OF TEXT vs BUTLERS.

Apparently all of you just want to know what happened at the butler cafe.

Y'all are such deprived people.

Tuesday night Nadia's friend

aoisbedroom (aka Luisa) came to stay with us, upping the futon count to 3. Wednesday morning Gazette's new single was released, so a trip to a music store was in order.

First, a short walk to Shibuya to get some Jrock mags and stuff.

That Gackt ad wasn't there on Sunday! @@

I saw a magazine featuring Kuroshitsuji and butler cafes (HOW PROPHETIC) and they listed 3 cafes:

- Swallowtail Cafe had more classic Victorian settings but had a pretty old guy as a butler (maybe he's an ACTUAL BUTLER?). Guess we were all pretty relieved we didn't get the reservation there since we didn't really want the ACTUAL butler experience - if we wanted that we'd just go to a hotel that has butler service.
- A cafe that has foreigners working as butlers! We already know English, so the point is kinda moot.
- A cafe where the butlers are women crossplayers. Traps are nice and all, but...no.

Then we headed for Shinjuku!

There is a man I know who would scoff and be fascinated by these suits at the same time. Cheap suits, hey. Explains why every Japanese man can wear one!

I don't wanna go to a karaoke that features GIANT in their ads.

Looks like we can get our Jrock here. Yes sirree. They have autographs of Jrockers lining their ceiling. Diru's autograph card looked like the band signed it while driving along a bumpy road.

...Along a mountainside.

Nice building opposite the the Jrock shop.

Japanese girls are really something - they could be laughing loudly with their friends with loud makeup and platinum blonde hair wearing shorts in the middle of the street in Japan, but ask them what're they lining up for and suddenly they're all mumbly and shy and looking at the ground. WHAT THE HELL.

After Nadia and Luisa got their Gazette swag, we followed Nadia to Takashimaya for a soba lunch. This involves going up a ramp..

Walking along a busy highway...look there's the building! YOU JUST CAN'T GET TO IT.

Passing through another department store while going down an escalator...and then another escalator into Takashimaya where a poor (cute bespectacled) guy's job was to press the button and ask us to wait for the lift.

So that's how Japan creates jobs.

After walking for about 10-15 minutes (and one wrong floor), we finally found the soba place she wanted to go. This had better be worth it!

OK Nads I forgive you.

The tempura eel is good - no smell of fish at ALL. Soft meat. Mmmm.

Unfortunately I'd developed a rather annoying case of diarrhoea the night before, so after lunch I had to run to find a toilet, and the entrance was hidden by TWO sharp corners. I ran and turned and BUMPED into a little old lady bent over near the corner (she was a cleaner). She wobbled a bit...

AND THEN SHE FELL AGAINST THE WALL.

hiimdaisy describes my reaction better than I ever will.

I apologized and then SHE apologized and then I ran off to the toilet and heard the two little old ladies laugh (they must've been saying "stupid tourist!"). Anyway, toilets in Japan have buttons for the bidet, the shower spray, the fake flushing sound, and to set the toilet seat/water temperature. They even have labels on the doors so you don't accidentally enter a squatting toilet unlike back here where you have to push open all the doors to find the toilet you want.

Toilets in Japan are SO NICE you even get a lovely view of the Shinjuku skyline! Srs.

After that we went to Marui IOIO Shinjuku(?). Algonquins had a shop nearby (50% off! SO TEMPTING). They also had a gashapon machine where Nadia got one of those double-pin-clip-metally-thingies you pin to your blouse and make it look more punkish (only 300 yen!) In the Marui IOIO building itself there were all the brands we know and love: Metamorphose, Baby The Stars Shine Bright (Hey

bunnychan86!), Angelic Pretty, h.Naoto, some other normal stuff...

...and ATELIER BOZ. *____*

Something I must point out about shops in Japan - they have VERY little store space. You know how big your bedroom is? Yeah, give or take and extra square metre, that's how big most shops are. It's decorated to fit the brand atmosphere (Angelic Pretty is painted in A SICKENING PINK) and you can pretty much run through these shops in a minute if you're only browsing. The only exception to this was this one brand of gothic clothing where there were statues in BDSM poses and everything was arranged like a white-walled dungeon maze. The salesgirl? You don't even notice her in her Mrs Lovett dress standing quietly in the corner like AUGH OMG MY HEART. x___x

Back to Atelier Boz! <3

So they had discounts on some of their clothes and coats and I was just happy to stare at the workmanship and designs up close and personal and THEN I SAW THIS IN THE MOST SUMPTUOUS ROYAL BLUE EVER.

