Posted March 12, 2013 by Jonelle Patrick Awesome Stuff To Do

Tokyo Steampunk!

Alice In Wonderland X Jules Verne! Gothic Lolita X Victorian Mourning! Manga X Edwardian Gentleman! In the land where costume is king (and often queen, even if you’re not a woman!), steampunk does not disappoint. The Tokyo Steampunk Society has adopted a time travel motif, which allows anybody who already cosplays to reimagine themselves in a Victorian/Edwardian parallel universe.

This month’s event took place at the Christon Cafe (home of Black Rage of Satan Pizza), and in addition to music mixes by the Decadence Bar DJs, the time traveling menagerie was entertained by Japanese belly dancers, fire jugglers, and even a troupe of Japanese bagpipers, go figure.

But it was the costumes that really boggled! The cosplay culture in Tokyo supports not just one, but dozens of stores catering to DIY costuming, and those who do it are astonishingly professional when it comes to detail. Check out a few of the outfits from Sunday’s gathering!

EdwardianFrock — Don’t look now, but this gentleman is actually a steampunk vampire. He told me he made his costume himself.

AliceMad — The divine Miss Mad, who designs for Clumsy Dandy, brought a twist of Alice and the Mad Hatter with her from Wonderland.

RayTrak — DJ Ray Trak gothic-steampunked down from his usual post at the Decadence Bar in finery so awesome I asked him to come out into the entry so I could get a better picture.

CorgiCorgi — The lovely designers from Corgi-Corgi, who make clockwork top hats and floral fantasy steampunk chapeaus. I wish I’d been able to capture the wonderful details of their hats better – the Christon Cafe was really dark, so all my pictures turned out grainy. Check out their blog to see better pix!

If you want to go to a Tokyo Steampunk Society event the next time you’re in Tokyo, check out their Facebook page for details here.

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Read a novel set in Tokyo…

A young woman dressed as a Gothic Lolita is found dead in a car with two strangers. But the more Yumi Hata learns about her friend’s death, the more she’s convinced it was murder…*read more*

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!