Christmas is one of my favourite festivals of the year! The lighting decorations everywhere put me in a festive mood even before 25th of December. I am not going to miss out on all the fun! Therefore, I have decided to make a trip down to orchard road with my friends yesterday.

This year’s Orchard Road light up is themed “A Christmas All Decked Out” and showcases fashion as one of the key elements of the famous road in Singapore. It not only attracted the tourists, but many locals as well.

Celebrating Christmas in Singapore
As we are anticipating the arrival of 2010, Christmas comes cruising in. As we are already halfway through December, the Christmas bells chime, summoning joy, happiness, celebrations and awesome parties and events!

Christmas: this special festival is celebrated by millions across the world with joy and happiness. In Singapore, despite the multicultural identity, Singaporeans come together and celebrate Christmas with the same enthusiasm they celebrate their own cultural festivals with.

During this period, Orchard Road and Marina Bay (the two most renowned places for Christmas celebrations) are totally transformed with beautiful decorations and lighting, reflecting the vibrant mood of Christmas.



These exciting performances are special lined up by the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) Organization. Visit their website for more details on organization:
Celebrate Christmas In Singapore.


Christmas shopping destinations in Singapore
Christmas is always associated with shopping. Singapore is an ideal shopping destination. Ranging from trendy outfits to home appliances, all of these are offered at the shopping malls, shopping centers and street side shops found all over Singapore.

Orchard Road is one of the popular shopping destinations in Singapore. It is packed with shopping malls, shopping complexes and eateries.

The following are some of the major shopping venues at Orchard Road:

• Tanglin Mall
• Far East Shopping Center
• Tanglin Shopping Center
• Far East Plaza
• Plaza Singapura
• Wheelock Place
• CK Tangs
• Lucky Plaza
• Wisma Atria
• The Paragon
• Ngee Ann City
• The Heeren

Besides Orchard Road, VivoCity in Singapore is another popular shopping paradise where you can indulge yourselves with branded items.


For more details on Christmas happenings in VivoCity, visit VivoCity website and the list of shopping malls/centers in Singapore can found here.

With that, we would like to wish you Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Reading about the Peranakan Festival fueled my interest to know more about the culture so I decided to go to the Peranakan Museum for a field trip. The Peranakan Museum is located at 39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941.

The museum explores the culture of the Peranakan communities in the former Straits Settlements of Singapore, Penang, Malacca and their other links in Southeast Asia. It is an amazing place to learn about the culture. The museum exhibits the lifestyle of the Peranakans in ten galleries with special programme exhibition introduced throughout the year.

Here are some photos I snapped (some with the help of the security guards!) :

At the Food & Feasting gallery, a wide variety of Peranakan utensils was on display. I noticed that each utensil was designed with detailed and colorful patterns, and I think it would take several hours or maybe days to really study the intricate designs found on these utensils!

An Introduction to Peranakan Heritage.
The Peranakans are the descendants of the early Chinese community who settled in the Malay archipelago back in the 17th century. Peranakan culture is made up by rich blend of the Chinese and Malay cultures with minor influences from the Portuguese, British, Thai, Indian, Dutch and Indonesian cultures.

Over time, the Peranakan community evolved with Chinese traditions and festivals but at the same time showing a strong Malay influence in the food, language and dressing. All in all, the Peranakans have their own unique culture, tradition, cuisine, architecture and lifestyle.

The Peranakan Festival 2009
In Singapore, The Peranakan Association (Singapore) has introduced The Peranakan Festival since 2005, the effort to promote and preserve the Peranakan culture, through more accessible public events.

Now in 2009, The Peranakan Association is continuously aiming to conduct a showcase of Peranakan culture and heritage.


The Peranakan Festival will be held from 27 November to 6 December 2009 with various events happening in various location in Singapore.

The Biggest and Best Babazaar

One of the first few events that kick start the whole festival is "The Biggest and Best Babazaar".

Venue: Singapore Management University (SMU) Concourse
Date: 28th to 29th November 2009
Time: 11am to 6pm
Admission Fee: Free

This event comprises of food and craft fair with over 100 stalls ranging from food and craft demonstrations and special offers, a flea market, a sale of heirloom-quality furnishings and collectibles, art exhibitions, a photography exhibition, information panels on Peranakan history and culture, and many more.

So, Yu Tong and I decided to conduct a field trip to Anime Festival Asia 2009! Okay, we intended to go there all along, but we thought we might as well call it a field trip and draft a report. It gave us an excuse to take many photos. Without further ado! Here are the pictures:



Us arriving at City Hall MRT!





