[iriescopeやで]

..Hello London! and Fotoshop by Adobé..

2012-01-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

Ready to go!!

London, I'll be here in a few hours

There is no weight limit on the Eurostar ...
But I need to carry all these stuffs by myself in the station before a friend picks me up (^^)

I probably have, like, 45 kilos there

And yes!... Alpaka kun is coming with me!

Too bad there is no more room for my other plushies!

By the way, do you remember this picture? I blogged it quite a long time ago here.

Well a guy named Jesse Rosten made a video of a similar but nevertheless revolutionary product and it's called... Fotoshop by Adobé

Watch it here

PS: as mentionned, this commercial isn't real, neither are society's standards of beauty.

..10 NY's resolutions tag..

2012-01-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Ly to write down 10 New Year's resolutions
Over the years I have come to learn that I never hold any of them, so I stopped thinking about such things haha

But let's see what I can come up to now...

*In French first, with English translation right below*

① Tout déchirer dans mon nouveau taff!
      Rock my new job!

② Finir mon jeu de dress-up lolita
      Finish my lolita dress-up game

③ Finir mon jeu mario-like
      Finish my mario-like game

④ Perdre les 3 kilos que j'ai gagné depuis mon retour en France
      Lose 6 pounds that I gained since my come back from Osaka

⑤ Apprendre à cuisiner/arrêter des manger des boîtes de conserve
      Learn how to cook/stop living on canned food

⑥ Prendre l'accent londonien à Londres hihi
      Get a British (London) accent

⑦ Garder contact avec les gens en France et au Japon
    Keep in touch with my friends in France and Japan

⑧ Prendre soin de ma peau
    Take care of my skin

⑨ Continuer ce blog avec au moins une entrée par semaine
      Keep on updating this blog at least once per week

⑩ Retourner au Japon avant que mon numéro n'expire
      Go back to Japan before my phone number expires

And I tag blooomzy, akkadayo and mlleashchan!

If you need to think about resolutions too, feel free to post them in the comment box!

..Rabito Bling Bling Hotpink..

2012-01-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

My new iPhone4 case!
It's a Rabito

When I first saw it in Osaka Umeda's LOFT a few months ago I didn't know it was a big hit coming from Korea. Its designer is named Mina Kwag

Rabito comes with a bunny eared case and a fluffy bunny tails that can be used as screen cleaner or as stand for the iPhone

It is quite pricey (around 3 000 yens or 30 USD) but I think the quality is worth it: the soft synthetic rubber used for the case does not smell rubber at all and has a stylish pearl coating...

See below, it glitters!

I used a bunch of moji seals to slightly customize the case

Thanks to the bunny ears, I do not longer lose my iPhone in my bag and spend minutes trying to retrieve it!
Moreover, the ears are a perfect cable wrap for the headphones to prevent them from wandering freely in my bag.

Here is how Rabito looks when you have it in hands!

It's also convenient when both hands are occupied and you need some help for the sign hihi

Last thing, a funny fact...

My Japanese friends think it is cute because of the bunny ears.
My French friends think it is sexy because of the playboy bunny ears.

I guess it's a cultural difference

Get your rabito here!

..Time for omikuji.. 御神籤

2012-01-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

A new year has begun ... and it's time for 御神籤 (omikuji)!

Omikuji is a written oracle you can buy in shrines and temples around Japan and it tells you how you will do in many aspects of life.
You can draw an omikuji any time you like when you fells you are about to begin a new chapter in life or for special events such as 初詣 (hatsumode), the first shrine visit of the New Year in order to make new wishes and pray for the new year.

On this omikuji performing picture I was travelling last September with friends around Hiroshima.

We stopped at the 厳島神社 (Itsukushima shrine) on 宮島 (Miyajima island), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Actually I am sure everyone has already seen a picture of this place as the big tori that welcomes visitors to the island is used as a cliché on book covers, website about Japan, etc.

Here is a front view picture from the island

Back to the first picture you can see my friends holding a wooden container box. It's the omikuji box!
When you shake it, an a numbered stick eventually come outs and you can get the corresponding fortune paper from the paper trays.

The oracles are ranked as follows: 大吉 (daikichi, great blessing), 吉 (kichi, blessing), 凶 (kyou, curse), 大凶 (daikyou, great curse) with different intermediary blessings.

And my friends got... 凶 (kyou, curse)!

However, in such case, you can fold up the fortune paper and tie it to the shrine in order to be protected from the bad luck!
And all the bad oracle will not happen to you.

As for me, I got 吉 (kichi, blessing)...
But that was 4 months ago, it is interesting to see in details if the omikuji became reality

方角 (hougaku, direction): West is good
旅立 (tabidashi, travel): Good
病気 (byouki, illness): Recovery without doubt
建家 (tateya, home): Migration, marriage/engagement is good with that
失物 (shitsubutsu, lost thing): Will be retrieved
待人 (machibito, person being waited for): Coming close
商売 (shobai, business): Good enough
勝負事 (shoubugoto, competition): Ennemi has advantage

Remember I am moving to London after my stay in Osaka?
And my boyfriend is coming with me. We are actually planning to move in a studio flat!

Wicked!

If you want to try your luck too with omikuji, I found an Internet version of it! Follow the link below

http://www.omikuji.ne.jp/s_kaiun/

..Happy 2012! Moving again..

2012-01-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

This year will be okay!

HAPPY 2012

Did you have a nice celebration?
I wish you the best for you and your familly

May this year brings you a lot of happiness in life...
and fulfill all your dreams

And...
Santa gave me an unexpected opportunity

Back from Osaka, I was a little depressed
due to a professional setback

But I am happy to say that things got better since!
Here is my next destination...

Yes, I am moving to London ...
(This is an old picture taken in December 2010)

And I am moving... in one week!

I can't say that I am looking forward to the lousy weather
But I love London's unique style, athmosphere, skilettos

I have always wanted to live in such a place
And 2012 is offering me this dream!!

ということで・・・

来週からロンドン在住になります!
もちろん
このブログを続けたいんです♪

遠い日本に住んでいるお友達を想いながら、
ロンドンの生活も
エンジョイしてきます!

うん!
ロンドンで毎日楽しく暮らしたいんです。

今年もよろしくお願いします!

..Vintage Camera for iPhone..

2011-12-27T22:43:00.000-08:00

Name: Vintage Camera
Seller: Presselite
Price: Free/in-app purchase (¥85)
Language: Japanese
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/vintage-camera/id483959252

There are many retro photo editing applications for iPhone but this one is my favourite of the moment

It is very stylish and convenient to use when you want to make your photos more expressive and life-like. That's why I decided to review it below

Summary:
#1 Design
#2 Vintage filters
#3 Conclusion

#1 Design
As you can see the main interface looks so cool! Like a reflex camera. Also, the photo gallery takes the form of an old roll of film and stores all the photos you edited using the application.

Once the picture is taken directly within the application camera or chosen in your camera roll album, you can choose between several effects in the editing screen

#2 Vintage filters
There are 14 vintage filters. That may seem a bit limited, but unlike the Lo-Mod application (I ended up using the same 3 or 4 filters all the time) here all of them are worth trying and gives a specific feeling to the picture.

Original
Magnetic
Theme Park
Rainbow
River
Crème Brûlée
Pirate
Toaste
Dark Knight
Chaplin
Hollywood (in-app purchase)
Watermelon (in-app purchase)
Rockstar (in-app purchase)
Morning (in-app purchase)

My favourites are Magnetic, Rainbow, Chaplin, Hollywood and Rockstar

#3 Conclusion

And the result is...

I tried the effects on food pictures I took in Paris, Osaka and Tokyo

of review

..Gifts from Japan: Nintendo's Mario Retro Trump playing cards and stuffs..

2011-12-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

Back to black!

I kind of miss my blond hair but it was time for me to move on something else as I am going to work soon (I'll be more specific about that later in this blog).
I haven't see my natural color for so many years... it was quite a shock at the beginning

On this picture I am drinking Starbucks' Chai Tea Latte Soja
It's so yummy and perfect for Christmas time!
My absolute favourite beverage for the season.

(Sorry for the stupid expression lol)

This Starbucks is quite special in Paris and I always go there when I need a cozy place to chat around with friends. It's the most beautiful in the city with its Baroque architecture: bold massing, ornamentations, colonnades, color intensity and effects!
How to go there:

26 Avenue de l'Opéra, 75001 Paris
Metro: Opéra (3, 7, 8, RER A)

On the second picture, you can see how comfortable the armchairs are

2 drawbacks though: most of the time you have to fight for a place because it gets really crowded, especially during holidays as it is located in a very touristic area. Also, the toilets there are small and not that clean

I went there with my boyfriend and 2 friends from my game development team (Koruldia).
It's a Pokemon-like game for PC and PS3 and we all work on it!I'll talk about it later on this blog.
From left to right: me (game artist), Kayser (project manager), Blue (game artist) and Dentelle123 (musician).

I haven't seen them since I left for Japan, so of course I brought presents with me!

First...

A Nintendo's Mario 8-bits Trump playing cards, Limited edition

On the website, it says:
ドットで表現されたマリオと仲間たち。今なお愛されるキャラクターたちは、懐かしくて新鮮です。
Mario and his friends represented in dots. We still love these characters: they are fresh and make us nostalgic.

I really like the details on every card. Have you noticed the plastic box with the logo?
It's an imitation of Nintendo's old game cases

Other gifts

Cute chopsticks with traditional Japanese rabit and flower pattern
Hello Kitty plushies (won in UFO catchers of course!)

..Xmas greetings..

