A new day, a new video for you! As you may know, I wrote a book about Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants in Tokyo — meaning I’ve been to many strange theme cafes in Japan. In my latest video, I take you inside a Japanese cat cafe and Kagaya, the weirdest and wildest pub in the world.

Why do Cotton Bale and I look so odd? (You may remember my frien-emy from the Cupcake Duel.) We shot a video where we gave each other makeovers, but it didn’t really turn out… so all you get are these funny images and footage of us in the cat cafe!

Kagaya in Shimbashi is impossible to describe… the owner, Mark, turns the basic tasks of running a pub into a scandalous performance piece. He dresses up like a frog, serves shaky “joke” drinks and makes you sing for your supper. Is it genius? Is it madness? Watch and decide!

Then, Southern Belle La Carmina and Goth Cotton Bale visit Shinjuku’s Calico Cat Cafe. Many Japanese cannot keep pets, so they visit these theme cafes, where you can pet dozens of cute kitties and drink a paw-print latte.

Please check out the video above, and subscribe to my channel for more theme restaurant videos to come… including the Gundam (robot) cafe in Akihabara and a cross-dressing “dansou” cafe!

For address, full-color photos and hilarious stories about Tokyo’s craziest theme restaurants, I invite you to learn more about my book, Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo. Thank you so much for your support — I can’t keep doing what I do without you!

Have you been to a Japanese cat cafe before? If you need a Scottish Fold kawaii fix, head over to Basil Farrow’s blog…

Japanese Word of the Day: Batsu = Attack, punishment, incorrect
Song of the Day: Kagrra – Omou

At long last, the Tokyo episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern — featuring La Carmina as his guide to weird theme restaurants — has aired! Huge thanks to the crew for having me on the show, and to all of you who tuned in. I’m glad you enjoyed our bloody dining adventure.

What, you missed the Travel Channel premiere? Wipe those tears away: I’ve posted the clip below and on my YouTube channel.

Harajuku “fashion author and blogger” La Carmina brings Andrew Zimmern to Tokyo’s strangest theme restaurant, Alcatraz ER, on Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods TV show. She and her Goth friends drink red slush out of a mannequin’s head and eat “Russian Roulette” takoyaki behind the bars a jail cell. You can read/see more of the horror mental hospital cafe in La Carmina’s book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (Mark Batty, Random House).

We shot my title sequence in Shibuya, shortly after I met up with Zimmern at the Hachiko dog statue. People were staring as I strutted around and blew kisses to the camera…

Mistress Maya wasn’t grossed out by the “bedpan of beer.” I think she drank most of it straight!

My fashionable Tokyo spooks joined me for the shoot. Andrew Zimmern and the film crew were very nice to us all. (I wrote about the experience in my CNNGo article here.)

What’s more disturbing: pumping a syringe of red head goop into your mouth, or a pink Cheshire Cat eating pizza with chopsticks?

Come watch my Bizarre Foods video clip! Reactions? What was your favorite moment in the dining experience?

Don’t forget to enter my Miyavi concert ticket giveaway. And I welcome you to add me on Twitter for J-pop news and random ramblings. Hugs and love!

Japanese word of the day: Bizarre = Hen or Kimyo
Song of the Day: The video’s intro and outro music is Malice Mizer – Chinurareta Kajitsu.

Miyavi has embarked on a world concert tour — so how about FREE TICKETS to see the J-rock god live in LA or Vancouver??

Yes, I’m giving away a whopping seven PAIRS of Miyavi concert passes! Five (5) pairs for the Los Angeles show (Club Nokia on June 12th) and two (2) pairs for the Vancouver performance (Commodore Ballroom on June 17th). To enter… keep reading. I’ll also give details of my Andrew Zimmern Bizarre Foods Tokyo episode, airing this Monday at 10pm.

Want to win a pair of Miyavi concert tickets? Simply leave me a comment with the following (you MUST meet all 3 requirements):

1) If you met Miyavi, what would you ask him? I am interviewing the J-rock performer, so you might actually get an answer! Leave me as many questions as you’d like.
2) Do you want tickets for the LA or Vancouver show? You can only pick one city.
3) Spread the word about this giveaway (by emailing your friends, blogging, or posting on a forum/social network) and tell me how you got the news out. Please include the words “Miyavi” and “La Carmina” in your blog posts/tweets/statuses.

