Glo[b→c]alization

Upon arriving on the streets of Tokyo, you might be startled to see how many women wear knee-high leather boots with stockings and shorts even during the middle of the Japanese winter. Recently knee-high boots have been going through a "boom" in popularity here.

The archetypal style of the Converse All-Star shoe has been around for a long time in America, and at some point it crossed the Pacific. I've seen plenty of people sporting the easily recognizable design here in Japan too.

Japan is known for adopting things from other cultures and putting their own spin on it. Even so, I was still surprised to see these Converse All-Star knee-high boots being sold at a department store. It doesn't take any special ingenuity to think of combining two popular styles, but I think Japan is the only place where they'd take something like this seriously.


photo by author, 30 Jan 2009

The parfait has more than 100 years of history as a frozen dessert with custard and fruit from France, and it has made its impression on America as the Friendly's Ice Cream Sundae. Japan, however, has taken a liking like no other to the dessert treat, and you can now find parfaits in almost every restaurant which doesn't serve strictly Japanese cuisine.


photo by author, 14 Feb 2009

These are no ordinary parfaits. The one in the giant mug is probably the same volume as my head.

Incidentally, there's also a Japanese band who keeps parfaits as their namesake. Here are some samples:
WHITE SNOW

LOVE★COCKTAIL