2011-12-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Pictures:
Christmas decoration (shop display)
December 2011, Paris, taken with iPhone4

..Food addiction in Osaka..#4 焼き肉

2011-12-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

This is the fourth entry of my food addiction series in Osaka
Sorry the rest of the pictures are taken with my iPhone and not good in quality.

京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ

Kyo no ki-daore, Osaka no kui-daore

Kyoto people ruin themselves on clothes,
Osaka people ruin themselves on food

焼き肉 (yakiniku)

I was discussing with an American friend about the first thing we would eat back home.
I said: "of course cheese!" (yes, that's such a cliché...)
She said: "a huuuuuuuge beef steak!"

Indeed, beef meat is really expensive in Japan and most of the time it ends up mixed with other ingredients
For example onions, bread crumbs, sometimes pork meat are mixed with beef in Japanese hamburgers

Fortunately, since the quantity is limited, you can improve the quality of taste: in yakiniku restaurants (yakiniku literally means "grilled meat"), you order several types of prepared ingredients like marinated beef that you cook yourself on a on a grill built into the table. When the food is ready and grilled as you like, you dip it in sauces and eat it with a bowl of rice. Like this:

Since you have to wait several minutes before each series of pieces, you will feel that you have had enough with less food than if all the food was ready to eat at the same time

I guess that can be general motto: eat less and take the time to enjoy your food

My favorite yakiniku restaurant near my place in Osaka Umeda:

Name: Asa Made Yakiniku Desse
Full name: 朝まで焼肉でっせ
Adress: 大阪府大阪市北区堂山町5-8
Access: ＪＲ大阪駅徒歩7分
Reservation: 06-6361-4481
Website: link

It's quite noisy but I love the atmosphere (very Osaka-like) and most of all... it is open until 5am!
Perfect when you miss the last train or want to discuss all night long with friends
Moreover, you get free tea and free refill after the meal.

You can eat well for less than 2000 (25 USD)
There are also sets for 2 available for 3180 and 3980

..nemuneko.. ねむネコ

2011-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

3Lこねむと一緒BIGぬいぐるみ

Last time I forgot to introduce you my favorite UFO plushies... Nemuneko!
It literally means sleepy cat

The quality is very good compared to other plushies
Moreover there is something I absolutely love on the plushie: the small grips on the sides (unfortunately, you can't see them well on the pictures).

Nemuneko plushies are part of the Furyu prize family, which means you can only get them by playing UFO catchers and similar claw crane games
Yes, that's marketing in Japan (^^)

箱入りぬいぐるみ

I got this nemuneko plush in its post office box in a game center in Nara
I played twice for 200 (around 2,5 USD).
Then my friend asked me to win another one for her but I used 600 this time (around 9 USD).

On the official website, you can also read comic strips on nemuneko and its friends:

Translation (from right to left) 
② he's sleeping
④ no I'm awake!
⑤ surprised? 
⑤ yes!
⑤ Caption: moves surprisely fast (and also likes to play tricks)

More nemuneko straps in Namba, Osaka

External links:
- Furyu prizes
- List of nemuneko prizes

..Fruit bug..

2011-12-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

hihi

..I'm a UFO catcher expert!..

2011-12-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

UFO catcher of Arpakasso Alpacas in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Hi everyone, Irié speaking!
I feel better since my last post so today I'll blog about my passion in Japan: UFO catchers
all pictures are taken with my iPhone.

英語の難しいところは日本語でも説明します

What is UFO catcher
It's a kind of arcade game where the player uses buttons to moves an arm in order to get prizes such as plushies. Also called "claw crane", it can usually be found in game centers.

UFOキャッチャーとは
アームをボタンで操作してぬいぐるみなどの景品を取るゲームです!
クレーンゲームなどとも呼ばれる、ゲームセンターなどに置かれてます。

Typical UFO catchers area in a game center in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture

My experience: differences between UFO catchers in Japan and Europe/America
In Europe and America the machines can not be considered as fair and the success rate is extremely low.
The strengths of both arm and claw are random so even skilled players win with difficulty.
The adequate strength comes out once in an hundred times!

In Japan however, the settings seem constant so there is always a way to win the prize.

私の体験では、日本のUFOキャッチャーと欧米の違い
欧米にはUFOキャッチャーがフェアではなく、成功率が非常に低い気がします。
アームやツメの力がランダムだから熟練したプレイヤーですらとても取りにくいですよね。
しかも、十分な力が１００回に一回しかでないと思います(>ω<) !

日本の場合は、
ゲーム機の設定がコンスタントだから確かに必勝法が存在します。

Lately I really got into UFO catchers.
To master them, I became an expert in how to get the prizes lol.

最近UFOキャッチャーにめちゃハマってます
UFOキャッチャー極めたいから、入手方法をとことん研究しました!(>ω<)

That's why when going out in Umeda or Namba (for karaoke, shopping, etc.),
we would first go in a game center so I can get whatever my friends want!

だから梅田やなんばで遊ぶ時に（カラオケとか買い物とか）
先ずはいつもゲームセンターに行って、友達の欲しいものを取ってあげますよ!

Before the karaoke, I won 2 plushies for my friend...

And everyone ended up playing with them lol!

And now my personnal collection!
I play them as long as the prizes are cute, so they started to invade my room haha.
Anyway, I'll upload my collection below!

可愛いものの種類関係なく取るので部屋が占拠してます・・・笑
さて、景品は以下にUPしてまーす!

A friend taught me how to win this adorable Kapibara san.
That's how my passion started!

Got Choppa and Doraemon for 500 (4 USD) and 1 000 (8 USD).

Got Stitch for 1 000 (8 USD) and 5 small Alpacas for 200 (1.5!!

And the plushies started to invade my room...

Choppa is very trendy right now, I even started to read One Piece because I won so many of them!

Sometimes you can also win special collaboration items such as this Donald feat. Alpaca...

Does it mean that the duck killed the alpaca to make a coat out of it?!

More Choppa! More Alpaca! And Nemuneko!

I love Alpacas but I gave away most of them to friends.

Plushies I won for my sister.

My collection after a few months!
ぬいぐるみ達、そのままを集めた!

..Bad patch.. 1リットルの涙

2011-12-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

At home in Paris

I am a little depressed lately

So far, everything has been fitting well.
Everything has been set for me in my short life.
I just had to follow the paths traced by the system.

I thought I was going to graduate and smoothly start working.
But my job opportunities vanished away with the crisis.
In the middle of this, I don't have any clear perspective.
マジで怖い・・・どうしよう・・・

BUT...

I realised I should not be sorry about myself, because I can still go on
In fact, I watched 1リットルの涙 (1 litre of tears). It helped a lot.

I also cried 1 litre of tears because of it

Why did the illness choose me?
Mum, will I get married...?

Synopsis:

15歳で原因不明の難病を発病しながらも、ひたむきに生きていこうとしたヒロインの姿を描く、実話をドラマ化した感動ストーリー。晴れて志望していた明和台東高校に入学した亜矢（沢尻エリカ）は念願のバスケ部に入部、クラス委員にも選ばれ、希望に満ち溢れた高校生活を送り始めるが…

This is moving drama based on the real story of a 15 year old girl who lived to the fullest as she suffers from an incurable disease with unknown causes. Aya entered Meiwadai Higashi high school with a bright ambition and joined the basket club that she cherished. Elected as a class representative, she started to enjoy high school life, full of hope, but...

It is okay to fall down.
Because you will be able to stand up again.
If you fall down and look upon the sky,
Today, too, a blue sky will be smiling at you,
Spreading out infinitely.
I am... alive.

My hand is on my chest,
I feel the sound...
My heart beats.
So happy.
I am alive.

According to the drama, the book written by the real Aya (木藤亜也 Kitō Aya) has sold 1,8 million copies in Japan and still continues to give people a lot of courage.

I saw the first episode a long long time ago, but I definitely recommend the drama to everyone.
The courage of Aya is a great lesson of life.

Thank you Aya, you helped one more person

ドラマ「1リットルの涙」
TVサントラ
(2005/11)

Watch it here.
Watch it here.

Buy it here.
Buy the OST here.

..Food addiction in Osaka..#3 たこ焼き

2011-12-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

This is the third entry of my food addiction series in Osaka
All pictures taken with my iPhone.

京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ

Kyo no ki-daore, Osaka no kui-daore

Kyoto people ruin themselves on clothes,
Osaka people ruin themselves on food

たこ焼き (takoyaki)

Takoyaki literally means "grilled octopus" and was also invented in Osaka. It is basically a ball-shaped salty pancake with diced octopus in it.
You can make them at home with a takoyaki pan... It is actually quite difficult to get a perfect ball shape, on the first picture above I tried to but I failed most of them. （￣□￣；）

Takoyaki are fun to made in family or with friends, if you are in a hurry or lazy it is better to buy them at takoyaki shops: they can be found everywhere and you get to see the cooking performance right in front of you!

The picture is taken on Dotonbori, which is Osaka's touristic street, so the prices are a little more expensive and the balls slightly smaller:

6 takoyaki balls for 350 (4 USD)

10 takoyaki balls for 580 (6 USD)

Some of the takoyaki shops there even offer takoyaki with cheese and ham instead of octopus, as most foreign visitors can't stand eating octopus. Traditional places only offer the octopus version though.

To order takoyaki balls, you have to ask directly:

「たこ焼き6個で」
takoyaki rokko de
"6 takoyaki balls"

「たこ焼き8個で」
takoyaki hakko de
"8 takoyaki balls"

Usually you can chose between different sauces for topping, mayonnaise and katsuobushi (bonito flakes).

There is a takoyaki shop on my way to the train station, so I used to buy takoyaki at least twice per week when I was at uni! 8 takoyaki balls for 250 (2 USD).