The contest ends Sunday, June 6th at midnight Pacific Time. Winners must provide a first and last name so that they can pick up the tickets at the door. Go to it! Good luck!

Annnddd at long last… the Tokyo episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, on which I was a guide to theme restaurants, airs tomorrow! Watch it on Monday, May 31st at 10pm Eastern/Pacific on Travel Channel.

Travel Channel put up a teaser for the Tokyo episode, which spotlights our visit to the horror jail theme restaurant, Alcatraz ER. (You can see the trailer here and above.) I’ll post a clip of my segment on my YouTube channel soon (please subscribe — tons of silly Tokyo videos coming up.) If you’re intrigued by Japan’s weird cafes, it’d be great if you could check out my book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants…

What else is new with La Carmina, besides her newly-orange hair?
† Tons of travel TV hosting in Tokyo. Just wrapped up a documentary on Japanese subcultures for Canal Plus France, which I co-hosted with Antoine de Caunes (of Eurotrash fame).
† And more TV work… I interviewed Goth designer Kenzo-A for CNN International. The show will air mid-June.
† I’m one of CNNGo’s main writers; you can read all my articles here.

What’s to come on La Carmina blog?
† Daily posts & photos from Tokyo & Osaka: outfits and DIY makeup, cyber/Goth party photos, Gothic Lolita Punk store images, visits to theme restaurants (Gundam, cross-dressers), behind-the-scenes of my TV shoots, hilarious videos and much much more.

So come enter the Miyavi contest — answer the three questions, and you have a great chance of winning one of my seven pairs of tickets! And stay tuned to this blog for more adventures… it’s been a great year so far, hasn’t it?

Tokyo is blue, dah-ba-dee dah-ba-dah… As I was sorting through my old Japan files, I found a number of intriguing photos with a blue theme that I thought you’d enjoy. Here I am at Midnight Mess in October 2008 with dramatic eyelashes and horns. (Tonight, who’s coming out to Midnight Mess at Shinjuku Club Marz??)

That same night, Selia twirled around the stage and enthralled us with his operatic vocals.

Club Hoop in Shinjuku is small but sweet destination for Goth nights. DJ SiSEN’s white spiky wig glows under the circular logo. (See more Tokyo Goth club photos in my guide.)

At night, Shinjuku’s skyline is electric.

A cloudy day contrasts with the red Marui One sign. (See old and new photos of the Gothic Lolita department store in this post.)

I snapped a photo of the TV in a karaoke parlor — and didn’t realize until later that it displayed the Walrus and his Bucket! (A popular and funny image macro meme.)

Zima is a strangely popular drink in Japan. Whenever I see the sign, I think of the MadTV character Rusty.

I leave you with the glow-in-the-dark walls of the Yurei (ghost) themed bar. There are more photos from this spooky izakaya in my book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (click for info).

Fabulous news — looks like I’m extending my stay in Tokyo for another excellent TV opportunity… bear with me, I have a million photos and videos of my spooky Japanese adventures on the way.

PS: Red wine baths, skin-eating fish and placenta facials? Read about 20 odd Asian relaxation techniques in my new CNNGo article. You can see all my previous CNN writings here.

Japanese Word of the Day: Walrus = Seiuchi (Uchi means cow.)
Song of the Day: Devil Kitty – Kakuseizai no susume

Today, I donned purple lips and fake eyelashes, Sailor Moon hair, and a Victorian maid outfit. Antoine de Caunes and I took “maid lessons” at Cos-Cha cafe and goofed around for French TV (I had to speak en Francais the entire time). I love my job.

Akihabara is famous for its maid cafes, where the cute waitresses dress in skimpy French maid outfits. (Hm, I wonder why guys flock to these eateries?) I photographed about a dozen of them for my Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo book.

Warning: in almost every case, photography is NOT allowed inside maid cafes! I had to get special permission to shoot, usually when there were no customers around.

Why are cameras kinshi (forbidden)? The waitresses and customers want to maintain their privacy (not all of them want to advertise that they frequent maid cafes). Also, the cafes make money by selling decorated photos of the maids to their devoted customers.

You’ll often see girls in maid/cosplay outfits giving out flyers on the streets of Akihabara. Again, no photo! If you try to take pictures of the girls, they’ll turn their backs on you and walk away.

