Updates: The pop-up store has ended on the 21st of March 2023.
To celebrate Final Fantasy 35th anniversary, a pop-up store is opened at PARCO Shibuya in Tokyo. Open for a limited time in the franchise’s home country of Japan, the pop-up store has a variety of new Final Fantasy products and merchandise up for sale, most of which can only be purchased in the physical Parco pop-up shop or online store.
We visited the pop-up store while we are in Japan. The store is right opposite Nintendo Tokyo store. For those in Japan this is the place on Google Map
One of largest pop culture event this year in Singapore, SGCC 2022 was a blast! Fans from across various universes gather at Marina Bay Sands Convention Center to soak into a weekend of fun.
Check out some of our photos taken during Day 2 of SGCC 2022!
After much anticipation, AFA 2022 is finally back in Singapore at the usual Suntec Convention Center! Needless to say the crowd is a result of pent-up demand after the last physical AFA was held way back in 2019. Three years of waiting and we are finally here!
Queue into the convention is as crazy as 2019. Day 1 and we are seeing a long queue to get ticket and getting into the hall.
This year we have exhibitors like Hakken, Genshin Impact, Bandai, Bushiroad to name a few. The creators hub is also back to show case work of many talented artists. You can support them by buying their artwork.
Cosplay Hub
The Cosplay Hub is where you can find some of the cosplayers whom you have been stalking on social media. Now you get to meet and greet live version of them! Most of them are very friendly so be sure to get a photo with them.
AKIBA stage is where you can take a rest (no seats provided but feel free to sit on the floor) and enjoy some performance by various human and virtual stars.
Pardon my battled brochure.
Of course, AFA is a time for cosplay! Here are some of the awesome cosplayers we have spotted.
Merchandise
No AFA will be completed without being having a haul of merchandise from your favorite anime, comic and game. Be sure to come prepared to empty your wallet (or paynow account).
Into the AFAverse
One of the cool thing of this year AFA is the inclusion of AFAverse. Essentially your wristband into the event hall has a RFID tag. At various station scattered throughout the hall, you can play games and gain coins. Coins allow you to take picture with celebrities cosplayers, play AFA catch and enjoy discounts! More information here.
Be sure to come!
AFA 2022 is happening now from 25th-27th (Fri to Sun) Nov 2022 at Suntec Convention center.
With much anticipation, AFA 2022 is finally back in physical form at Suntec Convention after 3 years of hiatus (last held in 2019). While we still enjoy the online AFA Station TV show nothing beats jostling in a crowd full of enthusiastic Anime, Comics and Games (ACG) fans looking for merchandise to add to your collection. Here are some details on the upcoming event happening from 25th Nov to 27 Nov 2022.
Competition
J-Dance competition
There will be a brand-new J-Dance Asia competition, with the Finals taking place on November 26 at the festival grounds’ Akiba Stage.
In front of the audience, groups of 2 to 10 people will have the chance to showcase their choreography set to a Japanese music track.
Reputable dancers from Singapore and Japan will serve as judges and perform in a unique dance display.
The J-Dance Asia contestants have a chance to earn cash prizes worth up to S$1,000.
On 11 November 2022, registration will open at https://bit.ly/AFASG22JDance.
Cosplay Competition
At AFASG22, the Cosplay Singles showcase competition will return.
Cosplayers can use this opportunity to display their outfits on a local stage and compete for prizes.
Exhibitors
Some key highlights of exhibitors include Anime Metaverse,Bandai, Bushiroad, Conan, Genshin Impact, Good Smile Company, Hakken!, Kotobukiya, Nissin, Valiant Force and more. There will be exclusive merchandise available for purchase.
Over at Creator Hub, you will get to see and buy work by some of the talented artists including:
Self-taught illustrator Rachta Lin, whose travels and experiences influences her creations;
Sarah Thursday, who creates illustrations inspired by dark alternative subcultures with a deeply personal twist; and
Digital artist Raiko, who paints characters from games and anime usually in a semi-realistic style.