You can also get some variations of takoyaki, like the takosen which is a kind of sandwich made of a poor takoyaki squashed onto a rice cracker with some sauce (≧∇≦)/ (and cheese here on the picture). Delicious!

..Thank you message..

2011-11-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

This blog reopened one month ago...
and now it is close to 7 000 hits

Thank you so much!!

Total unique visitors: 2 385
Total different countries: 98

Top visiting countries:
USA (12,5%)
Japan (12,2%)
France (11,3%)

日本の方へ、

まだこのブログを復活したばかりなんですが、
一ヶ月でそろそろ7kヒットを越えると思います

わぁ～本当にありがとうございます
ヒット数が目的でブログやってるわけではありませんが、
たくさんの方に見ていただけてとてもうれしいんです

ちなみに、
訪問者数を国別で見ると日本は2位に入りました（シェア12.2%）
なんかビックリしましたね。わたしの英語って読めるんですか?
それとも、翻訳ツールを使って読んでるかなぁ。

とにかくの気持ちでいっぱいや!

..KFC samurai..

2011-11-23T16:11:00.001-08:00

Funny KFC samurai...
I don't like KFCs in Japan (too expensive),
But this one definitely caught my attention!

Taken with my iPhone.

..Food addiction in Osaka..#2 回転寿司

2011-11-21T15:02:00.001-08:00

This is the second entry of my food addiction series in Osaka
All pictures taken with my iPhone.

京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ

Kyo no ki-daore, Osaka no kui-daore

Kyoto people ruin themselves on clothes,
Osaka people ruin themselves on food

回転寿司 (kaitenzushi)

Kaitenzushi litteraly means "rotation sushi" because the sushi plates come on a conveyor belt. I bet you already guessed where it was invented? Yes, in Osaka!
Most of the time, you find the following fishes on the conveyor belt:

Salmon
Maguro (tuna)
Toro (fatty tuna)
Tamago (egg)
Hamachi (young yellowtail)
Ika (squid)
Tako (octopus)
Ebi (prawn)
Aji (horse mackerel)
Unagi (conger eel)
Anago (sea eel)
Kani (crab)
Saba (mackerel)
Ikura (salmon roe)

Other sushi/maki/warship rolls are listed on the menu and should be requested to staff people or directly to the sushi shokunin (sushi chef).

In small restaurants the selection of fishes is also limited on the coveyor belt and you have to ask directly:

「まぐろ一丁」
maguro icchou
"one (plate of) tuna!"

「いか・はまち二丁ずつー！」
ika, hamachi nichou zutsu
"ika and hamachi, 2 (plates) of each!"

The sushi shokunin will confirm the order and gladly make the sushi for you.
If you are lucky, you can even see them cutting the fish in front of you! It is very impressive how fast they can do: a 2 meter-long tuna can be entirely transformed into sushi within 10 minutes!

Since I love kaiten sushi, I usally go there at least once per week and with 1 plate = 120 (1,5 USD), I usually eat for 720 (8 USD).

My favorite Kaiten Sushi restaurant near my place in Osaka Umeda:

Name: Hinomarugyokokumiai
Full name: 日の丸漁港組合
Adress: 大阪府大阪市北区堂山町6-7 ステージゴールドビル1F
Access: 東梅田駅から378m
Reservation: 06-6313-0840
Website: link

..Food addiction in Osaka..#1 お好み焼

2011-11-16T17:37:00.001-08:00

Close-up on waraiyaki, my favorite okonomiyaki

Osaka is Japan's greatest food city
My るるぶ楽楽 ("rurubu rakuraku") travel book of Osaka mainly talks about street food and restaurants and, I must say, the number of small food shops here is amazing. Someone told me that Osaka people eat out around 7 times per week. There is even a Japanese proverb for it:

京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ

Kyo no ki-daore, Osaka no kui-daore

Kyoto people ruin themselves on clothes,
Osaka people ruin themselves on food

Even if Osaka is not a main spot for overseas visitors, a lot of Japanese tourists come to Osaka for the food
A friend that works in the luxury hotel industry (Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, etc.) also told me that the highest turnover for restaurants is made in Osaka.

So today I'll start a new blog series: my food addictions in Osaka!
All pictures are taken with my iPhone.

お好み焼 (okonomiyaki)

Okonomiyaki literally means "grill what you like/as you want" and comes in the form of a big salty pancake based on either shredded cabbage (Osaka style) or yakisoba (Hiroshima style) and topped up with onion, meat (pork) or seafood (octopus, squid, shrimp).
My favorite style is made of mochi and cheese!

Okonomiyaki are served or directly made on hot plates that are built into the table : your food will never get cold and you can finish the cooking yourself by adding ingredients such as aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (bonito flakes), mayonnaise, sauce and pickled ginger.

I usually eat okonomiyaki twice per week. In Osaka uni you can get them at the okonomiyaki stand for only 250 (3USD)!!
Normal okonomiyaki in restaurants cost around 900 (10 USD).
Okonomiyaki in France cost around 15 EUR (18 USD)

My 2 favorite okonomiyaki shops near my place in Osaka, Umeda:

Name: Yamamoto Negiyaki
Full name: やまもとねぎ焼き梅田エスト・ワン店
Address: 大阪府大阪市北区角田町2-4 エスト一番街
Access: 梅田駅より徒歩4～5分 / ＪＲ大阪駅中央口徒歩8分
Reservation: 06-6131-0118
Website: link

Name: Nishiki Warai
Full name: お好み焼き・鉄板焼京都・錦わらい梅田茶屋町店
Address: 大阪府大阪市北区芝田1-15-21
Access: 阪急線梅田駅徒歩3分 / ＪＲ大阪駅中央口徒歩5分
Reservation: 06-6131-8111
Website: link

My favorite okonomiyaki shop in Paris:

Name: Happa Tei
Address: 64 rue Sainte Anne, 75002 Paris
Access: Métro Quatre Septembre, 2 minutes à pieds
Reservation: 01 42 96 60 40
Website: N.A.

..Gyaru strips..#3

2011-11-13T07:21:00.001-08:00

In agony...

① it's the time when I invited my boyfriend to my room

② ugh? There's something under the pillow... 
② eh!?

③ oh God! My hentai comic for single person ecchi!! I forgot to hide it!!
③ this... is...
③ ah... my brother's~

④ I came up with such an excuse but that book was a super erotic Boy's Love book...
④ sorry brother... I made you look like a gay

..Best marketing campaign in Japan: ロッテ Fit's ダンスコンテスト..

2011-11-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

How far can marketing go in Japan?

I blogged about this back in April 2009 but since the article is not online anymore, I'll update it here

Do you know Lotte?

It is a Japanese-South korean group in the food industry , world-known for its Koala biscuits (コアラのマーチ) and many other candies

At that time, the company created a new chewing gum brand called Fit's and launched with popular idols such as 佐々木希 (Sasaki Nozomi) and partners such as Youtube a series of TV commercials to encourage people to participate in their dance contest, ロッテ Fit's ダンスコンテスト (Lotte Fit's Dance Contest).

The dance contest as little to do with Fit's chewing gum since participants are not requested to talk about it and don't even need to buy it!
But here lies the power of Japanese marketing: creating viral marketing buzz with the dance and choregraphy

Here is the first video

What I liked back then is the diversity of the entries: all the clichés of Japan in one contest!
Gyarus, maids, robots, but also traditional women in kimono, etc...

Here is my selection

In order:
Gyaru - Maids - Futsu style - Office lady & Salaray man - Salary man
School girls - Sport uniform - Pompom girls - Little Koda Kumi - Wedding & Kimono
Kendoka - Karateka - Hip hop - Mori style - Nurses
Alluring - Belly dancers - Gaijin - 3D - Robot

The contest had a huge success, and when I checked its website last week, I discovered that they have been doing 4 seasons of it, the last one just ended this summer

What changed today?
Well it is still the same tune and still based on a dance context, but in addition to new idols, I have to say the winning process is more elaborated now:

【共演者賞】
厳正なる審査のうえ、2組にそれぞれ100万円
【再生回数ベスト5】
再生回数の1～5位までに、それぞれ 100万円、50万円、30万円、20万円、10万円
【イイネ！賞】
「イイネ！」を最も集めた人に100万円

Translation:
Group performers
After strict evaluation, the 2 best groups get 1 000 000 yens each (13 000 USD)
Hit counters
1st place gets 1 000 000 yens (13 000 USD)
2nd place gets 500 000 yens (6 500 USD)
3rd place gets 300 000 yens (4 000 USD)
4th place gets 200 000 yens (2 500 USD)
5th place gets 100 000 yens (1 300 USD)
Like counter
The video that has the most "Likes" get 1 000 000 yens (13 000 USD)

You too can learn how to dance it

Follow this link: How to Fit's dance

And if you want some more Fit's, here is the link for
entries for Season 4...

And the link for winners of Season 4

I personnaly don't like this year's winners, but well I guess that's the law of popularity on Internet

..New flash game (work in progress)..

2011-11-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

My new project! A platform game

It's the very first time I try to design and code a Mario Bros-like platform game,
but I am happy with the result so far
If you feel there is room for improvement, please give my your opinion

The game will probably be released in 2 or 3 weeks
Please support me

Work in progress log (6 Nov 2011)

DONE:
   graphic: level tiles (platform and background)
   graphic: main character (standing, walking and jumping animation)
   graphic: second character (standing animation)
   graphic: level elements (house and door animation)
   coding: auto-tiling system
   coding: moving main character
   coding: gravity and jumping for main character
   coding: level scoring system
   level design: levels 0, 1 and 2
   graphic: shading improvement thanks to Neoriceisgood
   coding: dialog display and typewriter

TO DO:
   graphic: 3 types of ennemies + final boss
   graphic: level elements (extras)
   coding: 3 types of ennemies + final boss
   coding: level elements (extras)
   coding: main scoring system
   level design: extra levels

..Cats in Japan & Neko cafe..

