I love the Japanese-shops strip in the city. Makes me all the more excited for my trip to Japan, because I know this is just a tiny taste of what is to come!

Most of the shops are in Sussex St, which I think I’ve already blogged about before. There’s also a couple of punk and Kodona shops there, but it’s always frickin “Back in 15″ everytime I pass by! So, first stop ended up being at Candyhill. There are two shops in Sydney: One in George St, and the other in Sussex St. Let’s go to the one at Sussex first.

This one’s closer to Town Hall than Chinatown, and as you can see it says “Japanese Fashion” on the sign. True, everything inside was made in Japan (which obviously made for some pricey items). But I was slightly disappointed upon coming inside and hearing Chinese love music. This kind of took away from the kawaii Harajuku feel that I think they were trying to achieve. The saleslady was also talking VERY LOUDLY in Chinese. Talking in another language, I don’t mind that. But she could have turned her volume down a bit…

My friends and I had fun oohing at the clothes, and aahing at the pretty bags and shoes. I tried this top on:

It looks very similar to the top I bought from Colour 18, but this one’s much cuter in my opinion. It fit well around the waist, but it’s a shame that it didn’t fit as well around my shoulders and arms, because I really loved it (yes, even at $120). I surprised myself, as I’m not that into girly clothes. But this one was just beautiful.

You know what else I loved about that Candyhill? Their Rococo chaise longue for the tired ladies and gents:

I would love to check out their branch at George St. I’ve seen it whenever the bus passes by, and it really looks cute. It looks more dollhouse-like and a little less Harajuku than the Sussex branch, which should be interesting.