Those were the photos of the entrance before the festival started proper. Yu Tong and I arrived there about 8am, with some friends, and we immediately encountered some cosplayers.

As explained earlier, cosplayers dress up as any character that takes their fancy, and these characters may even be Western in origin. A few more photos of other cosplayers are below.


This isn't a cosplayer, mind you. He is apparently an Internet celebrity known as the Tokyo Dance Trooper, and while we were expecting the appearance of Danny Choo, the appearance of the Dance Trooper was quite unexpected. These photos were taken courtesy of Danny Choo, as we did not get any opportunities to take good photos of the Tokyo Dance Trooper.



We also saw a masterful figurine of an internet sensation, Hatsune Miku, in one of her incarnations as the Black Rock Shooter. Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid, a singing program by Yamaha, who's popularity has risen astronomically in the past three years.

To the point where people cosplay as her.



Various other merchandise was showcased, especially of the renowned series Gundam, by Bandai Entertainment. A cosplay competition was also held, where entrants whose costumes were of exceptional quality would enter and be judged, and the winners of the Grand Prize and the Special Prize would take such prizes as a trip for 2 to Japan!


Coincidentally, this magnificent Gundam cosplayer won both the Grand Prize, and the Special Prize. (The Gundam is the giant robot with the glowing green eyes)


Not so magnificent is this Gundam.

The climax of Anime Festival Asia, Day One! The first part of the I Love Anisong concert, with performances by Shoko Nakagawa, Hatsune Miku, and Ichirou Mizuki. Unfortunately, we were prohibited from taking photographs, so we had to borrow these photos from Dannychoo.com (These photos are under a Creative Commons License by the way, so it's okay). We were unable to find any photos taken of the Hatsune Miku or Ichirou Mizuki part of the concert, but I believe the above photos generally reflect how it went.




Finally, to end the day, Yu Tong and I managed to track down Kaname, a professional cosplayer who is Yu Tong's idol, and we succeeded in getting him to autograph a shirt as Yu Tong's birthday present.


As you can see, the Anime Festival Asia 2009 was a place where one could rub shoulders with celebrities, admire the workmanship of Japanese figurines, experience curious facets of Japanese culture like a maid cafe situated within the convention hall itself, and generally find out more about this aspect of Japanese pop culture.

To begin the first post, we'll have a short introduction of the closest upcoming event, Anime Festival Asia!



The Anime Festival Asia 2009 (AFA) will be held on the 21st (Saturday) and 22nd (Sunday) of November 2009, at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Halls 403-404, and will incorporate Animation Asia Conference 2009. It is one of the greatest and biggest events in South East Asia, which features aspects of Japanese animation and popular culture. Those who are able to appreciate such things are strongly encouraged to come!

However, why go to this festival in Singapore, when one can go to the real thing? A valid question, but if one is unable to speak Japanese with any degree of coherence, then it would be a better idea to attend this festival which is largely conducted in English (I too, am utterly devoid of Japanese language skills).

Tickets are needed for anyone who is 13 years old and above. A one-day pass will be SGD$15 for adults and SGD$12 for students, and a two-day pass will be SGD$25 for adults and SGD$20 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the AFA 09 event or pre-registration (only for a two-day pass though). Cosplayers* and kids under 12 years old do not need a ticket to enter.
*On a side note, pre-registration for cosplayers free admission is closed.


AFA has a wide range of activities for cosplayers, bloggers, otakus, collectors, kids, and anyone who enjoys Japanese culture. With new attractions such as the Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café , staffed by 8 beautiful ladies, and the ‘I Love Anisong’ concert, both of which we will cover below, and plenty of merchandise for the fans:

In addition to that, those interested in artwork will note that AFA will also feature other booths related to things like digital media, and last year, one of our local studios, Imaginary Friends Studios, got to showcase their work!



While these artworks may not always be related to Japanese anime or conform to Japanese art styles, they are still commendable examples of digital artistry, and should you so wish, you can purchase prints of these works from the artists themselves at their booth.

Also, there may even be a section allowing the artistically-inclined to doodle freely! Here are some photos taken of the board from last year.






Highlights of the event:

1. ‘I Love Anisong concert’

‘I Love Anisong’ is a music concert held during AFA 09, with appearances by Shoko Nakagawa, Hatsune Miku, Ichirou Mizuki, Yoshiki Fukuyama, and MAY'N. These guests are either voice actors/actress or singers (except Miku, she's a vocal program), who are famous in Japanese animation world.
Tickets are sold at SGD$188 for a two-day pass and SGD$108 for a one-day pass. Purchasing tickets allows you to stand a chance to get an autograph from your favorite ‘I Love Anisong Artiste’ of your choice. Of course, buying more tickets will increase your chances, which is what I intend to do.
Merchandise is also available online or at their booth during AFA 09. [I Love Anisong shirts!]