2011-11-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Photo taken with my iPhone in a pet store

How can you not die of cuteness with that

It was very hard not to bring the kitten home!
I'm normally not much of a cat fan (I prefer dogs)...
But in Japan people are so crazy about them that I started to find them "cute" too!

I wonder why but Japanese cats are smaller than cats in Europe...
It has probably something to do with the food: less meat and more rice-based diet

Full body picture:

My heart mealts!!

I also like how cats here are represented in comic books/manga
For example, a random book cover found in a convenient store:

I now have a full collection of this style of plushies at home, won at UFO catchers (oh boy, I definitly need to write a blog entry about UFO catchers)

Anyway, cats can be a very lucrative business!
I saw this ad in the subway.

猫cafe ぐるぐる堂
〒542-0086
大阪市中央区西心斎橋 2-4-6
花月第１ビル4Ｆ

Basically, you buy 1 drink for 1 050 (around 13 USD) which grants you 1 hour of stay with the cats

Other neko cafe have more elaborated plans, usually typical services include:

Playing with the cats with cat treats
Taking picture of the cats with cute hat or cat clothes
Reading manga or magazines surrounded by cat

Some of my friends go every week-end to such Neko cafes

..Decogal for iPhone..

2011-11-02T02:12:00.000-07:00

Name: デコガール (DecoGal)
Seller: Sockets Inc.
Price: Free
Language: Japanese
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id433341931

This app has pretty much what any gyaru would want for a diary

In addition to the main function (writing journal entries), it offers many other interesting features that I review below

Summary:
#1 Design
#2 Writing journal entry
#3 Additional features
#4 Conclusion

#1 Design
The design is fairly well made and you can choose between 3 journal skins according to your gyaru style:

Romantic Jewelry, for popteen fans
ナチュラル(natural), for onee gyaru girls
カラフルpopスター(colorful pop star), for cocolulu advocators

My favorite is the onee gyaru style
I don't like the pinkness of the popteen style, but since it is the default skin, I keep using it for this review.

#2 Writing journal entries
You can write journal entries for each day in a different colors and check a list of corresponding activities such as cinema, karaoke, shopping, school, traveling, payday, etc.

But there's more:

You can attach photos to the event and manage them in the diary's albums
To complete the customization of the entry, you can decorate the background with cute stickers
You can stamp today's humor with cute gyaru expressions. There are 9 expressions in all: happiness, sadness, anger, shyness, normal, dull, surprise, excitement, panic.

I tried to write an entry (yes that's me in the little picture on the bottom right of screen!! but I will explain that in another article)

And the result is...

As you see, the activity icons and sticker decorations are also displayed in box of the corresponding day of the calendar

Additional features

The app offers a health care follow up about:
girls'stuff (periods)
temperature, weight, sleeptime. If you register the data frequently, they will be displayed in a chart.

AND the big plus according to me, a clinic section with a sexy gyaru doctor

This section is extremely well done. You have a dictionary of all kind of illnesses (mental ones are also included), Q&A with the clinic staff and interviews with different doctors.

You can also address your questions directly to the staff (on the screen, the requests are closed though).

I like...

gyaru illustrations
clinic section
import/export option to backup diary entries
synchronization of entries with iPhone's calendar

I don't like...

no emoticons in the diary entries
limited choice of stickers
no preview of the entry in the calendar boxes

This application is not available in English but you can use it without understanding Japanese (except for the clinic section) as everything is very visual and intruitive!

of review

As for me, I already use CanimalsDiary since March and like it pretty much so I'll stick with it
You can see a review of this app here.
Look how I decorated April and July!!

..Halloween NAMPA in Osaka..

2011-10-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

It is getting cold laterly...
But here girls don't care at all as it is Halloween!
And Halloween in Osaka as everywhere in Japan I think means sexyness
Sexy nurses, sexy pirates, sexy princesses, sexy little red caps...
And of course sexy bunnies!

Sorry the pictures are not very good in quality.
My boyfriend took them for me with his old camera

One of the best places to find cheap costumes is ドンキホーテ (Don Quijote), a discount chain store that is open 24h a day. I am such a fan of their mascot, Donki the penguin... I already talked about it in my entry about mascots.
What I like in this picture is that even the shop assistant plays the game with her pirate hat

However, some people really take it seriously with elaborated costumes...

A character of Dragon Ball Z?

In game centers, you can also do Halloween purikura with pumpkins, etc.

Don't you think the girl's hair really looks like a pumpkin?

But for most people, Halloween means...
NAMPA time!! Time to hit on girls

Nampa time 1: what is this guy doing

Looking for preys of course

Nampa time 2: hosts and hostess are also out looking for customers...

The girls are eating a luminous lollipop Want one too!!

Nampa time 3: more and more NAMPA

..More baby sushi! Are you a Nadeshiko?..

2011-10-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

My last blog entry reminds me of other cute baby sushi I got to eat
However, this time I could order them in a real menu

Back in June 2010, my friends in Tokyo took me to this place

Very nice feeling?
Unfortunately I don't remember where it is

When I opened the menu, I saw this:

"Special menu for girls
Nadeshiko 1790
When hand-rolled sushi become tiny cute!"

And after waiting a few minutes...

It's even better in real!!

Why is it called Nadeshiko menu?
Nadeshiko is a Japanese name but here means "lovable girl"
...because you can eat the sushi with elegance and courtesy (≧∇≦)
Indeed, they are smaller than the regular ones so you don't need to chew like a cow or bite them in 2

Well to say the truth, it would be weird to call a gyaru a Nadeshiko because it actually refers to the ideal of Japanese women with "good old" characteristics such as:

unlimited devotion for her husband
willingness to suffer pain and poverty
readiness to die for her country or to keep her chastity, etc.

Well all I can say is that I'm not a nadeshiko either lol
But it is still the ideal girlfriend for a lot of my male friends in Osaka Uni!

Are you a Nadeshiko?
Please comment below!

..Baby sushi..

2011-10-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I went to a seafood restaurant near my place in Osaka

The chef offered me these baby sushi
... look how small they are compared to the one in the background

I especially like the ebi sushi
Its tail is almost as big as the sushi itself (≧∇≦)

Actually I didn't order sushi but びっくり造り舟盛
(bikkuri tsukuri funamori... or "astonishing boat-wrap sashimi" lol)

Only 980
Or 1029 including tax (around 10 USD)
The funamori was too big for my iPhone so I tried a panoramic view

All the baby sushi can fit into my hand!

But they all finished into my stomac

..Cute gyaru without/before make-up: what's beauty?..

2011-10-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Name: The スッピン。ギャル編
Translation: No make-up face, gyaru edition
Seller: CA MOBILE,LTD.
Price: Free
Language: English
Link: http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id378277176

This app reveals any gyaru's secret...

Make-up

Everyone wants to know how these super cute girls look like without make-up.
Well with this app you can "scratch" their make-up out and see their real faces

Summary:
#1 Sakochi
#2 Sakichasu
#3 Half/half
#4 Conclusion: cultural differences in beauty perception (France Japan)

#1 Sakochi

#2 Sakichasu

#3 Half/half comparison

#4 Cultural differences in beauty perception (France Japan)

Seeing these pictures, you may have 2 reactions:

Make fun of them for not being "that cute" without make-up
Admire them for all the efforts they do on a daily basis for the sake of beauty

I lived both in France and Japan so I can tell there's a cultural differences here (I'm talking about my generation).

In France, beauty should be natural and heavy make-up is prohibited, or people will call you a prostitute. A little bit of mascara and that's it, the rest is up to your attitude.
BUT: that is quite sad for girls that are not born "that cute" since no matter what they do to improve their appearance, people will still think negatively about them: "oh anyway she is ugly without make-up", "oh anyway she dyes her hair", etc.

In such case, people tend to have reaction 1
In Japan, there is no shame to use "tools" to customize an appearance like for a game avatar. One of my friend gets up every day at 5AM for 2 hours of make-up. She has to apply 5 different creams and concealers, facial powder, eye powder, eyebrow powder, check powder, etc. and adds fake lashes and karakon (eye lenses). Light make-up also requires a lot of time.
BUT: there is so many beauty products that if you don't make the effort like other girls, you will feel out of the group.

In such case, people tend to have reaction 2

What's beauty for you?
Is it closer to the French one?
to the Japanese one
or is it completely different?
Please comment in the comment box below!

..Osaka Uni: Wani and the campus..

2011-10-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Panoramic views of Osaka Uni campus taken with my iPhone during the cherryblossoms.

My uni (or former uni since I'm waiting for graduation now)

Osaka university or Handai for the intimates
Today I’ll walk you through the campus

But before that, do you remember my earlier entry about mascots in Japan?
Well my school has one too, and it’s called ワニ博士, Dr. Wani the crocodile
They even sell Wani’s phone straps, tshirts and plushies （*´▽｀*）!

The Wani I'm cuddeling costs 16 000 yens (200 USD) though...

You can also see drawing and pictures of Wani everywhere around the campus

It may be surprising but remember, in Japan even the police has a mascot

And Wani's secret is...
Wani is a “Toyotamaphimeia Machikanense”, a crocodile/alligators of the end of the Paleolithic age
Its fossil was discovered during the construction site of the campus

According to the school’s museum, the fossil dates from 430,000 to 380,000 years before
With such major discovering, the school's mascot just had to be a crocodile

Now about the campus... (´･ω･`)

Japanese campuses are pretty like American ones: BIG like a city in a city with a health care center (#26), a post office (#29), dormitories (#23 #24 #25) and even a housing agency (#36)

Of course there are also plenty of restaurants and cafeterias

My favorite is Don Don (#38), namned after its 2 specialities Udon and Donburi
I prefer 300 (4USD) bentos, sold at multiple locations around the campus from 12pm to 1p m every day

Entrace of Don Don (spot Don Don's mascot: a cute little pig!) and 300 yens bentos

My buildings...