Meet and Greet
While you can’t meet you anime waifu or husbando in real life, you can definitely meet a cosplayer counterpart! Sessions will be available with celebrity cosplayers Hakken, Charess and Ely.
AFA-verse – Gamified AFA
Visitors will for the first time get a game-like experience as soon as they enter the festival grounds.
In order to open virtual easter eggs and gain AFA Hero XP and AFA Coins, visitors will receive a specially made NFC-capable band.
Additionally, they can create their own Seika AFA-tar, get exclusive skins from AFA-Pitstops, or use AFA-Coins to buy limited-edition accessories.
Fans will be able to purchase all ticket tiers, from General Admission 1-Day Exhibition to 1 Day VIP tickets online from today. Tickets start from S$21 / Day for Exhibition.
1st – 4th September 2022 at Suntec Convention Center Level 4
It has been close to 3 years since we had a physical electronic show in Singapore. Before COVID, there were usually 4 of such shows held annually at locations such as Suntec and Expo. We used to complain that there are too many similar IT shows in Singapore. But after 3 years, going for one really felt refreshing! It’s like a long lost friend that you finally meet!
Comex 2022 is an event that you can attend without face mask (legally)!. Beyond the laptops and electronics, here are somethings that have caught our eyes.
GG PlayFest
A section of the show is dedicated to gaming. GG PlayFest brings you E-Sports and Gaming gears all in one place. And if you are a fan of Rurusama, catch a glimpse of her at her booth right at the end of the hall.
WEB3SG
Blockchain, NFT, POS, staking. If all these terms sound foreign to you, you might want to read up on them and get up to date with Web 3. Step into this zone to learn more about Web 3 and speak to some of the companies working on this forefront technology.
Buy now pay later model for NFTs
Cute Keyboards
Might not be super practical for work or school but definitely fun to look at.
BYD Electric Car
Not exactly a car show but I guess electric car can be considered as an electronic? Albeit one that you will need to cough up SGD 100k COE first in order to buy one. Do check out this booth if you are interested in BYD electric car. Besides driving it, you can get to feel the vehicle for yourself before deciding to buy one.
Funky chairs
After learning that the co-founder of Secretlab, makers of the famous gaming chairs, had bought a good class bungalow for $36 million, the boss of Osim probably thinks it is a good idea to go into this space as well. Osim’s booth features a Transformer theme uThrone with hand and back massage capabilities. Perfect for a pit stop if you are tired.
There are more …
We don’t have time to cover everything in the show. If you miss a good old physical “IT Show”, head down to Suntec from 1st to 4th Sep 2022 and relive the days before COVID 19!
It’s been a long while since we have gone to any convention in Singapore, no thanks to COVID 19. So we are very thankful for a new Brick Con (Lego brick convention) happening now at Suntec North Atrium. To get there, walk along level 2 of Suntec. Once you see Owndays, take the escalator down to the main Atrium. Did we mention it is free admission? Perfect event for school holidays!
All Aboard!VTL anyone?Under ConstructionTwo-headed Snake
A new indoor drone racing arena is here in Singapore! This pop-up store is now located at Sin Ming Lane Midview City. For the uninitiated, this form of drone racing is known as FPV (First-Person View) and Tiny Whoop is the small form of a quadcopter that has an inbuilt camera.
Image courtesy of Whoop Arena
So how do you fly this thing? Unlike traditional drone flying, the pilot takes the view of the drone via the onboard camera. See those colorful hoops at Whoop Arena? It is for you to fly your drone through it. Whoop arena also have different mode beyond just pure flying for added entertainment. For example you can shoot the drone with Nerf gun!
Image courtesy of Whoop Arena
Whoop arena also provide STEM & coding workshop and FPV flying experience for beginner. Be sure to check them out as the pop-up store will end towards the end of April 2021.
Details
Whoop Arena
Address: 18 Sin Ming Lane, #06-03, Singapore 573960
In case you are wondering, we are not talking about a Gaming Den where shuffling of Mahjong tiles and punter shouting ‘Blackjack!” can be heard constantly. We are talking about one where you can take your gaming experience to a whole new level beyond your keyboard, mouse or controller.
