Adventures of Anette: Party

Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Summer in Tokyo: Ultra Japan at Tokyo Odaiba!

Anette 2:35:00 PM

The outdoor electronic music festival Ultra had its first edition in Miami in 1999, but has since gained enormous popularity and spread all over the world to countries like Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea, South Africa, and Croatia. This year it was time for the first Ultra Japan held at Odaiba Ultra Park in Tokyo.

Norwegian, Japanese and Brazilian flag @ Ultra Japan

I had gotten myself a ticket along with a group of friends for the first day of the festival, and we met up at Odaiba all psyched up and ready for a whole day of partying already before noon. It seemed that a lot of people had gone out of their way to come up with fancy dress ideas and coordinated outfits, so there was a lot of interesting things to see.. We (especially Yuma and I), on the other hand, hadn't prepared that much.. Just brought some flags to represent our respective countries x)

Shaken-san ready with lemon essence..

Some of our friends were more prepared though. The picture above shows Shaken-san in a neon green Full Moon Party-T-shirt ready with a bottle of lemon essence. It wasn't of course not allowed to bring alcohol into the venture so we started the party on the lawn in front of the entrance to the main stage. Since the event was held from 10 am - 9 pm we had a lot of time, and it was quite alright to chill out on the lawn in the nice weather. Odaiba is also famous for its huge Gundam statue, which we happened to pass by a couple of times during the day.

Ultra Japan was held in Odaiba where you also can see a huge Gundam statue

At the lawn in front of the entrance to the main stage

Although it was nice to be able to go inside the venture during the evening I have to say that the first part of the day it was probably just as nice (perhaps even nicer) to stay outside on the lawn where it was less crowded and easier to talk with others. It was also kind of amusing to look at the people time to time walking by in really weird costumes.

Already quite a lot of ppl and it's only 2 pm or so

Slightly crowded in front of the stage....

The main stage

We were basically free to go out of and reenter the venue as often as we wanted thanks to the wristbands we got when we registered in the morning. So we did come and go a couple of times during the event (had to take some breaks at the lawn). Yuma and I tried to make it to the front of the stage one time during the afternoon, but it was simply too crowded. We did make it almost to the front of the main stage once though, but it was of course not a particularly comfortable experience haha.. Maybe I'm starting to get too old for these sort of things (or maybe it's just that I get more than enough crowdedness on the train every day when I commute to work here in Tokyo).

The main stage not too far ahead

Gathered at Ultra Japan

Another group picture outside the venture

At sunset

One thing I noticed during the evening was that the guy who presented the different DJs seemed a bit confused about the Japanese audience. He tried to make the crowd respond by saying things like "Tokyo, make some noice", "VIPs, let me hear you", "You are the best audience ever" etc etc, but the crowd was as quiet as a funeral. It was kind of amusing actually.. In the end all the guy could think of was "You guys are.. incredible.." (He probably was thinking something like "Why the hell are these people so f*ing quiet!!! I've never experienced a crowd like this in my entire life!"). The poor guy did his best to pump up the crowd, but he probably didn't know that it is common sense for people in Japan to listen quietly when official authorities etc make announcements. So the crowd probably didn't really know how to respond to him.. It was quite interesting to note these cultural differences.

A lively crowd, except during the announcements between the performances

Brazil @ Ultra Japan

Anyway, we had a lot of fun, especially during the last hour when a lot of people decided to leave the venue and we finally had some space to move around! I'm not sure if we'll get the chance to participate in Ultra Japan next year or not, but it was definitely cool that we had the chance to participate in the first Ultra Japan ever.

Related blogposts

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Yokohama: Autumn Views at the Sankeien Garden

Winter

Recommended Hotels in Tokyo

More Tokyo hotels

Royal Park Hotel The Shiodome

Bunka Hostel
Tokyo

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nihombashi

Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu Hotel

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Southeastasia

New Year Greeting from the Philippines!

Anette 7:22:00 PM

Hi again from the Philippines! The last week has been really busy in an awesome traveler's way, and I have experienced so much in these few days. After coming back to Cebu on Sunday afternoon I checked into my hotel room for the next couple of days, and waited there for my boyfriend's flight to arrive. Finally he also had gotten his holiday, and after a night in Seoul he was finally on his way to the Philippines. Since I have been living in Korea the last semester we have only had the chance to see each other a couple of times, but now that it is holiday I get to spend a whole month with him before school starts! :D

After a laid-back day on the beach we spent the last day of 2012 clubbing in an area of Cebu called Mango Avenue, which is known for its bars and clubs. It was a memorable and fun evening with a lot of dancing!

New year countdown in a Cebu club

Now it seems that we are facing yet another new year, let's hope 2013 will be as great as 2012.
My goals for the new year includes: 1. Mastering Korean, 2. Finish both my thesis 3. Pass my school's comprehensive exam, 4. Graduate, 5. Find a job!!! 화이팅!
I do also hope that I get the chance to continue experiencing interesting adventures, and I hope you'll stay in tuned with my blog and read about what I'm up to in the big world.
I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year! ;D

Related blogposts

All blogposts from Southeast Asia

All blogposts from the Philippines

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Party

My Last Week in Kyoto.. 又ね皆～

Anette 12:12:00 PM

After almost two years in Kyoto my time there as a student was finally coming to an end. As expected there was quite a lot that had to be done the last week; In addition to cleaning up all my stuff I had to go a couple of trips to Osaka to get the visa for Korea, end the Japanese health insurance and fix the rest of the payment for my contract with Softbank.