#4 経済学部・経済学研究科 (faculty of economics)
#6 基礎工学部・基礎工学研究科 (faculty of engineering science)
#11 大学教育実践センター　共通教育講義棟 (common teaching building)

By the way, in the building #6 works the worldwide famous Pr. 石黒浩 Ishiguro Hiroshi, famous for developing humanoid robots with lifelike appearance and visible behaviour such as facial movements... I find them a little scary (ーー;)

I wanted to visit his lab but people told me that he is very intimidating

More pictures...

Last thing, I don’t know why but there are a lot of wild cats around
On another campus they have wild monkeys haha (^^;)
(Osaka uni has 3 campus but the best one is of course mine!)

They seem to be pretty accustomed to school :)

That’s it for the campus tour!
I will try to talk about my classes and school life next time.
And of course, requests are more than welcome just leave them in the comment box

..Gyaru strips..#2

2011-10-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Lost article 

① with my BF, we often do it in my car...

② the other day some problem happened // we went to ask my father's acquaintance to fix it 
② please take care of it! // no problem!

③ ugh? where is that bra... ?! 

④ OMG!! forgot it in the car!!

..Gyaru strips..#1

2011-10-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

He's handsome BUT... 

① my BF is handsome but... his breath stinks!!

② no matter how many times I asked him to do something // that really sucks when we're kissing...

③ that's why when we play SM and I ride on his back 

④ I put a pillow on his face // with that no kissing

⑤ one day we started a big fight about his bad breath!! // and in a place crowded with people...

⑥ crying, my face in my two hands, I didn't realized that he left the place

⑦ YOU IDIOT!

⑧ I punched  with all my strength a salaryman that was randomly passing by!! // Finally I broke up with my BF ♥

This is a new series for this blog: gyaru strip
I found them in an old Ranzuki magazine while tidying my room and they are pretty interesting. They actually collected "H" experiences of gyarus (H for hentai/sex) and published them as funny comic strips (≧∇≦)/

By the way since I reopened my blog yesterday... ∩( ・ω・)∩, ( ・ω・)
22 different countries have visited this site and I got about 400 hits

Thank you so much ♥

Next subject: uni life in Osaka

..Back for version 2.0!..

2011-10-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

ただいま～♥(o^^o)
I disabled this blog for a while and I am sorry for that!
As I apologized on Deviant Art, I was busy at school and I also traveled a lot across Japan since this is my ultimate hiatus before entering full working life. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I can't wait to resume this blogヽ(；▽；)ノ

PIXEL inspired!
Design 2.0 released!

A new design, for a new start
I hope you like this new design, I worked hard on it yesterday
pixelAs you can see, I did a gyarudeco representation of myself ♥

So what will I blog about?
daily life in Osaka 大阪 and crazy things that have happened to me
travels in Kyoto 京都, Nara 奈良, Kobe 神戸, Tokyo 東京, Okinawa 沖縄, Kanazawa 金沢, etc.
hobbies (books, magazines, games, etc.)
games that I design (mostly fashion flash game)
Feel free to ask if you have any request.

If you want to follow this blog, use the Google Friend Connect corner :3

And THANKS SO MUCH to あkka
She is the one that made me want to start blogging again
Please visit her blog, it is very cute and I inspired mine from hers

mixiや阪大からの方へ、

昔やってたブログだけど、今日からまた、復活やで（笑）
わたしの好き勝手ブログニャ

でも情報が誰の手に行くか分かんないし
本名を使うこととかに大変抵抗があんだろ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))

だから「イリエ」というニックネームで書いているね
ご協力おねがいね!!

ここでもよろしくネ

..Mascots in Japan..

2011-05-01T01:28:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

I have been quite quiet here since a month.
Well as you know, I moved to Japan and I feel very busy trying to adapt to my new life here, especially at school as I have to work twice harder compared to normal students (all my course are very specialized and I don't know technical terms yet).

But anyway, I really enjoy life here although I start missing French cheese hahaha.

I must say that I am quite disappointed of Osaka's fashion which is not as crazy as in Tokyo. It is also hard to find original concepts for restaurants and cafe (like ninja cafes or prison cafes in Tokyo). However, people here are more friendly and relaxed, they seem to enjoy life a lot more and talk a lot, maybe too much haha. So I guess it's a good deal.

I already took quite a lot of pics so maybe it's better to group them per theme hehe.

So... today's topic: mascots!!

Do you remember the lion of Word Cup 2006? Cobranded by the FIFA and Nici. It was such a commercial failure that Nici went banckrupt. Here it is the total reverse: mascots are everywhere, even the police has a cute mascot, Pipo-kun (but Pipo-kun is only the main one, thay actually have a total of 48 mascots!).

Mascot is essential to define a company's identiy in Japan and some foreign firms that want to do business here have to adopt a local mascot if they want to succeed (except Apple but that's another story).

Okay so let's start!

Taco (octopus) is Osaka's unoficial mascot.

One of the most famous department store in Japan, Don Quijote (ドンキホーテ), also has its own mascot, Donki the penguin. Here the staff drawn it on the wall and it says "Here it's 3rd floor".

Here Donki has been disguised into a gyaru donki for the cosmetics floor (here cosmetics business is so important that a full floor is dedicated to the products).

Equivalent of the Oster card of London, Iko chan is the mascot of Osaka's train network.

I bought a phone strip of Ico chan! It is written:"Use Iko chan 's back to clean your phone screen"

Speaking of mascott, the most famous of them in terms of marketing is... of course Pikachu. Here Pilachu is used for kamaboko to put into ramens (you know, when this things in in spirale it's called naruto).

And everyday on my way to school I have to go to this stration. Between 2 roofs... I saw... Osaka's Pokemon Center!! Definitly have to go and check there.

..New hair color, it's time to leave Paris!..

2011-03-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

And...

YES, I DID IT!

It's a one-in-a-life-time opportunity for me as I will have to go job hunting next semester.
So before, let's party and go crazy!

Getting blonde jokes... check lol!

My flight is on sunday .
As I will be busy meeting friends on Friday and Saturday night, I tried to start packing today.

Thanks to my dear Shahi-chan, I discovered a very cute yet useful app for iPhone4! It works like a diary and eventhough I usually don't like diaries, this time it had me sold haha . I still use the iPhone4 built-in calendar for my homeworks and meetings, but I will write some random facts of life in this diary such as today's entry...

Pink yukata for upcoming hanami (cherry blossom) event at school (I don't want to buy a new one there, it is minimum 6 000yen / 50 euros)
Liz Lisa clothes for bohemian style!
Kerastase products for hair care (I only use Kerastase products, they are the best!)
Red purse with tons of make up products inside lol
and clothes, clothes and again, clothes...

You can insert pictures directly into the journal entry and change several settings such as text color, text size, etc. My suitcase is already full with 21 kg and I haven't put any shoes yet !!

Oh and for those who wonder, I will keep this diary in Japanese, my blog in English and my Facebook in French as to practice and not to forget any of them lol.

On the main page, you can also decorate each month with stickers, change skins, put your period date (obviously it's for girls right?) and other cool stuffs such as statistics on what has been done each month (reading, academy/study, bingeing, drinking, lying around at home or smooth bowel movements).
Mine is so empty, I hope April will be fully decorated!

And the best is that... it's TOTALLY FREE ! So check it out!

..H&M and MY FASHION..

2011-03-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Lately I have seen this advertisement for H&M's new Spring collection in the metro...

...
Don't you remember my last dress up game on Bohemian fashion when you see it?

I did this game in late December. Should I work as clothes designer? hahaha !!

Play or replay the game here.

..二ノ国..

2011-02-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, I have been quite inactive here .
As a matter of fact I am just waiting to leave for Japan next month but I really fell into... this:

二ノ国 ("Ni no kuni", The Other/Second World), is a DS and PSP game by Japanese developer Level-5 and animation studio Studio Ghibli. The Nintendo DS version was released in December 2010.
See the beautiful trailer below:

I couldn't wait March to play it so I was going to gave a friend to bring it from Japan when I found the same package with 30% off on Play-Asia for a limited time. Yay !
The game is quite expensive, 6 800 yens (around 60 euros). You can understand why easily and I definitely do not regret it. First, the game comes in a big book-shaped package of around 1kg:

Removing the cover... It feels like I am about to open an antic book or something:

Inside, you will find:

the regular DS box that contains the cartridge
a jewel-encrusted book called Master Systems with all the runes you will need in the game, details about the monsters and items
a which can also be used as the book's index

A random page inside the book:

Do you remember old times when there were not so many games to choose between and no "casual gaming" yet? Like, you were saving your pocket money month after month to buy one? I remember I was checking every single thing inside the box when I finally got a new game, reading the introducing book again and again. I was like discovering new territories, getting on an epic adventure.

Nowadays I don't have time anymore to get involved in a game, and most of the time I stick to puzzle games and "fast gaming" such as apps on iPhone. I read a lot newspaper, economics, politics, etc. I guess when you grown up you loose that part of imagination that pops so easily for children.

But as I said, Ni no Kuni totally caught my attention as a Role Playing Game, some of the cinematics are just wonderful:

It feels like moving around in a Miyazaki film!