And 40% OFF. That's less than 10k yen!

I tried it on and it was one size too small. DAMN IT. So the salesgirl went in to find a larger size! O_O;; WAIT WHAT NO THAT'S OK-

salesgirl: We don't have blue anymore, but we have black and white in men's S size! Which would you like to try? *props up both blouses*

Oh god customer service, so awesome. TT^TT So I tried on black and it was SO GOOD.

Then they told me they didn't accept Mastercard. FUCK. MY. LIFE.

You dowan me to buy Atelier Boz don't la dangle gorgeous blouse in front of meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! >(

So after 20 minutes of attempting to communicate in Japanese and the MOST insane thing I've done with someone ELSE'S money (something I have never done in my life until now), I am now the proud owner of an Atelier Boz blouse. Anyone who comes up to me and asks if I got it from i-Socks, I am going to rip them apart and press the reset button on their entire physical existence like what the Mongols did with Baghdad. Seriously.

During that little financial drama, we saw two adult men in SWEET LOLI DRESSES (one guy looked like Aiko-Jin, the other was the much nicer politer sweeter version of Hell Angel GASP SHOCKING!) walking with a group of girls and the two Atelier Boz staff cooing over them and saying "Kya, kawaii!!" and fixing their headdresses for them WHAT and giving them tips DOUBLE WHAT. Japan is just FULL of things that just warps your brain, I kid you not.

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And then we realised it was already 445, and our Butler Cafe appointment was at FIVE THIRTY IN THE EVENING.

We fled like mofos back to Ikebukuro (remember we have to walk back to the train station, that takes 15 minutes!), met up with

_deru, and ran like the wind to the cafe and reached slightly before 5.30!

When the lift opens you are greeted by a square patch of carpet, a decorated table, and a wooden door. It is more imposing than you think. So we stood and stared at it...

Nadia: I think you're supposed to open it.
Me: ...This is scary!

So I turned the doorknob, and the door creaked...

Deru: Maybe we should knock.

And then I let the door close again.

Nadia + Deru: OH DEAR GOD JUST OPEN THE DOOR ALREADY.
Me: Knock or open? MAKE UP YOUR MINDS LA.

So we went in (somehow!), and there was a bell for us to ring (I feel like Alice in Wonderland here), and a cute guy wearing a Justin Davis ring asks us about our reservation and they grab our bags and place them in the basket behind us!

Also from now onwards, all conversation in English will be in italics.

So our butler comes! I assure you he is MUCH cuter in real life.

Butler: Good evening, I am Kaito, your servant for the day...I speak...little English!
Us: O__O SO CUTE ROFLOL

They gave us a hugeass folder describing the menu and 'services rendered'. Depending on how much you pay, you get different services:

- Pay 500 yen: Get a namecard!
- Pay 1500 yen: Get a namecard AND a polaroid with them!
- Pay 2400 yen: Get your loyalty card which you can redeem with MORE SPECIAL SERVICES (described in website).

Today kiddies, we learned that butler cafes are really cheaper cosplay equivalents of HOST CLUBS. Yes Kaname fans, YOUR COSPLAY IDOL IS A HO. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES BWA HA HA HA!

So because we came in the evening, we were entitled to the 80-minute evening tea set (whoo!). The cheapest set had two light dishes (any two choices of cake, pastries, quiche, salad) and a pot of tea. Everything is in katakana but it doesn't make it any easier. For instance, I saw the word SAVANT a lot of times and was wondering what the hell was it only to realise THE NEXT DAY it was the engrish word for SERVANT.

I picked a scone and a chocolate cake, Nads picked a salad and chocolate cake, Deru picked waffles and...I can't remember what now. We all picked Candy Tea...which didn't really reek of candy as much as I thought. :(

When they served the tea, they put the pots on a table far enough for us to have to ring the bell if we wanted our tea refilled. This made me and Deru very awkward because we are not used to having people do stuff for us. Nads is born from old money, so she just picked up the bell and rang it. One of the butlers (Matsuo? Amatsu?) had red braided extensions in his hair, emo glasses, and a white shirt that was transparent enough I could sorta make out his skin tone. Nadia just pointed out he had a very nice butt. Hawt.

