Hana: Keitai Kareshi - Mobile Boyfriend -

Happy Friday! I hope the first Friday of February has treated you well ♡

In Japan, there are mobile novel sites/apps dedicated for people writing original stories. Some stories get really famous and are published, and occasionally they are made into movies.

携帯彼氏 Mobile Boyfriend is one of those stories found on mobile novel sites. 

The basic plot: 

Mobile Boyfriend is an app where you can create your ideal boyfriend and exchange messages on  a daily basis to move the 'Love Gauge' up and down. However, rumours begin circulating that if the Love Gauge reaches either 100% or 0%, the player dies under mysterious circumstances.

After her class mate Mayumi's suicide, shocked Satomi (Umika Kawashima, 9nine) and Satomi (Aki Asakura) begins to find out the truth behind their friend's death, and comes to the conclusion that Mayumi's virtual 'Mobile Boyfriend' Riku is somehow related to it. 

I'm not good at summing things up, and I didn't want to spoil anything... so that is all you get from me about the story.

It's not your typical bloody gory Japanese horror like 呪怨 The Grudge, but I did find the concept of having a mobile boyfriend that could kill you kind of creepy.

Here are some screen shots from the movie:

Umika Kawashima is just so adorable ♡

You can watch the whole film on YouTube with subtitles here.

I think non-horror movie fans could enjoy this too.

There are sequels to this, and I hope to write about it one day!

Have a nice weekend, and see you next Friday ♡

Hana: Setsubun Bean Throwing Day

Hey everyone! It's the end of January, and I thought I talk a little bit about a day called 節分(Setsubun), or 'Seasonal Division', happening on the 3rd of February.

It's the day before the beginning of the spring, and we celebrate it by doing something called 豆まき(Mame maki), or 'bean throwing'.

The oldest male in the household (or headmale... usually fathers or grandfathers if they're up for it) wear a 鬼(oni) demon mask, while the rest of the household throws 福豆(Fuku mame) 'fortune beans', which are roasted dry soybeans, at the masked-man, chanting: 鬼は外、福は内(Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi) 'Demon out, luck in". 

The demon is chased out of the house this way, and once the demon is banished, everybody in the household eats the beans. The amount varies from person to person, as you are only meant to eat the same amount as your age. 

This is mainly done in households with younger children and kindergartens, as it is a fun activity for the children. Around this day, children usually spend time making masks of demons for displays or for their fathers to wear. It is supposed to drive the bad things out of the house and bringing good luck in for the coming spring.

It was the highlight of my kindergarten days, as one of the teachers would dress up as a scary demon. It was usually the teacher we didn't like, so you can imagine why throwing the beans at them would be entertaining Ψ(｀▽´)Ψ

Anyway, this is the end of my post. I'm not sure if there are roasted soybeans available in your area, but if you can find them, it's certainly recommended that you try... it's fun (for everybody, but especially the kids) as long as you tidy up the beans you throw on the floor （*^_^*）

It's a good way to start the spring, in my opinion anyway ♡

Have a nice weekend, and see you next Friday!!

Rin✿ Gyaru style - Agejo ♪

Hello again, everyone!
I've had a massive headache the past
few days, so I apologise for this blog's lateness!

Anyway... Today's topic is: gyaru style!
And I've chosen "Agejo" as the first style

to post about, as it's my favourite♥

I think my favourite aspects of Agejo are

the hair and fashion. Sujimori is a common hair style

in many subs of gyaru, but the accessories used in Agejo
give me the feeling of being cute, but still being a little sexy, too♪

I've been seeing a lot of my gyaru

friends wear their hair in an up-do, as the

photo about has it, but it's also styled down

a lot, too!

As you might have noticed,
the main colours for fashions are black,
pink, and white! Those are the most common
colours to see Agejo gyaru wearing.

