Salons de the ANGELINA PRINTEMPS GINZA

Salons de the ANGELINA is a classic and lovely cafe in Paris.

They have the branches in Japan.
PRINTEMPS GINZA is the largest one.
“Mont Blanc” has become a synonym for the ANGELINA.

This spring, they’ll offer “new-born Mont Blanc”.

The original one is made by basic recipe from Paris.
Sebastien Bauer, patissier of ANGELINA in Paris, has made “new-born Mont Blanc” with classic recipe and new marron paste.

Mont Blanc

New-born Mont Blanc

This is the original cake of ANGELINA which has been loved by people for more than 100 years.
Meringue and sugarless fresh cream is coated with marron paste.

The new point is creamy taste made by eliminated the peel thoroughly. Marron paste has more soft texture than before.

They have a range of sizes and prices. Especially, the half size called “Demi size” is the most popular for Japanese. ￥473(tax included)

Saint Honore (upper), Mont Fuji (right), Indecis (left)

They also have 3 “new sweets”

1. Saint Honore ￥578(tax included)

Classic sweets of France are arranged by ANGELINA’s style.
Pie is topped with custard cream, chou a la crème, savory caramel cream, and fresh cream.

2. Mont Fuji ￥578(tax included)

Patissier was inspired by Mt.Fuji when he made this cake.
Orange component and green tea mousse is coated with Marron paste and topped with meringue.

It looks really cute and I think we can see the harmony of France and Japan in this cute cake.

3.Indecis ￥578(tax included)

This is sold only at PRINTEMPS GINZA till the end of May.
Cherry compote and chocolate are coated with meringue and the surface is scorched.

Each sweets is special and looks so tasty.
I can’t choose the one, so I should try all of them!

ANGERINA has “Mont Blanc nouveau comme a Paris” campaign.
From April 29th to May 12th, it is hold by the branches (Ginza, Ikspiari, Caretta Shiodome, Ikebukuro Tobu, Oomiya Lumine, and Wing takanawa East).

When you buy “ANGELINA roll” at those 6 stores, they’ll offer you half price ticket of Mont Blanc which is available from April 29th to June 30th . ( the number is limited)

Also, at PRINTEMPS GINZA, they’ll give “new-born Mont Blanc” for free to the first two hundred arrivals who have receipt of more than 10000 yen of PRINTEMPS GINZA. (a day of the receipt is valid)

TOC is the name of the building. They often have special events, including this kind of big bargain.
This fashion bargain sale is hold 2 or 3 times in a year.

Basically, we need the invitation card to enter and join the bargain. But don’t worry. You can of course join there if you write down your name and address at the entrance. That would be the next invitation.

We can check more than 200 brands there.
Before I go there, I’ve got to check the trend in this spring!

schedule:
3/11 Thur 10:30-21:00
3/12 Fri 10:30-21:00
3/13 Sat 10:30-19:00
3/14 Sun 10:30-18:00

(You should enter the place at least 1 hour before the closing time.)

Some of the brands:
INED/ef-de/LESOUK/theory/Joias/CECILMcBEE/manics/Apweiser-riche/ luxe/PAUL&JOE/NARACAMICIE/Rosa/INTERPRANET/
JAYRO/GAMI/Triumph/22 OCTOBRE/courreges/ELLE planete/
NINE WEST/LINK IT ALL/BE RADIANCE/POOL SIDE/Dear Princess

They maybe offer the suttle bus from JR Gotanda station. So check it out.
It’ll take 10 minutes or so on foot.

URL: http:www.tps-info.net/

map:

View Gotanda TOC in a larger map

Especially at the beginning or middle of March, Japanese universities and colleges have graduation ceremony.

At the ceremony, many female students wear “Hakama” as formal wear.
“Hakama” is a pleated skirt worn over Kimono. This is a traditional formal wear in Japan.

Now various colors and designs attract a lot of girls in this season. When you walk around cities, you may find some girls wearing Hakama and let’s say “congratulations!” to them.

The combination of Hakama and Kimono is really beautiful and gorgeous.
When I see the girls wearing Hakama in this season, I always feel like celebrating their graduation with coming warm spring.