But that shouldn’t discourage you from visiting a maid cafe. The girls are charming and will even spoonfeed you. (Today, we played a disgusting drinking game… you’ll see what went down soon!)

Other maid cafes offer massages and even ear-cleanings. (We filmed a hilarious scene yesterday at an ear-cleaning parlor.)

For more peeks into the odd world of Japanese maid cafes, please consider my book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (click for info). Photos from the French TV documentary shoot coming right up!

In random news… there’s an article about my Tokyo Theme Restaurants book and Andrew Zimmern Bizarre Foods TV appearance on FOX NEWS. It’s also on Flash News with a photo. When they say “Transformers-themed diner” in the “nerdy district,” they mean the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara. As my friend Comte de Sang puts it, “Some people seem to think that the US public still cannot fathom any piece of Japanese pop culture that hasn’t been transformed into an Americanized line of children’s toys and adapted into some god-awful Hollywood film by Michael Bay.” Sigh.

Come read my new CNNGo article: Asia’s 25 most ridiculous stress relief products. Japanese fake bubble wrap and girlfriend knee pillows, wahhh?

Have you ever been to a maid cafe? Parlez-vous Français? J’ai appris la langue à l’école… vous pouvez m’écrire en Français, si vous voulez!

Japanese Word of the Day: False teeth = Ireba
Song of the Day: Calmando Qual – Insanity (I’m seeing them live in Tokyo!)

Wait a minute… when did I visit Hong Kong?

I didn’t. These photos are from Little Hong Kong, an indoor re-construction of the Chinese metropolis, complete with traffic noises and Cantopop!

Little Hong Kong is situated in Odaiba, an artificial island that is a must-visit if you’re going to Tokyo. A monorail from Shimbashi or Toyosu will get you there.

This is the place to eat your fill in Chinese restaurants, get a palm reading and pose with Jackie Chan cardboard cutouts.

Odaiba also is home to a large “cat petting zoo”…

For more photos of cat cafes and ancient China-themed restaurants, you’ll have to flip through my Theme Restaurants book (out on Mark Batty / Random House). I was in Odaiba yesterday, on a hilarious dinner cruise with Antoine de Caunes and the French TV crew… you’ll see photos of this shortly!

Speaking of cats… I saw some Yoshikitty merchandise in the Shinjuku Sanrio store. The name says it all: it’s a collaboration between Yoshiki (of J-rock band X Japan) and Hello Kitty. What do you think — can Hello Kitty pull off the Visual Kei look? (Also pictured: the new Dr. Martens + Hello Kitty collaboration shoes.)

Thanks to everyone who gave me camera recommendations. I ended up with the Canon Powershot S9 and LOVE it. Fabulous color saturation and low light abilities. I think the images reflect my colorful carnival world!

Japanese Word of the Day: Blond = Kinpatsu no (hito)
Song of the Day: SITD – Herbsterwachen

Somewhere, over the rainbow… specifically in Tokyo, Japan… there’s a Hello Kitty theme park!

The giant rainbow that shines over Kitty-land is easy to find. Take the Odakyu or Keio line to Tama Center Station, then follow the Sanrio character posters.

Once you step inside, you’ll run into these scary-cute mascots! The design is quite clever: the adults see through the letters on the hats.

The entire amusement park is Hello Kitty hell. You can’t walk two paces without coming face-to-face with the mouthless cat.

There’s not one, but several stores that sell Sanrio goods. You can find obscure merchandise, such as Tuxedo Sam plush toys. Kitty’s mom and dad lord over the main shop.

You can line up to sit next to Hello Kitty in her pink car, and explore the house that she shares with Dear Daniel. Don’t worry, they have separate bedrooms.

The rides aren’t impressive. Most of them are coin-operated one-seaters.

The stage show, however… is an LSD acid trip! An excerpt from my Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants book: Fifty dancers zoomed around the colossal circular stage, flapping their arms to a manic pop track: “Imaginaaation!” The Professor noted two nymphs with strawberries on their heads, a DayGlo Amish lady, a mustachioed man in a rainbow apron. He wrote Saturday Night Fever, then crossed it out and wrote Drag Ball + Bollywood and underlined it twice.

My Puroland adventure is one of my favorite writing pieces from my Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants book. Please consider picking up a copy here — I hope you’ll enjoy the writing and photos.