2. Danny Choo

Danny Choo is a blogger who lives in Japan, and was awarded the Blogger of “Best Japan Blog” award of 2009. Among his articles, he covers quirks of Japanese culture within Tokyo, interesting updates on Japanese anime and related merchandise, and even tourist attractions in Japan (I must admit though, it is largely about anime and figurines).
Here's his blog!

3. KANAME☆

A professional Cosplayer renowned for his portrayal of Cloud Strife from “Final Fantasy VIl: Advent Children” and Ichigo Kurosaki from “Bleach”. As one of the invited judges of AFA Regional Cosplay Championship at AFA09, the ante of the competition is sure to be ramped up! He will also gain more fans in Singapore (those who haven't heard of him yet at least), and female otaku will almost certainly fall in love with him (I agree! I'm also a fan of his! -YT).
KANAME☆ Profile Page on Cure: http://ja.curecos.com/profile/?ch=72203

4. Moe Moe Kyun Maid Café

This is a new attraction of AFA, as it was not present at AFA last year. It’s a classic maid café with 8 lovely ladies at your service (Their uniforms are those of traditional Western maids mind you! Seeing as Singaporeans might have slightly different idea). Their menu has yet to be revealed, and while the dishes are mostly Western, with few of Japanese origin (ironically), signature dishes such as omu rice (omelette rice), curry rice, and cakes should be part of it.

[On a side note, I think they're selling some merchandise related to the café, some little badges. Unconfirmed yet, but I'll keep you all posted as soon as I find out!]

5. K-ON Experience

K-ON is a Japanese animation series that originated from a four-panel comic strip by Kakifly. There will be a live dubbing (voicing for characters in languages other than the original) session in AFA 09. Fans of the series are sure to find this a treat, as they will get to meet their favorite characters in real life! So to speak, admittedly. But nonetheless, Hisaka Youko! It is like having Mio Akiyama talking to you personally! We might also be able to get their autographs, though this is probably a case of luck.

6. Competitions

There will be a few competitions held during AFA 09; Regional Cosplay Competiton, Bandai World Gundam Competition, Extravaganza 09 and WS World Grand Prix.
This year is the first ever Regional Cosplay Championship in South East Asia. It is a cosplay competition among selected cosplaying teams from countries in South East Asia. Finalists will perform and be judged by a panel of distinguished guests from Japan including internationally renowned cosplayer Kaname☆. Pictures of finalists and details of the competition can be found here. (Just to let you know, cosplayers are people who dress up as their favorite characters from movies or an anime series. I've included some photos taken from last year's Anime Festival Asia).



Bandai World Gundam Competition is a competition where participents have to post their Gundam works online, and judges will determine the winner. The winning piece gets to be displayed at AFA in the form of graphic prints at the Bandai showcase in AFA.

Extravaganza 09 is a major art competition for those who like drawing and designing digital works. This year’s theme is ‘Gaming’, and these works will also be exhibited in AFA.

WS World Grand Prix will comprise of players facing off against each other in the latest hit in anime trading-card games, WS. WS stands for Weiβ Schwarz, which is a type of anime trading game. Players can use heroes and heroines from the latest animes and games to battle against each other in an epic showdown.

7. Bandai Experience Zone

Bandai is the third largest producer of toys in the world. It was founded by Mr Naoharu Yamashina in 1950, and has gone on to become firmly established as Japan's leading general toy manufacturer; the company continues to blaze new trials in various fields of entertainment.
In AFA 09, Bandai has many events and activities catered for everyone. Kids can enjoy their day at Bandai Kids Land where there are special activities for them. Bandai is also giving away free Ben10 toys for kids who registered for Bandai Kids Land.

Bandai will also launch new products at AFA 09, such as Harumika, Power Rangers Jungle Fury (the sixteenth and latest version), Gunpla, and the Battle Spirits Trading Card Game.

In addition to this, the latest technology in sound recognition systems will be introduced in the form of Joysound, a karaoke system that can select scenes from various shows or animes, and then allow you to use your voice to dub that particular scene, or even do covers of your favorite songs!

These are the highlights for now. New events will be added at the official AFA 09 site (http://www.afa09.com/index.html) as the date approaches.

AFA 09 has special accommodations and hotel packages for foreign visitors. For more information visit the AFA site for overseas visitors.