Most of the female students rental Hakama because we only wear it on special occasion.
I’ve put some of the pictures.
The Hakama itself has traditional Japanese style, but small articles, such as hair accessories and bags, are like Western style designs. They are really go well with Hakama. That’s the trend in the last few years.

Samantha Thavasa is a Japanese fashion company, known for their popular handbags and jewelry.
Not only Japanese popular models but also famous celebrities, like Nicky Hilton, Victoria Beckham, and Tinsley Mortimer designed the handbags.

Shops

Handbag; Samantha Thavasa, Samantha Vega, Samantha Thavasa Deluxe

Jewelry; Samantha Tiara, Samantha Silva etc.

samantha thavasa

This is a clipping from one of my favorite fashion magazines.
It says here “These are the ranking of the brands we ought to check before we buy new bags for spring.”
And the number 1 is Samantha Thavasa

The company has over 130 retail shops in Japan.

Popular fashion model, Yuri Ebihara, nicknamed Ebi chan, often designs the handbags and jewelry.

These are my collections, big bags and wallet.

samantha thavasa

I got a new one for coming spring! I like this vivid color. It could be an accent for my fashion

bag of samantha thavasa

Miel in Ginza

Miel is one of our favorite doughnut shops in Japan.
Not fried but baked doughnut is very soft and tastes like homemade. So literally, each one is made by hand.

Generally, we tend to have an idea that females like sweets in Japan, but here, in miel, there are a lot of male’s doughnut lovers.

Miel in Ginza

Ginza is famous as both tourist spot and business district. So a lot of foreign visitors and workers come to miel and have some sweet time.

Miel in Ginza

Other than this shop, there are several branch shops around Tokyo, such as PRINTEMPS GINZA, Yokohama, and Haneda international airport.

In addition to several regular doughnuts, they offer seasonal flavor one irregularly. For example, in this season, they have special chocolate flavored doughnut for St. Valentine’s Day.

Doughnuts sold at the shop are only for taking out though, there is also café here in Ginza and you can enjoy sweets there.

Miel in Ginza Ｃａｆｅ

Here’s a message from the manager of miel, Ginza.
“We are pleased to offer you our homemade doughnuts. Even if you are supposed to buy one doughnut, please feel free to visit us! Enjoy shopping or walking through the street in Ginza with sweet doughnut. Or if you would like to take a break, drop at our café.”

Isn’t it nice? Sweet doughnut and smile will welcome you!

Miel in Ginza

6-12-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
03-6218-0112
11:00 -20:00

View Miel in Ginza in a larger map

Heart Bread ANTIQUE in Ginza

Heart Bread ANTIQUE in Ginza district is now popular bakery. It opened last October and has already attracted so many people.

Heart Bread ANTIQUE in Ginza

We can see a lot of people lining up in front of the bakery to buy the delicious bread.There are various kinds of bread though, especially, the baker’s recommendation is “Angel’s chocolate ring”.

Angel’s chocolate ring

It is big donut-shaped bread with chocolate and walnut. The soft dough and sweet chocolate make us really happy. Angel’s chocolate ring could be a symbol of the bakery and you can see a lot of ornaments in the shape of the cute round.

To make it tastier, every ingredient is homemade and no preservative is used.

café on the 2nd floor

Also, the shop’s atmosphere is very chic and there is a café on the 2nd floor. In the café if you order one drink, you can eat the bread which you purchase on the 1st floor. So you can take a break in the stylish café while you see how many women in Ginza enjoy their time in the fashionable shop.

This bakery is very popular both among female office workers in Ginza and foreign tourists.

Besides this shop, they have a small booth in PRINTEMPS GINZA, on the second basement floor during in this season. There’s no café, but they offer “Angel’s chocolate ring”, too.

Heart Bread ANTIQUE Ginza

3-4-17, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo   OPTICAI 1F.2F
03-6228 -6806
10:00 -21:00
cafe :30 seats , non-smoking
http://www.heart-bread.com/
Open   Oct. 16, 2009

Map:



View Heart Bread ANTIQUE in Ginza in a larger map

As I mentioned in the last story, I’ll show you some of the popular chocolate shops in PRINTTEMPS GINZA. This year’s 3 fascinating elements of chocolate are delight, sweetness, and surprise!