As I said earlier, sometimes you will need to refer to the book to find the required rune and go ahead in the adventure. Also, you can catch/be friend with most of the monsters encountered in the game.

I am about to reach my 18th hour of play and I feel I still have a lot to discover.
I also read some negative comments on the game, like "having to play with the book is a pain as you need to carry it with you in the train or metro" but come on, Ni no Kuni is not a fast-game! Otherwise you won't get into the game and the magic won't work!

Anyway, I am back to the game!

..Getting a keitai in Japan is getting on my nerves..

2011-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! Irié there !
Getting closer to departure time! My tickets are booked, I will be arriving at Tokyo HANEDA airport in the middle of March with Japan Airlines . Around 11 flight hours eek.

So I am busy with boring papers. One thing that I hate in Japan is that fees are hidden everywhere so you never know how much you end up paying on housing, mobile phone, etc. Wanna see how far it goes? Okay let's talk today about keitai, or mobile phone in Japan!

Yes! That's a mini-Irié playing on her iPhone.
Credits to my gifted friend Nyanyo, check her page!

First I thought about getting one of the Shibuya 109 co-branding keitai...

"For gyarus that always desire to shine"

Huge marketing campaign, cobranding CM

But wait...
What's the point of getting a cell phone with purikura-type features when you already have an iPhone with the same apps and even more! OMG, marketing is so devilish lol. Anyway, the technical information doesn't look good either and to say the truth, I really hate this opening style for cell phones (popularized by the movie Matrix haha).

I felt in love with this one but I guess it's already out of stock :

Style DoCoMo SH-04C

15 December 2010, limited edition, 15.000 units for each color

But once again, it will never be as convenient as a smartphone. I rely to much on my apps now especially the GPS function when I get lost in the streets, Around Me app, train schedule app, etc. So I will rather keep my iPhone and get a lot of kira kira deco on it!

And this is where things get complicated.

First, it is unlikely to get a SIM card or mobile number in Japan without buying a phone. The official reason is to prevent any criminal use since you will need to register the cell phone with your ID documents such as ID card, driving license or passport if the shop accepts foreigners as customers.
For short stays, a rental phone can be used. You can get one easily in Haneda or Narita airport. They will keep a copy of your Credit Card and passport and charge you around 400 yen per day in addition to communication time (you can only call or receive emails).
For longer stay, you can get a prepaid phone that works with rechargeable cards. But even if the phone is 3G, you won't be able to use "data connection" features such as going on the Internet. To really benefit from 3G possibilities, you need to buy a subscription plan + phone which requires an alien registration card and a Japanese bank account. Oh and the contract is 2 years minimum with penalty fees if you want to free it.

And what if you bring your own (unlocked) phone with you for longer stay? Well the staff will probably ask you to buy their own phone anyway. Or not allow the subscription plan at all if your alien registration card expire in less than 2 years (which is almost always the case). But I heard that sometimes it can work and you can be granted a subscription plan without the phone... I will try to look nice and charming in front of the staff lol. Or ask a relative/friend there to open it for me but I wonder if the bank account should bear the same name. Probably yes, that would be to easy otherwise haha.

Struggle is not over yet. What an epic gameplay ...
Now I understand why people talk about their phone so much in Japan, investment in time and efforts is almost equivalent to buying a car of a house! For example the welcoming pic on Softbank's website for smartphones subscriptions (main company in Japan with Docomo) :

Remember about fees everywhere?

Well first, you are supposed to pay for a mobile phone.
Then you are supposed to buy a first pack for call services (basically, it is 980 yen per month + 21 yen per minute, I won't mention all the conditions and rates).
Then you are supposed to buy a second pack for unlimited email and SMS/MMS (315 yen per month)
Then you are supposed to pay for the data connection pack, and wait... there are 2 formula depending on how much you want to download data

2 possibilities: Packet houdai S in grey and Packet houdai Max in blue

Honestly, it looks more like a financial derivatives payoff profile rather than a price explanation lol.
And I didn't even mention discount possibilities!
Nor did I talk about "packet" unit which is different than bytes/octets and makes it almost impossible to estimate your data consumption.

Enjoy Japanese keitai!

..2011: steering for Osaka, books, bubble tea..

2011-01-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

Hi! Irié there, I hope you all had a wonderful new year

Happy 2011!!
It's rabbit year, my year !

Mine was peaceful, and now I enjoy a 3-month long vacation which is really needed !
I will seize this opportunity to finish all the pending things in my TO DO list. I am just happy the way my life is at the moment .

I went to Zenzoo's Taiwanese tea room today and spent most of the afternoon chatting there with my friend Blue² about life, ethics in science, why girls all like to be called pretty, etc.
Speaking of her... it is her fault that I spent too much money today (jokes)!!

At our meeting hour she called me to say she would be 30 minutes late. I didn't foresee that so I went to Junku to kill my credit card and get those (well I get the little book later on in the afternoon at Book Off):

egg fashion magazine, Feb 2011: I consider myself too old for it but one of the titles caught my eyes on the top right corner "つけまの上手なつけ方教えてー" (Please teach me how to use false eyelashes)... and it had me sold lol. I read it in a Starbuck waiting for Blue², I got some nice ideas of future dressing games inside .

大阪・神戸るるぶ楽楽 (Osaka Kobe rurubu rakuraku): I am leaving soon for Osaka and I no nobody there so it's complete adventure ! This book might help to get a good start in this city.
Osaka uni, here I come

女どうし (fellow women) by 藤臣柊子 (Fujiomi Shuko): humoristic short stories about women and life, with a cartoons. I searched for a while a book that would be interesting to me, and finally yay!

"すべての女たちにエールを贈る、人気漫画家による笑えて共感！の書き下ろしエッセイ集。
みっことうまいもの三昧の巻
うーちゃんと一緒にスリラカンの巻
お掃除Ｘと洗車の巻
エッチな話の巻
くみといろいろの巻
エステの事の巻
恭子さんとカリブでエイの餌付けツアーの巻
恭子さんとメキシコで馬に乗るの巻
ＯＬだった友達の結婚までの話の巻
女五人で松茸＆温泉三昧の巻〔ほか〕"

Indeed, I decided to read more as I have free time now, I really missed that when I was too busy with school or work. I do like a lot of styles (wait, not only girly ?!) and lately I spent quite an amount of money on books. Here is my TO READ list:

C'est une chose étrange à la fin que le monde, Jean d’Ormesson

I saw him in an interview about this book about his view as an old man (he is a famous French novelist specialized in philosophy) about life, God's place in our society and the progression of Science.

But my boy friend took the book from me so I guess I will have to wait a bit before knowing all those answers lol.

"Nous sommes des êtres vivants qui nous interrogeons sur ce que nous faisons là, sur ce qui s'est passé avant, sur ce qui arrivera après. Le coeur du problème est de savoir - ou de deviner, d'imaginer - si toute vie est absurde ou si le monde a un sens. Et une fois au moins, dans la vie de chacun d'entre nous, on peut penser que deux questions - et deux questions seulement - auxquelles il est difficile de se soustraire ne peuvent manquer de se poser ; La première est : Dieu existe-t-il ? La seconde est : qu'y a-t-il après la mort ? À ces deux questions, Jean d'Ormesson répond : moins invraisemblable que les systèmes inventés pour le remplacer, Dieu n'est pas impossible et il est permis d'espérer après la mort, quelque chose que les hommes ne peuvent ni concevoir ni imaginer et dont ils sont incapables de parler."

Encore une danse, Katherine Pancol
I read almost all her books. She focuses on society, how people with qualities and flaws can have a dream and little by little get disillusioned, how they try to survive even so... the contemporary human story .

"Ils forment une bande d'amis : Clara, Joséphine, Lucille, Agnès, Philippe et Rapha. Ils ont grandi ensemble à Montrouge, banlieue parisienne. Ils ont habité le même immeuble, sont allés dans les mêmes écoles et ne se sont jamais quittés.Lorsqu'ils sont devenus adultes, leurs vies ont pris des tournants différents mais leur amitié a résisté au temps, à la réussite des uns, aux échecs des autres. Leurs espoirs, leurs illusions se sont réalisés ou envolés. Ils se retrouvent comme avant, pratiquent toujours leurs rites d'amitié même si leur musique, parfois, émet des fausses notes qu'ils s'empressent d'oublier de peur de troubler cette belle harmonie qui leur est nécessaire pour affronter la vie, la peur de vivre.Mais une nouvelle épreuve, plus sournoise, plus terrible, s'annonce. Face à elle, ils ne peuvent pas tricher. Les masques vont tomber. Le groupe menace de voler en éclats, de révéler des trahisons, grandes ou petites, et mille ressentiments longtemps cachés. Arriveront-ils à franchir cette étape inattendue qui les met chacun face à eux-mêmes, qui les oblige à faire le point sur ce qu'ils sont devenus sans complaisance ni lâcheté ? C'est le sujet de ce roman où les enfants ont grandi, ont vieilli et doivent abandonner le trouble paradis de l'enfance, des apparences, pour affronter la vie, et conjurer la peur qui nous saisit tous quand il s'agit de devenir grands... "

Métronome : L'histoire de France au rythme du métro parisien, Lorant Deutsch
I did not now that is was a best seller for several years in France before writing this article. I just passed buy and read the outside back cover. The style is more documentary, can't wait to learn about all the little historical secrets of the Parisian metro !