Japanese Word of the Day: Drugs = Mayaku
Song of the Day: Zilch – Electric Cucumber (featuring Hide of X-Japan!)

Tokyo’s Alice in Wonderland cafe remains a favorite destination for us spooky kids. There are now two locations: Ginza and Shinjuku. Grab a fun group, cosplay as the characters and remember to bring your camera!

The waitresses wear Mad Hatter, Goth Alice and White Rabbit outfits — so cute.

How cute is the food? The curry looks like the Cheshire Cat, with hard boiled egg eyes and an olive nose.

“Waiter, there’s a ladybug and caterpillar in my dinner.”
“Stop complaining and follow the instructions… Eat Me!”
(You can learn how to make your own cute meals in my book Cute Yummy Time.)

The Alice cafe’s decor changes with the seasons. These photos are from October 2008, hence the strange inflatable pumpkins. (I know you’re wondering… my glossy red boots are Angelic Pretty, from Closet Child.)

The mis-matched Olde English chairs and lampshades are befitting of a mad tea party, ne?

For more peeks into the wild Wonderland of Japanese theme dining, please consider my book Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (click for info).

Hide your children: we’re LIVE STREAMING in a few hours!! Come chat with Tokyo spookiest spooks and Gothic Lolitas at Yukiro’s house party. We’ll be on Blog TV from around 8-11am Eastern Time; click here to see us and join the conversation!

Japanese Word of the Day: Comet = Suisei
Song of the Day: GPKISM – Barathrum (shot inside Christon Cafe Shinjuku)

“Bizarre” is the only word to describe this recent press round-up. My Japanese Goth comrades and I are currently on the front page of CNNGo (CNN’s fabulous Asia travel and lifestyle site). I wrote about my experiences as a guide on Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World TV show — come read the article here!

Host Andrew Zimmern kindly took the time from his busy schedule to answer my questions. Why did Travel Channel come a-knocking on my door? “It was a no-brainer. You have beauty, grace, intelligence and can speak with authority on many subjects.” (Wahh??) And what was his favorite memory of the Tokyo episode? “Eating dinner with a giant pink pussycat was about as fun as life gets.”

In my CNNGo article, I describe the three weird theme restaurants that we visited. I also blogged about the shoot: click to read about Alcatraz ER outside and inside (horror asylum monster madness), Cafe Edelstein (dreamy schoolboys), Shinto bunny maid cafe (don’t ask) and crossing Shibuya’s Center Gai.

The Tokyo episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World airs this May on the Travel Channel and in 75 countries (I’ll let you know exactly when). Hungry for more photos? Please check out the Japanese theme restaurants in my book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo.

The bizarre press continues… I’m in the April issue of Bizarre Magazine, a UK publication about all things outrageous. The headline: “Crazy Japanese restaurants — themed eateries you HAVE to visit!” This issue is now in stores; I will post scans once I receive my copy.

The Whiskey Dregs, an online literary and arts magazine, interviewed me; you can read it here and below. My response to “What are three things about you that nobody knows?” might surprise you!

1. A.G: So, you’re a triple threat: Blogger, Author and Designer. How is it that you fell into these very extraordinary yet very different occupations?
LC: I was studying law at Yale, but more often than not, my attention drifted to Japanese street style and pop culture… I started a blog as an outlet for my thoughts. The site unexpectedly took off and led to opportunities for designing gloomy-cute clothes and writing J-pop books.

2. A.G: You’ve had three books published with a variety of interesting themes (adorably cute food, Zen eating, crazy theme restaurants, etc.). You’re obviously a foodie, what inspired you to create these books and how did you first decide that this was something you wanted to pursue?
LC: Whenever you turn on the TV in Japan, you’ll always come across hosts eating or cooking food in an exaggerated manner! Cute food (bentos decorated like Sanrio characters) and theme restaurants (where elaborate costumes and diner participation are part of the experience) are only two aspects of Japan’s fascinating food culture. To me, writing about this world is endlessly amusing.

3. A.G: What have some of your biggest challenges and obstacles been when it comes to expressing your creativity?
LC: I have the freedom to travel and work from anywhere, and get to jump from exciting project to project. However, this path lacks the stability of a normal job, so you have to hustle like crazy and convince people to let you realize your visions. No time to wait around for doors to open.