1^st floor’s concept : “Chocolat Marche”— chocolate arousing our curiosity

There are limited and original shops to PRINTEMPS GINZA. For example, they offer rose or fruit flavored chocolate and a bar of chocolate decorated with colorful flowers.

◎  GINZA Chocolate Hearts

Their tiny pieces of chocolate have various flavors. The small bottled chocolate would be a nice gift. “KIRA chibi bag & basic mini chocolate”—It’s sold only at PRINTEMPS GINZA. The spangled small bag attracts more females who buy chocolate for themselves. We can attach it to cell phone as a strap or to a bag. So we can enjoy both chocolate and fashion!

7^th floor’s concept :“Boutique Du Chocolate” —There are 34 shops from inside and outside of  Japan

◎  Patisserie Grand Four

Their concept is cute, happy, and tasty chocolate. Each one looks very cute, like the shape of a macaroon, baby pig, and small heart.

◎  Tsuki no Katsura (月の桂）

Japanese style chocolate! There are various kinds of taste, such as tangerine, sesame seeds, and green tea.　This style chocolate is sold only in this season.

◎  Fouche Olympus

They offer chocolate in the shape of a planet. The original shape and color will surely give people strong impact. This type of chocolate is popular as a gift for males. The special shape one is so popular that it is always sold out early in this Valentine’s season.

There are so many types of chocolate shops other than those.Even if you are not supposed to give chocolate to anyone, it’s fun to look around those various cute shops.

Or if you visit there, you may find your favorite one and you would see one of the aspects of unique Japanese culture.

Map:PRINTTEMPS GINZA

View Printemps Ginza in a larger map

We love sweets!  We enjoy this sweet chocolate season! In Japan, males get chocolate from females on St. Valentine’s Day, Feb.14^th.

PRINTEMPS GINZA holds special Valentine’s fair from Jan 19^th to Feb 14^th. The largest number of chocolate shops ever, 68 shops, set up 5 special sites and each site has its own concept.

We used to see St. Valentine’s Day as the day for females who show their love to males by giving chocolate. Also they give chocolate to someone who usually support or help them, like co-workers, boss, and family. To find better gifts, they buy chocolate for “preparation”. That could be a good excuse though, they enjoy this Valentine’s season.

Basically, Japanese like the idea of giving someone a gift to show their gratitude.　However, the situation has been changing year by year.

Kumi Iizuka, who is in charge of the Public Relations Department,says “Recently, females enjoy this event for themselves. They exchange chocolate each other.”

It’s called “jyoshi-choco (女子チョコ）”, which means “Girl’s chocolate”. Or they buy chocolate for themselves. It’s called “To Me chocolate”.

Females who are sensitive to the latest trends look for something unique and fabulous for joy. So, even though the prices are little bit higher than the usual chocolate, they choose the special one to have sweet time once in a year .

Anyway, to attract more these new style Valentine’s gift lovers, a lot of shops offer really cute, colorful, and awesome chocolate.

In the next story, I’ll show you some of the popular shops in PRINTEMPS GINZA.
Chocolate for Sweet St. Valentine’s Day at PRINTTEMPS GINZA 2

Map:PRINTEMPS GINZA

View Printemps Ginza in a larger map

Their colorful and sweet design makes me warm and happy in my room.

The concept of gelato pique is “sweets of fashion” for working women. After hard work, they can relax in soft housedress at home.

gelato pique

They enjoy changing clothes in and out of the house.

The brand was set up last year, now it attracts a lot of young women.

They offer housedress, socks, hair accessories and so on.

These items can be nice presents for friends.

http://www.gelatopique.com/

View Esola, Ikebukuro in a larger map

This is my first writing of this year.

I wish all of you have wonderful days.

In Japan, a lot of tailors and department stores have an interesting custom of selling “lucky bags” during the New Year’s holidays.

These days, getting the “lucky bag” of a favorite brand is becoming an important event for fashion lovers once in a year.

Usually, we don’t know what’s in the bag until we get it.

Some examples are coat, knit, skirt, and shirt, something like that.