"Saviez-vous que la Lutèce des origines ne se situait pas sur l'île de la Cité, mais à Nanterre ? Que les derniers combattants gaulois massacrés par les Romains reposent sous la tour Eiffel ? Que les vestiges de la première cathédrale de Paris se trouvent sous le parking d'un immeuble moderne du Ve arrondissement ? Au fil de ses découvertes, Lorànt Deutsch vous emmènera vers ce qui fut le Pont-au-Change, ancêtre de la Bourse, puis chez ce bistrotier qui entasse ses bouteilles dans une cellule de la Bastille sauvée de la destruction, et tout au long des rues où se cachent des trésors que vous ne soupçonniez pas. Une promenade captivante, où défilent les seigneurs alliés comme les princes rebelles, et tout ce qui a forgé le pays. Vous verrez s'ériger des murailles contre l'envahisseur, s'agiter l'Église, s'imposer les marchands, s'ébrouer les artistes, l'Université s'installer sur des ballots de paille place Maubert, le peuple de Paris se soulever - violent, sanglant, emblématique -, et se construire ainsi toute l'histoire de France. "

Oops... I was talking about Zenzoo's Taiwanese tea room, how come I got lost in literature ?
So. I remember I first went there with Kibake (オオカミごっこ) a few year go and I tried bubble tea for the first time! So yummy. The Taiwanese cuisine is quite different from the mainland Chinese one, I am really fond of it. I remember when I was doing my internship in Hong Kong, I used to eat the same "Taiwanese Chicken sauté" at least every week drools.

Jasmin tea chicken, very interesting flavor, first time I ever see that!
I ordered it with hot green tea ("matcha") bubble tea

Green tea ("matcha") cake with red bean ("azuki") and rasberry jam... *melts*

By the way, I don't usually take every meal in picture , it is so cliché! But I do enjoy trying to do "artistish" pictures of them when I feel it is possible, with selected angles. I like the result for the matcha cake, it could be used as illustration on the menu or in a guide book ho ho ho .

Want to try the food by yourself? Here is the map! Zenzoo is getting very popular lately so you may need to book a table before.

..Gift-time!..

2010-12-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Xmas

I wish you all a very happy and merry Xmas!
And if nothing is to celebrate (like in my case), I hope you had a good time with those you care about

Uwaa... I have a relaxing holiday now (I've never slept that much!), trying to make the most of my free-time to wander around Paris and find presents to my friends and familly

Inside the most famous shopping mall in Paris: Galeries Lafayette. They change the decortion every year, I do love this year's atmosphere

But first I got myself a little something... a Deviant Art Hoodie!! I have been a member of DA for more than 6 years now and I thought it was time to get something in real as "part of the community". So I bought the 10th BirthdAy Zip Up Hoodie which was 25% off . I got quite lucky as it was a limited edition: only sizes XS and XXS were left but thanks to the US sizing, XS fits me perfectly (whereas I wear S in European sizing and M in Japanese one huhu )

TADAAAAM!

I ordered it online and it only took 3 working days for the delivery

I love the design on the back! This zip-up is high quality American Apparel product, you feel very comfortable and cozy in it

Speaking of DA, I launched a giveaway which is now closed! 3 winners will receive a month of subscription to DA (or premium membership): they will be soon nominated in this group:

I got also these presents for my familly:

Clarins package for mum

Serge Blanco scarf for daddy

Cute Lamb plushie from London for my sis'

(I went to London 2 weeks ago and I found this adorable plushie)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow !!

..New game!! Bohemian Gal..

2010-12-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

For my blog readers only!
The official release is Saturday eheh.

Bohemian style is THE rising fashion trend! Be super relaxed and dress up with flower prints, cotton clothes, denim items and maxi dresses! Don't forget the GAL twist: the cute rabbit-eared headband featured in this game!

Click here to play the game!

Special thanks to my gifted friend Dentelle127 for the amazing music
Sponsorship by dressupwho.com

..Amiens and macarons..

2010-11-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hi guys~

I am so sorry for the lack of updates , I will probably be busy until Xmas. This month has been horrible in my agenda and I hardly had enough time to sleep: studies of course (ultimate year is the most important and my lectures are once for a while interesting!), but I also started looking for work and spent days filling online applications... at the end for nothing! I was told that I applied one year too early as I won't be available this summer. Damn!

All this trouble because of the Japanese school system (did I mention that I was finishing my studies in Japan? I leave Paris in April for Osaka): in Japan semester starts in April and finishes in late September! Hence I am not eligible for any Graduate programs that hold trainings in July/August... That means I have to wait another year... one year free, what am I going to do

Anyway, this is boring stuffs .
I decided to stop worrying about it, let's see what happen, maybe I'll win the lotto (okay this is definitely not going to happen as I hate this kind of games lol).

By the way, this is my interview suit! Classy?

1. Jacket & pants by PABLO by Gerard Darel [FR]
Boyfriend style! Totally trendy. I was looking for a traditional suit at the beginning but finally, the boyfriend style totally has me sold. It is not too sexy, easy to wear when you are tall and vey classy!

2. Silk blouse by PABLO by Gerard Darel [FR]
OMG I still wonder how I am going to wash it (should be only by hand, then you have to press it in a towel, etc.), but silk really is a top notch product.

3. Grey pumps by Minelli [IT]
Normal pumps with 6 cm heels, grey color gives a lighter touch to the outfit :)

Bonus comment in French (French is such a good language when it comes to say contreversory things lol): bon en plus comme en France les asiat sont toujours assimilées plus ou moins à des filles faciles avec un pois chiche en guise de cerveau, vous imaginez l'ensemble veste ultra cintrée + jupe courte ? Si j'arrive comme, ça les carottes sont cuites x))

I went to Amiens last week to see my boyfriend, in the north of France! I missed my return train because of the snow and did not attend the gyaru meeting in Paris, so sad I wasn't able to meet Nat, Alexa, Shabwouina and Monica ...

Fortunatly, I discovered some nice stuffs in Amiens!
Actually there is not much to do in Amiens when it comes to shopping or cultural events. I guess the best city in the world for culture would be Paris, and for shopping, it would either be Tokyo or London...

Only one big monument: the cathedral!

Impressive huh? It is 2X bigger than Notre Dame de Paris

The other thing to do in Amiens is trying their traditional macaron! Do you remember me talking about La Durée's macarons? Macaronって？Wikipedia attack:

A macaron is a sweet confectionery. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient.It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.
The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), flat base, mildly moist and easily melted into mouths. Connoisseurs prize a delicate, egg shell-like crust that yields to a moist and airy interior. The macaron is commonly filled with a buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two macaron cookies.

Well I was surprised to learn than they were originally from this region, introduced by Catherine de Medicis. We went to Jean Trogneux and tried a set of chocolates and macarons (OMG I am literally drooling while typing this text lol)!

So in the front, the Parisian macaron in pink for strawberry flavor.

(eh? taken with my iPhone, can't believe it: the quality is stunning!)

So what does the macaron from Amiens look like?

So that is the original form of the macaron! No cream filling inside (it was added in Paris).

The almond taste is also stronger, although less sweet. Gosh, now I am addicted to this, need to eat it again next time I go to Amiens!

Last thought, I recently watched a surprising documentary on a new trend called the micro-wave gastronomy: nowadays these so-called restaurants are everywhere, they don't offer home made cuisine anymore to their clients, but industrial pre-cooked or ready-to-serve food. It started with desserts (industrial chocolate mousse, pies, etc.) and now sometimes the whole menu has been out-sourced!

I remember once I was having diner in a famous restaurant in Paris, near Opéra. The menu was expensive (around 50-60 euros) and my ratatouille came half frozen! Of course, I wasn't supposed to see that, the waitress took it away, quite embarrassed.

That is so sad to think that so many tourists come to France for the French gastronomy, and end up eating industrial food. Sometimes it can be even worse: some restaurants are tempted to go by low cost food, which is bad for health... Anyway from now I will be careful! Video link is below (in French only, sorry):

..Lo-Mob and Photoshop life..

2010-10-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's getting cold here!
I am so sorry for the lack of updates , I have many many things to do recently (finding a job in 2011 for instance haha) and while they pile up in my TO DO list, this blog has been quite neglected, my Flash games as well.
Still, I wish to have more free time for my online stuffs! Cross fingers

By the way, now that I am a fully iPhone addict, I would like to share with you a new and wonderful app I discovered recently, called Lo-Mob.

This app gives a retro look on the pictures and contains a lot of vintage filters, sorted by films and camera types.

Here is a quick try

Giving a vintage feel to photos is so easy! I remember I used to struggle on Photoshop with lots of panels (hue/saturation, color balance, etc.) and now this simple app creates photos that fake classic old cameras. It is hard to believe that the initial pic is taken by a start-of-the-art smartphone (except if for the resolution of course).

The result can be stunning , and photos can be published on Flickr. For example I found Frau Finn's work and I just love it:

But beware of Photoshop illusions haha

..Tuileries Garden..

2010-10-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

*yawn* The weather is so great now!
Warm and sunny, I just love this period of the year.
Hong Kong was definitly too hot and humid for me, I like to see how seasons change.

So I went to Tuileries Garden (Jardin des Tuileries) this afternoon with one of my good friends. Photos from my iPhone :

Tuileries Gardenって？ Wikipedia attack:
The Tuileries Garden (French: Jardin des Tuileries, IPA: [ʒaʁdɛ̃ de tɥilʁi]) is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Created by Marie de Medicis as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was first opened to the public in 1667, and became a public park after the French Revolution. In the 19th and 20th century, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed.

Just sitting on the grass, chatting (and gossiping...)