But there was also time to have some fun in between all the stress. Thanks to Kamui I had a really nice Thursday evening with a combined sayonara party for me/birthday party for Toji. On Friday it was time for another Melting Pot Party at Café Frosch, where I've been working part-time since April/May. Apple from Thailand was in charge for the food this time, and her Thai-food was really delicious. In addition to the food great friends and colleges made it an unforgettable evening. Here are some pictures from the party, and a video of the Japanese game Suikawari (スイカ割り: "Watermelon splitting game").

Thai Melting Pot Party @ Café Frosch

美味しそう！

Kayo-san and Apple explaining the menu

Takeshi playing the スイカ割り-game

Video from the スイカ割りgame！

The スイカ割り-audience :p

Picture from the party taken from my friend Tomoya^^

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Party

Café Frosch's 3 Year Anniversary Party!

Anette 9:18:00 PM

On Saturday it was time for a 3-year anniversary party here in Kyoto at Café Frosh, where I work part time. It was a night that included "Fantastic live performers, delicious food and the unrivalled Café Frosch ambience". In other words, no wondering people were lining up outside the cafe already half an hour before it even started..

Café Frosch!

The Café Frosch logo is so cute:)

3 year anniversary flowers

Kayo-san is fixing the technical details before the party can begin

One of the items on sale for the evening: delicious fruit

..And not to mention the anniversary cake.. Which all of us wanted to eat straight away!

My co-workers doing their best to prepare the food for the evening

Performances in the café

Café Frosch was totally packed with guests!!

We even had a dancing performance!

Alex and My, the MCs for the evening!

Group picture after all the guests (and many of the staff too..) had left. お疲れさん〜！！

The evening turned out to be a great success (as expected;p)! We run out of the most popular beer in a blink of a second, and the food followed soon after as well. Great performances, great food, great guest.. What else can I say.?! I think all of the guest were both full and happy when they left that evening.
Thanks to Kayo-san and Café Frosch for a lovely evening:)! これからも宜しく〜☆

And finally: A video of Fuigodza, one of the bands who performed for us on Saturday:

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sakura

Sakura Season in Kansai - Hanami in the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park!

Anette 11:30:00 AM

This is the season when Japan's beloved cherry threes are in bloom, and people gather in parks and other public places to do hanami, or "flower watching" with friends and family. The second Hanami-event I went to this year was arranged by my friend Masaki from the graduate school, and I went there together with some of my good friends to spend a nice day in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park (Also known as Banpaku-Kinen Kouen: 万博記念公園) which is situated close to Osaka.

This park was the place of a World's Fair back in 1970, with the theme "Progress and Harmony for Mankind". At this fair they displayed technical objects such as mobile phones and the world's first IMAX-film, but one of the biggest attractions was a display of a moon rock brought back from the moon in 1969 by astronauts of Apollo 12.

One of the main attractions of the Expo '70 Commemorative Park: The Tower of the Sun (太陽の塔)

One of the biggest attraction in the park today, is the Tower of the Sun. This statue is the first thing you'll see when you approach the park, and it can also be seen if you the blue line by train to/from Kansai Airport (KIX). I have actually passed by the statue quite a number of time, wondering what the statue was supposed to be.. So it was kind of funny that I ended up in that park for this Hanami.. :)
Anyway, the statue was also designed for Expo 70', and it has become a symbol of the 1970 World's Fair.
The park itself is really huge, and it is divided into different sections as well. We mostly stuck to one part of the park where we pulled out our big, blue mat, along with snack and drinks.

Gathered in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park for hanami!

We were by not the only people here this day..

There was also an area where they sold Japanese pottery!

We did however walk a little bit around in the park, and found one area where they were selling all sorts of pottery. Some of it was in really traditional style, and I just had to take some photos here too, of course^^

Japanese pottery dolls!

A wide range of traditional style Japanese pottery

But this is what we came for: The Sakura!

I guess if I had a lot more money and not to mention space to put things there is a chance I would have bought quite a lot of pottery this day. But I resisted it for this time..
The day in the park was really great, meeting both new and old friends and relaxing in the sun was a perfect way to spend the day! I took a lot of pictures, and here I have included some of them:

集合写真！

Entertainment in the park

Sunset and sakura!

In the evening they have light-ups in the park

..and they sell delicious Japanese food too

More pictures of food stands and sakura

The Tower of the Sun seen from behind, along with the sakura flowers

A light-up of the sakura, in different shades of pink and purple.

We stayed in the park until the sun went down, and we could see the park turning in to a light-show with the sakura as the main attraction. After having taken another bunch of photos it was time to return to Kyoto again for this time.. But the sakura season is still not over, so I will be back with some more sakura-related posts in the near future as well..! じゃ、またね！