One bag has several clothes more in total than the purchase price.

 All of these, one-piece, knit, cardigan, coat, and jacket, were in one lucky bag. I wear them right away.

This lucky bag custom is special to Japan. In the old days, department stores or retail shops packed their stock which couldn’t be sold at the regular prices and sold them as small surprise of the New Year.

However, year by year, the competition for selling lucky bags has become harder and harder. The packed clothes are more than just the prices.

Now a lot of stores show what’s in the bag to appeal more shoppers.

In big cities in Tokyo, like Shibuya, Harajyuku, and Ginza, a lot of young girls and women line up in front of the stores and wait for the opening to get the lucky bag from the night of the New Year’s Eve!

They even come from local areas by a long-distance bus or airplane.

Wearing a cute housedress is becoming popular among fashion models and young girls.

Especially, soft touch housedress is fabulous!

Fashion magazines show us cute housedress or pajamas.

And some fashion brands offer their own sweet housedress.

Ex. Gelato pique, Peach John, Xmiss in my room, Triumph, etc…

I’ll show you one of them later.

 This is my own one.

 This yellow one comes from “g.u”, a shop which is an affiliate of UNIQULO group.

 They have a lot of casual clothes at reasonable prices.

 This cost only 2000 yen.

 It’s enough to stay warm! And I like this color and soft touch

These are something extra to fashion magazines.

These days, fashion magazines are sold with something attractive like small bag, pouch, scrunchy(シュシュ) and more.

Some famous brands, such as Rebecca Taylor, Agnis.b and Jill Stuart, collaborate with the magazine companies and offer us these kinds of things.

They sell the magazine once a month with at least one bag or something.

So they can attract more young girls to buy the magazines.

Don’t ask me the quality but they are cute and useful enough depending on the way we use.

Usually, such a magazine costs around 600 yen and we can get more than just the price.

I often see girls having such a bag on the streets.

Personally, I don’t use them so much. I’d use them as second bags.

Because a lot of girls have them.

Still, it appeals to me.

Date & Time   December 3 (thur) 10:00~21:00

• 4(Fri)  10:00~21:00
• 5(Sat)  10:00~21:00
• 6(Sun)  10:00~17:00

Tokyo International Forum is only 1 minute from JR Yurakucho station. This sale is held for the first time in 2 years so it is going to be really fun!

They offer coats, jackets, boots, accessories and more!! We can see more than 50 fashion brands goods which are all popular among young women.

http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/english/access.html

Printemps Ginza is a big department store and the target is female office workers from 20’s to 40’s.

While Harajyuku and Shibuya can be regarded as mecca of young fashion, Ginza district has calm and gorgeous atmosphere for women following the latest fashion.

Main building of Printemps Ginza offers both cool and sweet fashion for us, like casual, career, and elegant wear and accessories & cosmetics. They even have sweets & wine.

They also have short or long lessons for women.

Ex. Japanese flower arrangement, cooking, dancing and more.

They often have some events at the entrance and offer samples of new articles or foods.

When I visited there last time, they had a special campaign for Beaujolais nouveau. I could taste some kinds of them for free.

Here we can get a lot of information on the latest fashion, food, and beauty.

Though various foreign brand shops, such as Gucci and Cartier, can be seen along the street in Ginza, Printemps Ginza is so much more appealing in person.

Map:Printemps Ginza

View Printemps Ginza in a larger map

My name is Miyuki.

I’ve been working as an English tour guide for a while, specializing in Japanese Pop culture

like fashion and anime.

In my free time, I enjoy shopping, watching movies and travelling.

In this blog, I’ll introduce “Japanese Pop fashion”.

It’s fun to see girls wearing unique clothes in Tokyo.

We can get the information from magazines, TV, and on the Net.

Now, around 100 or more fashion magazines are published in a month.

The models have a lot of influence on Japanese girls and women.

We like to have the same clothes with them or arrange the items in our own way.

magazines

Anyway, such magazines could be one of the sources to get the new information on fashion.

Personally, I get the information from some of them, so let’s share them in this blog!

From next time, I’ll write about some pieces of them.

See you soon!

Miyuki Onishi