4. A.G: If you could sum up your look and your aesthetic in three words- what would they be and why?
LC: Harajuku spooky cute. I’m heavily inspired by Japanese street fashions, especially Gothic Lolita Punk. I always have a touch of the undead in me. And don’t forget a pinch of Hello Kitty “kawaii.”

5. A.G: You’re fashions are fun in an edgy ‘Alice in Wonderland’ meets ‘Gothic Lolita’ way, what inspired you to create these looks and what are some of your creative influences?
LC: I’m inspired by my ghoulish crew of friends. Every time we go on a “nightcrawl” or do something creative (a film, a photoshoot), we transform ourselves and wear wild new looks. I also love seeing the elaborate DIY costumes and makeup at Japan/Goth/cyber clubs.

6. A.G: Do you have a fashion creed that you work and live by?
LC: That there shouldn’t be one. If you’re convinced that there is, break it.

7. A.G Do you have any favorite fashion icons?
LC: Visual Kei (a genre of Japanese rock) artists. Especially Mana-sama of Malice Mizer and Moi dix Mois, Versailles, Kaya, Ali Project.

8. A.G: What would you say to someone who is trying to break into the world of blogging, publishing and or design?
LC: Work hard to create quality content and get it out there. Every day, I post a review, video, photos… it adds up, and you’ll learn fast from the constant experimentation. There’s no single path to breaking into this world, but if you practice and network, you’ll gain confidence and gradually get to where you want. (I have many more tips on the Reader Questions section of my blog.

9. A.G: Your style and blog are so fun and reflective of your style, how do you come up with ideas for the various photo shoots featured?
LC: Give me a trinket from the dollar store, a club theme, any excuse at all to dress up — and the ideas pour out! Sometimes I’ll see a friend wear lipstick in a certain way, or see a hairstyle in a Japanese video, and I’ll be itching to put my own spin on things in the next photoshoot.

10. A.G: What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever worn and why?
LC: I adore my Moi-meme-Moitie Gothic dress (photo here). I was offered $600 for it — it’s an iconic piece by designer Mana– but I’m not ready to sell.

11. A.G: What are three things about you that nobody knows?
1) I played piano from the age of four until I started college, and studied music history and composition.
2) I’m known as a wacko cat lady, but I’m actually not that fond of most cats. My Scottish Fold, Basil Farrow, is a special bear. Anyone who’s seen his videos or met him knows what I mean.
3) I used to be a mistress in a dungeon. Ok, no, I made that up.

Giant Robot kindly invited me to sign copies of my Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants book at the GR2 gallery in Santa Monica. V-fingers to good friends who came to support!

Sailor collar Lolita dress: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright (from Closet Child Harajuku)
Yellow boots: John Fluevog
Butterfly hair decoration: from a dollar store
White rose bracelet: a ribbon from a New York fashion district store
Lavender lipstick: D’Lilac, sent to me from Lime Crime

Have you ever been to a Giant Robot store? I could spend hours browsing through the art books, Japan toys, kawaii gizmos, you name it. Atsuyuki of Jazzminshroom came by to say hi.

Adorable pup Sparrow was eager to pose for photos. And here’s what an autographed copy of my book looks like! A fluid, fast-drying pen is a book tour necessity. I always carry around a Staedtler permanent lumocolor medium pen in purple.

It was a pleasure to meet reader Blackfeathers at the signing. I hope you’ve all been enjoying the recent male fashion focus. As always, I’m open to suggestions for the blog; let me know in the comments.

A reader sent me link to this photo and marveled, “Doesn’t he look like Lemon?” It sure does. This dashing character is Klavier Gavin from Phoenix Wright (fitting, since I cosplayed as Angel Starr from the series). Also shown is a Japanese photo of my BTSSB dress and Lime Crime’s sparkling unicorn lipstick tubes — d’lovely!

Hugs for Boing Boing writer Lisa Katayama (who runs an awesome blog, TokyoMango) — she interviewed me about my Theme Restaurants book and the appeal of Japanese pop culture. The article is here and pasted after the jump.

I received several messages from readers who got Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo for Xmas or birthday gifts. Thank you for thinking of me, and I hope you enjoy the book. You know I had so much fun writing it!

My current question to you on Twitter: “Chest hair on males, yay or nay? Y’all know my preference… ~__^”

Song of the Day #261: And One – So Klingt Liebe (This song… this group… I can’t get enough of them.)