NXND Computer (NXND) has started this Gaming Lounge which is figuratively a game centre that provides an immersive gaming experience through motion platforms or Virtual Reality which is largely centred on “combat” flying and racing simulation games.
Inspiration for Gaming Lounge
NXND has jokingly shared that the inspiration came from COVID19. One of the cofounder of NXND, Guan Tdee discovered a gaming community in Singapore consisting of individuals who are interested in virtual flying simulation. While its fun and engaging to meet in the virtual skies, there is lack of actual social interactions between such groups in Singapore.
I thought if I need to gather like-minded gamers together to share fun and knowledge and chill out, there must be a lounge or café that is enticing enough to make them “get out of their seat”.
-Guan Tdee (NXND Computer)
It was later expanded to include other game genre beyond just flight simulation.
What’s available at the Gaming Lounge?
There are various programmes to choose from. You are try out their immersive motion simulation with a choice of driving or flying on their motion platform.
Then there is a choice of a static panoramic screen, or VR. Team gaming (i.e. DOTA,CS,ArmA 3 and more) of up to 4 players are also available. More details are available on their site.
Booking and Opening Hours
Booking: Booking is needed to get a slot for the Gaming Lounge on their website at https://www.nxndcomputers.sg/book-online. Alternatively, you can whatsapp them at +65 9825-7608.
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri: 9am – 6pm and on appointment Sat: 9am – 2pm and on appointment Sun: On appointment
Address: 2022 Bukit Batok Industrial Park A Street 23 #01-138 Mezzanine, Singapore
With events cancelled or going online like the the latest edition of Anime Festival Asia, there is little place to go to satisfy your craving for all-things Japanese. Of course flying to Japan is impossible too at the moment.
Enter the new Rilakkuma themed Cafe by Kumoya Cafe. This pop-up cafe will be open for 6 months starting on 29 August 2020. Do note that this is a new Kumoya branch at Orchard Central. Their first cafe, Kumoya Singapore @ 8 Jalan Klapa, is still open but features not Rilakkuma but Bad-Barth-Maru and Gudetama.
For the uninitiated, Rilakkuma is a popular San-X character from Japan which translate loosely to “relaxing bear”. It has struck a chord with the generally hardworking Japanese simply with the idea of “let’s just relax” that is the epitome of the character.
Getting to the Cafe
Located at Orchard Central level 4, finding the place is not difficult at all. At the time of writing, the cafe does not allow reservation and only walk-in is allowed. So be prepared to queue for a period of time to get in.
We queued for about 50 minutes at around 1:30pm on a Thursday afternoon (we are there not as a media invite). Given it is still consider lunch hours when we are there, expect a shorter time during off peak hours like 3-5pm. And be prepared for a longer queue on weekends.
Customers are entitled to a maximum of 1 hour and 30 minutes in the restaurant. And with safe distancing, there are limited seating capacity. On the positive side, the experience overall is better with less people in the cafe. After all this is Rilakkuma – The Relax Cafe isn’t it?
The Food
Food-wise the selections are quite complete. From pasta to rice, desserts and drinks, you will be spoilt for choices. However, do not expect the price to be easy on the wallet. Each main is about $25-29. This is the typical pricing of such theme cafe.
We ordered the Chill-out Rilakkuma Yuzu Carbonara ($23.90), Chirpy Kiroiitori Beef Stew Rice ($23.90), Rilakuma Sweet Honey Pancake ($25.90) and a Lycee Momo Iced Tea with Chocolate ($13.90). Each dish is beautifully decorated ready for an Instagram moment. Taste-wise, while it is not something I will keep coming back for, it is fairly decent compared to other theme cafe we have been to.
The Merchandise
Beside the cashier counter, there is a corner full of kawaii Rilakkuma merchandise. Be sure to visit it while you are there. If you are a plushies lover, you will be glad to find some rare Rilakkuma plushies on sale there.
Overall
With the COVID-19 situation, visiting the cafe is one of the only way to get closer to a holiday experience. We would recommend a visit to the cafe if you are a fan of Rilakkuma.
