This little story began one chilly night in early January. I had just gotten back to Tokyo from a rest-break in Adelaide, I was feeling better than I had been for months and months, and I felt like going out for once.
"Let's go to Shibuya!" I said to my friend Dave, and so, after making dinner and getting dressed up in clothes completely inappropriate for the weather (a shirt and a light jacket) we took the 10-minute train ride there.
For those of you that don't know, Shibuya is one of the 'coolest' places in Tokyo. Most of you will know it for the massive pedestrian crossing (pictured) they have right outside of the station, and there's a good reason it's so busy. Packed with shops of all kinds, restaurants, bars, clubs, love hotels and karaoke parlours, Shibuya is a haven for young people. It's only a short walk from cool fashion central Harajuku as well.

As my friend and I were waiting to cross the above intersection, we were approached by two young men. Now, my friend Dave is an Australian of Chinese descent, so he is easily mistaken for a Japanese, as these men did:
"Ask your friend if he would like to be a model for our magazine" (in Japanese of course).
What! Poor Dave (sorry man)...
Anyway, after talking to these guys a while and giving them my contact details, we headed off to walk around...but my mind was abuzz. Sure, I'd heard of people being scouted for being models in Tokyo, and in fact I have a model friend, but me? I'm no イケメン!

The photoshoot was to be on a Friday, on which I had class. I was at first reluctant to skip my class (I'm too good of a student >.>), but then I decided that this opportunity was too good to pass up. So, on January the 22nd, I arrived in Shibuya again, fresh and early in the morning.
Fortunately, there was to be one other model for that shoot, so I would not have to brave the dangers of an off-the-street modelling request alone! He American and also a first-time model, and, to jump ahead a bit, after that day we became good friends.
After waiting a few minutes, we were told to get into a nondescript, apparently rental white van. Uhh.... I suppose it was a good sign that the van was white. All the bad stuff happens in black vans, right?
We drove around for a while, leaving Shibuya and heading into the suburbs, stopping only to pick up a short Japanese woman (random) and the clothes (that explains the van). Before long we had arrived at the studio where the shooting was to take place!
Everyone was really nice, even if they didn't really tell us what we had to do. "Come here", "Wear this" and "Look serious" were about the extent of their instructions. Thankfully, because I was not alone, I was able to share nervous giggles and uncomprehending shrugs with my new-found friend.

I could write more, but I think all you really want to see are the pictures. The magazine came out last month and has just been replaced by a new issue. The magazine title, "Choki Choki", is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound that scissors make, and as such it's a young men's hairstyle/fashion magazine. Also, apparently, a magazine that almost never uses foreign models (which are otherwise all the rage here).
Enjoy, and try not to laugh too much (the clothes they made us wear are pretty weird).






 It was only a one-off job so I'm not really a model now - but it was a great experience and a priceless souvenir of my time in Japan!

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