EXILE in Hawaii???

Indeed friends, it is (kind of) true.

EXILE's clothing line 24 Karats has a surf shop in Waikiki!

I've never been to the Tokyo EXILE shop or even seen any 24 Karats merchandise in person, so I didn't know what to expect walking into the store. After dining in the L'Arc cafe I knew the shop might be decked out in EXILE photos and videos; but I also know no one in America knows who they are and given the location in Waikiki it might look like a high-end surf shop.

I'd say it leaned more toward the tourist-y side, completely true to Waikiki form. The shop is reminiscent of a luxury beach house out on the North Shore or in Kahala, with white walls, wood floors and furniture, and lots of natural light coming through the windows. The one TV screen in the shop was playing surf videos and there weren't any obvious references to the EXILE brand and certainly no EXILE goods.

But there was a wall of photos, and I think I recognized a few guys.

I spy with my little eye... Takahiro, Atsushi, Tetsuya <3, Shokichi, and Matsu. My mom was looking at the wall with me and pointed to Takahiro, asking, "Who's he? He's cute!" Yeah, he's dreamy. It's the dimples (until he takes his shirt off then it's about his abs kyaaaa~).

But I like Tetsuya so I sat in the spot on the couch that he did heh heh.

I went on Christmas Eve and saw a shirt I wanted, but I went back earlier today and they didn't have them anymore! The women's clothing is generally lacking, though all the men's t-shirts are nice.

Guess I'll have to visit the Tokyo store and buy something overpriced there.