But back to Kaito!

When we got our chocolate cakes, there was a ton of cocoa powder on the plate, and these guys would draw a picture of something we liked with a pointer stick thing!

Kaito: So what would you like on your plate?
Me: Well...I like games.
Kaito: What game do you like?
Me: Can you draw Professor Layton?
Kaito: .............Anything else you like? ^^;
Me: (oh wth)....Durarara? :3
Kaito: Durarara! DUUUUUUUURARARARARRARARARA! DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURARARARARRARARARRARARRARARA! *saunters off with my cake*
Me + Deru: OMGWATLOL O___________O;;;;;;
Kaito: [someone's name here], Help me!

OMG KAITO WHY U SO CUTE. *melt*

Matsuo drew a cat for Nadia. She was just pleased her favourite guy drew it. And he drew a pretty realistic picture of a cat! Well, as realistic as you can get drawing on cocoa powder, but still!

So Kaito came back with my cake, and I got this:

Considering he only referred to a cosplay pic, it was pretty awesome!

(FYI, this is the only picture of the butler cafe I have - the website strictly prohibited photos (and I think they reminded us when we went in) and this one I secretly took because the picture was too cute to resist. Hence why you won't see Nadia's cat as well. Just be glad I took something for remembrance.)

They presented us with a folder of tiny cards with the butlers in their cosplay, which was when it dawned on us that EVERY BUTLER THERE is a cosplayer with a Cure account for you to stalk. Kaname just got very lucky is all. So fellow guy cosplayers, if you want to promote your cosplay and get a job without having to sacrifice propmaking time (and you're fairly decent looking), start a butler cafe!

Then I noticed that the guys were all wearing shirts and vests...

me: I notice all the pics around here you guys are wearing coats. How come you're not wearing yours?
Kaito: Ano....very hot!

And then he goes and PUTS ON HIS COAT. *____*b

Nads: DM YOU ASS
Deru: I DUNNO WHERE TO PUT MY FACE ANYMOREwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

But hey, he looked cute in the coat, YOU CANNOT DENY.

Towards the end of our 80 minutes we finally had the courage to chat with Kaito. We learned a few things:

1. The most foreign visitors to the cafe are SINGAPOREANS (I see what you did thar), followed by the Chinese, Americans, and Germans.
2. Kaito got his nickname before Vocaloid. He likes Gakupoid first, Luka second.
3. Deru and him got into a conversation about their favourite Vocaloid songs, so at least she got something out of it!
4. The tails in his coat are rather troublesome - when he kneels, he sometimes steps on the tails and unfortunate accidents happen (ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD BE TELLING US THIS KAITOOOO XD).

When our time was up, Kaito asked what namecards we wanted (Kaname's was CLEAN OUT btw). I wanted his, but his was sold out (aww!). So I got the owner's card, Nads got her sexy guy (who's LEFT HANDED *_*), and Deru got her shota boy. All was good! He escorted us out to the lift, and waiting for the lift got a bit awkward since 4 people crammed in a square isn't a conducive environment for chatting.

(From left: My choice, Nad's choice, Deru's choice)

From there we headed to Asakusa to meet up with Nads' friends for dinner.

For okonomiyaki! Yes, we went to sit in front of a hot stove IN SUMMER. We're crazy.

Here's mine! Just spring onions and cabbage and stuff. No meat.

Deru wanted dessert and we didn't want to spring for shaved ice, so we picked the second option which was a red bean pancake that the guy FRIED ON THE STOVE. So much for cooling down!

And now, pictures of us!

me and Deru!

L-R:

_deru,

usagi_ayu,

wlifers,

aoisbedroom,

lady_sb, me.

And after that we went back to the ryokan, where luckily they had a spare room for Deru! \^^/ So we hung out at the corridor (they closed the lounge at 1AM) and chatted and went online until about 2 AM!

To end the day, here's a picture of Asakusa Station's wall!

And a picture of Asakusa shrine when nobody's thronging the place!

And that's it for WEDNESDAY! Next update: Another Jrock concert!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

yuncyn.livejournal.com

And then he goes and PUTS ON HIS COAT. *____*b

Nads: DM YOU ASS
Deru: I DUNNO WHERE TO PUT MY FACE ANYMOREwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

BRB, DYING OF LAUGHTER AT THIS POINT XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

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[Day 04] WALL OF TEXT vs BUTLERS.

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