By the way, do you remember the series I used to write on my old blog
イリエのファッション情報 (Irie's fashion news)!
So I am proud to resume this project!
What's new in my closet... 6th edition:

Theme: Casual student

Khaki green sweater from United Colors of Benetton [USA]
I usually never wear green clothes, and this is certainly the only green sweater I have! I must admit this khaki green color is perfect for this Autumn. I see magazines and shops promoting brown... but that's over-classical!
Light brown wool cardigan from Mango [ESP]
Because sweater + trousers combinaiton is way too basic, you always need to layer something on the outfit.
Brown leather belt
Adding a belt to your outfit makes your look looks more elaborated at once.
Skinny jeans from Juicy Girl [HK]
I bought it in Hong Kong and I love it! Look how the end tip of the jeans goes on my ankle: that is the trend recently for jeans!
School bag from プリウリ [JP]
It is a typical Japanese school bag but I use it for carrying my laptop in a discrete way (I don't write anymore on paper).
Light brown ballerina shoes from Minnelli [IT]

One last view on the Eiffel Tower sunset ...

..Inverted Bob Hair Style..

2010-09-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

Finally...

I went to my favorite hairstylist.
I have never been disappointed.
She is doing such a great work!

I hated short hair since childhood, but I was looking for a change.
She told me that inverted bob hairstyles were trendy, chic look and easy maintenance.
And definitly hot this winter 2010.

And... here I am:

What do you think? My hairstylist told me that I looked like a student a lot (which I am).

Oh I just noticed on IkeMegu's blog (池田恵, S Cawaii! model) that she did the same!
Hers is more regular though. See her blog entry.

And BENI too (singer and TV host for NHK Tokyo-Kawaii TV)!
She has been wearing this style for quite long.

More Inverted Bob Hair styles:

You can find more of them on , a japanese website with tons of hair styles, hair care tips, and useful addresses (Japan only).

It reminds me an old journal entry from my previous blog:

I was already thinking about short hairs haha. But on this picture, my hair was actually long and tied up with a barrette. I had so many layers that the illusion worked °0°

..Motivation..

2010-09-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

I have been working on this new dress up game since... quite a while haha.

I guess I was too busy working and discovering Hong Kong when I was there! And since my return in Paris, I haven't done much either (to find out why, read this post until the end!). And the result is... summer is over now, I need to adapt the game to summer / autumn fashion trend :)
Here is a screen cap of the game!!

Ohhhh... what can you see? Yes, usamimi It has been one of the hottest accessories this summer 2010 in Japan ; usamimi うさ耳 comes from the abbreviation of rabbit, usagi (兔) and ear, mimi (耳). So you can guess easily the meaning.
Of course, I bought one for fun, when I was shopping with my friend Lili in Shibuya 109 tower. Brand is Liz Lisa, here's a pic

I prefer to wear it slightly on the side so it does not really look like rabbit ears anymore but well, I don't want to look too stupid either *sigh* ...I am 1,70 meter tall so cute effect doesn't apply for me lol . And when I wear pumps, I become 1,80 meter tall so people start to be afraid hahaha x'D!

Anyway... let's pray I will be able to finish the game before winter (joke!)

Lately, I was kind of on "consumption" mode: it is so good to be back in France for the food! Our famous cheese of course, but also macarons .

"These small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are made every morning in Ladurée’s "laboratory". With each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to this its most famous creation by creating a new flavour."
www.laduree.fr

Here in the box I bought: Chocolate - Vanilla - Rose - Pistachio - Raspberry - Blackcurrant Violet and, in addition, some seasonal flavours such as Chesnuts - Praline - Fig & Date. My family was very happy

And the other thing that keeps me away from my drawing tablet...

Tadaaam! I wasn't much of Apple or iPhone fan but today it is still the only smartphone with both excellent software and hardware (I don't take Blackberry into account, too professional for now!). I used to choose the HTC Diamond instead of the iPhone 3G but the navigation system was so slow! And the touch screen very disappointing.
So now I use the iPhone 4 and I'm very happy of it, with more than 50 apps. One of the app I bought is an amazing game, ranked first in many countries! Angry Birds. If you have a smartphone, you should definitly try it, there is a lite demo version that is free .

That's all for today, see ya!

..Bye-bye Hong Kong, Back to Paris..

2010-09-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

After 7 incredible months in Hong Kong, now I am back to Paris. Too peaceful, too silent! I was used to see Chinese people everywhere, to struggle in the crowd to find my way... and now Paris seems to be a little town in the country side compared to the madness of Hong Kong haha :)

I remember I hated Hong Kong during my first months there. Too hot, too humid, too many people, and totally lost in the middle of the skyscrapers. But when you overcome those little differences, the city is definitely one of the best I have known, even compared to Tokyo!! Or at least, same level.

When I was thinking of Hong Kong before, I would have thought of a polluted city without any green area. How wrong I was. Yes people all live in the same area, around 20% of the territory (if I remember well)... but the rest is all about beaches, mountains and jungle! During my week-ends there, I used to take a cab to go to the sea side, or to start a hiking track in the jungle. Only 20 minutes of cab and 8 US dollars and you were lost in the middle of nowhere, total nature.

Night life at Hong Kong is also quite incredible, more of the English style with a lot of pubs, bars, and everyone drunk in the street. Usually, all the entrances are free for girls and some days extra free drinks are provided.

*Sigh* so sad to leave. But now it's a new chapter of my life, in Paris. And in 8 months, Osaka is waiting for me to finish my studies. I will miss a lot all the friends I met there, and my team at work, especially my boss.

..Shaking Anna Tsuchiya's hand..

2010-08-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I went to Anna Tsuchiya’s “HEY YOU” live in Hong Kong! By pure chance, I walked by a flyer in the metro a few days before and managed to get tickets on time! Lucky!!

Actually Anna Tsuchiya is one of my favorite singers. I also love her performance in the movie Sakuran. To me, she represents the kind of woman that knows what she wants, is not afraid to get hurt and fights to reach her goals. And anyway, her voice is just amazing. I grown up in France so I am not used to hear very high pitch voices in my daily life... that is why I don’t really like common jpop such as Morning Musume singers. If it’s too high, I can even get a headache haha! But Anna’s voice is just perfect.

My favorite song of her is 黒い涙 (kuroi namida), even if I never watched the Nana anime. I can listen to it anytime. Please have a try if you don't know the song yet!

In front of the live flyer, waiting for the show to start

An～～na !!! Shibuya-san on the right. Kazuma-san on the left. First song was Dirty Game.

So stylish! I really love her eye expressions.

And... I shaked her hand OMG, *faints*
I didn't expected that, I didn't even expected to come that close to her.
She went down the catwalk to meet the audience, and I was there, waiting to shake hands!
So happy!

An-san wrote the following in her blog entry about the concert:

そんでもってこれが初ライブ中の写真
久々のワンマン、超楽しかった！
しかも香港は発ライブだったんだけど…みんなまじで盛り上がってくれて嬉しかったよ
香港の皆様ありがとう♪
_{Next, here is a picture taken at the beginning of the live.
One-man show, like old time! It was so fun!
Even if it was my very first live in Hong Kong... everyone was really cheering me up. So happy.
Thank you people from Hong Kong♪}

Actually sometimes I felt that An-san was a bit embarrassed because of the language gap between her and the audience. But she managed to perform impressively well nonetheless!

アンさん、ドキドキなライブありがとう！

..Flash Games..

2010-08-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of Flash games I created since 2008.
They were originally hosted on DeviantArt.com but I had some issues with them, so I upload them here as backup :)

Bohemian Gal - Dress Up Game

_{"Bohemian style is THE rising fashion trend! Be super relaxed and dress up with flower prints, cotton clothes, denim items and maxi dresses! Don't forget the GAL twist: the cute rabbit-eared headband featured in this game!"}

Hime Princess Gal - Dress Up Game

_{"A Hime Gal (or Hime Gyaru) is a young woman with elegant and sophisticated style. She looks like a princess, everything she wears is feminine, sexy and high class. Therefore, she is not to be confused with Sweet Lolita (who tends to pursue childish look)!"}

Winter Glamour - Dress Up Game

_{"Throw-it-on! Cool rules! The key to this season's new easy-sexy looks? Don't over think it: just dress up in the pieces you love. Vive la GLAMOUR attitude!"}

Yukata Kimono - Dress Up Game

_{"It’s a famous national festival tonight, there will be spectacular fireworks and lots of people showing off their best Yukatas, so you should definitely dress up this Yukata girl in a really festive, refined kind of style!"}

Gosuloli - Dress Up Game

_{"Check out the totally gorgeous gothic lolita clothes in this game! From the black and tartan mini skirts to the Edwardian blouses, they're all so pretty! And with the belts, the bows and the jewelry you can mix and match her look for a long time and never repeat yourself. Enjoy!"}

Fluff Fluff Away - Cooking Game

_{"Emily is getting ready to cook some pancakes. There are three fun steps to make them. You can play it multiple times because you make a different type of pancake each time! Go ahead and try it out!"}

Sweet Tooth - Difference Game

_{"Are you a sweet tooth? I am! See if you can spot all the differences between the two pictures. Try not to get the the urge to eat your monitor"}

Raining Cookies - Puzzle Flash Game

_{"It is raining cookies! Every Deviant's favorite meal... So let's help Doggy Chef collect them!"}

School Time - Dress Up Game

_{"Fukuyama Shizue just arrived in her new class, dress her up in a school fashionable style!"}

..Design 1.0: COCOLULU inspired!..

2010-08-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

COCOLULU inspired!
Design 1.0 released!

I finally opened a blogspot. Wow.
So much better than my previous blog platform. I linked all the blogs I follow in the “Reading List” and now, updates come automatically in my message panel. No need to check every links on a regular basis anymore. That’s a real time saver.
Now that I am quite used to this new user interface, I am happy to release the design 1.0 of iriescope.blogspot.com yay! COCOLULU is my inspiration.

Old blog (I will probably empty it later).