Hawai'i-Japan crosscultural connections are not just about hula and anime anymore. Hawai'i fashions and accessories are being infused with a Japanese aesthetic, and Island interiors are not just about tansu and tokunoma — now they're combining Japanese style with urban edge that's as at home in Honolulu as it is in Shinjuku.

CREATE MOODS

Looking for an easy way to get your personal space in sync with your psyche? Wanna transform a room without any major renovations — not even a splash of paint? Check out www.mochee.com for an innovative way to get the walls around you to match your personality, taste and mood.

Mochee is Honolulu artist Sabina Hochroth's means of combining her passions for art and architecture in an innovative new business. She creates original, museum-quality matte vinyl wall decals that are easy to put up and take down. They won't even damage the wall, so they can be changed on a whim. Her designs range from humorous and whimsical to modern and edgy, including icons, inscriptions, anime, kanji and her artistic impressions of forests and the feminine form.

She will also work with clients to create custom design mochee decals to suit their own spaces. It could be as simple as turning a logo into a wall decal or as complex as redesigning an entire hotel space. The decals are available in 23 custom colors and are sized from 16 inches by 13 inches to 21 inches by 52 inches.

To get an upclose and personal look at a mochee installation, check out Ong King Arts Center, 184 N. King St., where Hochroth shares the space with illustrator Jasper Wong through the end of this month.

— Paula Rath

KOOL ACCESSORIES

While kimono may be uncool to the GothLolis in Harajuku (unless, perhaps, layered under a frilly black jumper), there's a little company called Kimono Kool that takes pieces of authentic vintage kimono fabric and turns 'em into cool accessories with a distinctly urban edge. Kimono Kool makes hair baubles, cell- phone charms, shoelaces, belts, bra straps, fanny packs, cuffs and caps, to name a few of their cute accessories. Necklaces are fragments of kimono encased in acrylic hearts, flowers and butterflies. The full line of Kimono Kool is sold at Chit Chat at Bishop Square. Prices range from $7.50 to $72.

— P.R.

CHARMING NECKLACES

Professional photographer Rae Huo has a great eye, and not only through her camera lens. When traveling in Japan (as she often does, since her husband Zakka recently started his own Japanese-inspired doll business with a cat called Miao) she often sees styles that she hasn't seen anywhere else.

Witness these charming crochet-and-chain necklaces. Huo spotted them in a Harajuku boutique and bought one for herself. "Everyone at home (Honolulu) started asking me where I got it," she said, so she decided to import some. We love that they are black and white, which seems to go with everything, and that they combine the old-fashioned charm of crochet with the modern edge of metallic chains. The crochet rosettes are even removable to wear as a brooch; a little touch of GothLoli without going overboard. Priced at $45, they are available online at www.zakkamono.com.

— P.R.

SALES & BARGAINS