A few of my favourite gyaru,
are Saiharii...

http://saihariigyaru.tumblr.com/

And Lizzie Bee!

http://mysticthorn.tumblr.com/

The most popular magazine for this style

is Ageha, which I mentioned in my 

introduction post. In case anyone is curious,

you can find Ageha magazine here→

http://www.vvshu.com/view/ageha/

Moving on, the make up is, lately,

a lot more subtle than it use to be in

agejo♪

Still, the basic rules of gyaru make still apply.

Eye liner, false (top & bottom) lashes,

and contouring being the main things!
Even if your nose is small already, your make up

doesn't look as complete if your contouring isn't done❤

The most common lip style is nude with gloss,

but some gyaru also wear more pink colours,

and sometimes even red!

Now, maybe you wonder what exactly
Agejo style is? The types of clothes?
Sure, you know the colours, but just throwing

any pink, black and white outfit won't exactly be Agejo.
So, you should look at the "Ma*rs" brand,

which is usually most Agejo's favourite brand♪

 

There's lots of ways to be gyaru,

but I feel Agejo is really distinct, and it's

definitely my favourite out of the sub styles❤

If you'd like a little more information on 

Agejo style, please check out these links♪

❤AMI LOCKS❤

❤GYARU❤

❤MITSU❤

❤GYARU WIKI❤

❤STYLE GUIDE❤

❤AGEJO LOVE❤

And as always you can look on Youtube

for countless style, make up, and hair tutorials!

I hope you all enjoyed this brief look at Agejo❤

xx

Rin

Rin✿ Valentine's Day?

Hello, everyone!
I had something I wanted to write about today,

but since there wasn't any proper lighting for photos,

I decided to keep that for another time.

So, for today's post (which is quite late, I apologise),
I thought I'd talk about the closest holiday...

Valentine's Day!
Yes, I know it's early... But I absolutely
can not wait for it, I love it so much!

The cute decorations, the yummy chocolate...
I'm so excited!

We can all guess about how Valentine's day is
celebrated in western countries, but what about in
more foreign places? Specifically, Japan?

In Japan, much like in America, Valentine's Day
is a day for you to shower your sweet-heart with chocolates,
but... Probably not flowers! In Japan, Valentines Day is when

the women give chocolate to the men, and making home made chocolate is very popular, and it usually
means a lot more than buying some.

I'd really like to teach you about the types of chocolate

that are typically given in Japan!

First, you have "giri choco" (gee-ree cho-co), which means
"obligatory chocolate". This is usually not very decorative chocolate, in my experience, and is given to men who you have no love interest in, such as your boss, co-worker, and male friends.

The second is "honmei choco" (hown-may cho-co), which means
"true feeling chocolate". This is my really beautiful looking usually,

because this is given to the man that women like as more than a friend, such as a boyfriend or husband, and on special occasions, some people might even give them to a boy they have a crush on as a 告白 (confession)!

However, my favourite kind of chocolate on Valentine's Day
is called "tomo choco" (toe-moe cho-co) which is "Friendship Chocolate". This chocolate is given to men and women with which you are good friends with, and is usually cute! The last time I was in Japan, my friends and I all made this chocolate together when they got out of juku.

With all the chocolate to buy in Japan, especially ones that are
nicely arranged, it's safe to say that stores are usually crowded this time of year, and usually with very pretty decorations to make the chocolate look even more tempting ♡

So, that's about all I can give you on Valentine's Day in Japan!
Of course, it's much more exciting when you're participating than when you're just looking at photos (and also nerve wracking if you've got a crush!), but I hope that maybe you've learned a little bit, too! Oh, and one more thing...

You may be wondering, at this point,
"What do the guys give the girls in Japan on Valentine's day?"
And my answer to you, is nothing.

That's right, girls don't receive anything on Valentine's Day, and sure, that might seem unfair now... But, the truth is, girls get a whole day to their own, too, just like the men do!

Each year on March 14th is "White Day", which is just like Valentine's Day, only for us this time! The presents are pretty much the same, on guys tend to give their girl friends gifts such as lingerie and cute items along with chocolate; I've been told even a dinner date if they can get off work/school soon enough!

How fun is that? I personally love White day, heehee!

Until next time♪

xx

Rin