As some of you know my birthday is one week before Christmas, falling on Dec.18th. This past year I just turned 22, and I was fortunate enough to share it with some awesome friends. Lin took me to one of my favorite haunts, Little Tokyo in downtown LA. One of the good things about having my birthday in late December is that nearly everywhere I go, everything is decorated in beautiful lights and ornaments! It always makes my birthday a little more special and Little Tokyo was no exception!

The tree in the middle of Japanese Village Plaza

This is beautiful site that will greet you when you walk into the main square of Little Tokyo. It was so pretty I just had to get a picture of it, of course! Sadly none of the presents under the tree were real. Or for me. :| What's up with that Little  Tokyo?

I love the blend of Western Christmas with Traditional Lanterns

And this is how it looks on the walk ways up throughout the plaza! The center keeps up the lanterns until after New Year's, I believe. They add to the festive feeling, and look so pretty at night when they're lit! Since Lin and I had some time until Alexa arrived, we decided to walk around the square and explore. We had some quick snacks at the Mitsuwa, and then of course true to myself I dragged her into the local Sanrio store.

I would like it all on my doorstep by 3:00pm tomorrow, please.

I was able to ninja a quick photo of the inside of the store. It's actually a very large store and sells great variety of Sanrio and some San-X items. The staff is usually very friendly and helpful, and I could browse around for so long. One thing I was sad to hear is that they wouldn't be doing their yearly fukubokuro (Lucky Packs) on as grand a scale as they had before. The sales girl informed me this may change on New Years Day, but I shouldn't hold my breath. SADNESS. They were however selling mini-mini lucky packs for $5.00 so in the spirit of things I picked one up.

Bonus Cinnamonroll trinket holder!

We'll find out what's in there at the end of the post! ;3 After the square, we decided to take advantage of Max Karaoke's happy hour! At the time we went it was only $5.00/hr per person. Lin absolutely loves karaoke and is amazing at it! I usually end up derping around to anime openings, 90s pop, or whatever random thing I can find and sing. XD; Alexa arrived just when Lin and I were finishing up karaoke. I went to meet her and we walked around the Little Tokyo "mall". One thing I always take advantage of when I'm there is the nearly always open Para-Para machine.

The songs are pretty much older from the early 2000 era, but still so much fun. Unfortunately since I only had my cell phone camera, none of the pictures of the arcade came out right. (It's so dark in there!) I apologize guys! Much to my defeat I couldn't trick convince Lin nor Alexa to try it out, so after I spent up my tokens we left, and had some delicious boba at Cherry on Top. It's a fusion Boba/Frozen Yogurt place.

The inside has great lighting, and the staff and atmosphere there is super friendly and fun. Plus they have SUPER old school Mario on a Sega Genesis for customers to play and nice variety of board games. When we got there some girls were loudly playing Candy Land.

It was delicious!

Their drinks and their yogurt are both great! I ordered the passion fruit (one of my favorites) and even I was surprised by the nice portion size for a regular. Of course no trip to a fun place with great indoor lighting would be complete without a little cam-whoring! X3

Obligatory My-Space angle is Obligatory.

Just this one, I promise! Behind me you can see Alexa, enjoying her drink and leaving me to my own "En Vouge" devices. I love her for putting up with all my silliness. Once bobas were drank it was time for us to have some real dinner, and I suggested the best ramen place on earth Daikokuya.  For those of you who are near one of their locations listed on the website: GO AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY! It is seriously, some of the most delicious food and ramen ever. The staff is attentive and friendly, the portions are huge, and did I mention how delicious the food was? I did? Okay good. Delicious delicious delicious. Of course since the place is so wonderful, there was a waiting list. We were number 38 and they were just calling number 25!

;___;/ Ahh, the things we do for dinner. Since that left us with more wait time, we did the old school Gal thing and hang out some steps and chit-chatted. Alexa and I had a nice talk about the era when Gal was monkey-squatting while putting your make up on in public, para-para routines, and chunky boots. Ran Kotobuki Days

We were finally called in and ordered. The inside of Daikokuya is just as great as the food. The moment you walk in, you're hit with the happy bustling environment of the restaurant. The decor pays homage to 60'-80's Japan with his array of nostalgic posters, ads, and wall hung knick-knacks. They even play Japanese oldies everything from Enka to Pop.

I swear to you guys, Daikokuya has in no way paid me for this post. And enough of my rambling, have a food picture!

I want some right now. Seriously.

 I took this with Lin's ipod since my phone had long since died. (Androids, I love you, but yeesh that battery life stinks!) I ordered their traditional ramen combo with the donburi bowl. After dinner it was time for us to go home, and we took Alexa back to her car and bid her adieu. Once I got home, I was happy and exhausted and eager to open my presents!

Packaging!

Inside!

Look at all these great things! moko-moko socks, Victoria Secret, nail art supplies, AND make up. Seriously, Lin is after my own heart. Btw, those socks are amazing. I wish I could have everything made of out that material.  And then Alexa presented me with some amazing gifts as well!

Aaaaaahhh~! *explodes into hearts*

My first pair of Diamond eyelashes! And they're bottom lashes at that. I can't wait to crack these open and try them out, also some great Kyary eyelashes, facial mask, make up and a jewelry compact! I was so upset that when I showed my mother the awesome eye shadows, she dropped the compact and some of the make up broke. *weeps* both of the lip balms smell delicious and feel great on my lips!

So, remember that baby lucky pack I spoke of earlier? Well, here the contents!

Small but cute

I'm pretty happy with all the items that came in it! The stamper is adorable, the notepad will be very useful, and the pen in addition to being a writing tool also has a maze and a pin-ball inside it. I will be amused for days on end. While we were heading back from the restaurant, we decided to pop into one of the general stores, Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle. They're a decently sized store which sells everything from anime, manga, snacks, plushies, cooking utensils, make up and more! While we were in there, they had a sell on facial masks for $1.00 each!

Glorious.

The scent selection was really good, and I got: Lovely Strawberry, Juicy Pomegranate, Sweet Honey, White Rose, and Moisture Green tea. I can't wait to use them!

This December I had an amazing birthday, with wonderful people! I had a lot of fun and I can hardly wait until next year to do it all over again! Thank you Lin, Thank you Alexa! Next time, I'll be posting about my Christmas Eve! See you all soon!

Labels: friends, fun, life, outings