Life Lately: Pikachu Outbreak + Yokohama Triennale 2017 + Summer Sonic 2017

Hello!!! August was a  busy month for me- too much work (daily full-time and part-time) and too many events! Not complaining, though. I love being busy as long as I have time for myself and people I value, too. 

Anyway, I've been to three events (as you can see from this post's title haha) that I had been very giddy about the past months. Without further ado, here they are~

✧Pikachu Outbreak 2017, Yokohama Day 1✧

Been meaning to go to this annual event last year with the beau but due to some forgotten reason, we weren't able to go. So this time, the beau being a Pokemon addict, insisted we go this year. And so we did! We were very lucky we were able to see the dancing Pikachus at Queen's Square, the marching Pikachus near MARK IS, and lotsa tiny Pikachus with Mimikyu in front of Sakuragicho Station. We were also able to bring home some paper Pikachu hats and stamps given at Minatomirai Station yay! Of course, we played Pokemon Go until nine in the evening and I got lotsa Mimes and other 2nd gen Pokemons!!!

Dancing Pikachus at Queen's Square

Free Pikachu hat given out at Minatomirai Station

Ate at an Italian restaurant near Dockside Garden! Their pasta and pizza were goood! Forgot the name of the resto, though~

Cosmo World as shot near the port. 

Lovely cotton candy skies~

Availed of one of the many purikura services inside Cosmo World ♡

There was a Pokemon Go Park near Pacifico Yokohama and there were lotsa Mimes up for grabs! For this particular event, they scattered Mimes in Yokohama- it was a limited Pokemon only found in Europe, as Kangaskhan can only be caught in Australia.

Roamed around Isezakicho and found this pretty alley~

Our second day in Yokohama was reserved for the next event but the beau and I weren't able to resist the cute Pikachu balloons in front of Sakuragicho Station. Plus, there was a mini Pikachu parade of sorts featuring Mimikyu (I don't have a photo, though)!

Chanced upon a marching parade in between Yokohama MOA and MARK IS!!! So cute!!!

If you are in Japan during summer and if you happen to love Pokemon, I suggest you go! You'll get your Pokemon/Pikachu fix and you'll also get to see Yokohama's beauty. Whenever friends ask me for travel recos near Tokyo, I always include Yokohama in the list. Think, Cosmo World, Yokohama MOA, Yokohama Chinatown, Red Brick Warehouse, Pacifico Yokohama, Cup Noodles Museum, and lots more!!!

✧Yokohama Triennale 2017, Yokohama Day 2✧

The timing was really perfect for me because the Pikachu Outbreak 2017 was held simultaneously with this triennale, an art event which is only held every three years. For this triennale, we checked out three different venues for lotsa art- Yokohama Museum of Art, Red Brick Warehouse 1, and Yokohama Port Memorial Hall. I'm gonna craft out another detailed post for this (I hope I really can haha) soon. This cost me 1,500 JPY when I bought early bird tickets online, which I think is a good deal rather than spending a few hundreds more if I buy on the day of the event. Here are a few of my fave snaps!

Yasss, finally~

Will include details of this and the rest of the photos of the triennale in another post heh~

Fluffyyyyyy~

✧Summer Sonic Tokyo 2017✧

Ahhh this one is my most fave. Been wanting to go to this annual music festival ever since I came across a flyer of it at a convenience store four years ago. Being new to Tokyo, I didn't have any free money to spare for such, let alone a proper job hahaha so yeah you know what happened. Fast forward to this month, I was able to go ~hurrah~!!! However, I got sick by dusk because I was under the heat for a looonggg time (the festivities started before 11AM) and come 5ish in the aft, it suddenly rained!!! It was unfortunate to not be able to watch Black Eyed Peas and Calvin Harris but I was having little chills already so I went home. Anyway, there's still next time. I'd surely go again! For now, here are some snippets I've managed to save~

Centerpiece at Makuhari Messe

Huhu yeyyyy~

The beau bugged me so much to see Pikotaro hahaha! Surpisingly, I enjoyed myself! This was the time that I was so amazed by Japanese concert-goers because they actually follow the instructions of the playing artist/band. If the artist tells them to wave their hands in a certain direction or jump even, they'd do so, in unison!!!

Ahhhhh my fave!!! 

Of course, kakigori ❁

Beach stage entrance

Super chill~

Matchy matchy docs♡

Our only decent photo haha!

Thanks to the stranger who took this! Arigatou~

Bradio

Honne yayyyy ♡

One of the rest areas scattered around~

"Where must we go?"

Kinda lengthy but thanks for reading! But hey, how was your August? Any exciting things you were up to? Don't hesitate to share them below! ♡

Life, Lately: Touristy Things, Creative Outlets, and Reasons

Heyaaaa! Long time no Life, Lately! Been a little worn out with work and whatnot these past six weeks that I can barely blog! I admit, I've been really sucking at time management and project juggling lately but I'd like to think I'm busy due to worthwhile reasons, ha. *wink*

Reasons, reasons, reasons.

Oh, reasons, let me begin~

Reason Number 1: I've been playing tourist whenever I go out with my beau or with friends. Japan has so sooooo much to offer when it comes to this area that even if I've been living here for four years now *yay*, I still find bits and pieces of the country interesting. It's as if it won't run out of spark, maybe not now, maybe never. Geez, even manhole covers are pretty in my opinion!!! That's how charmed I am of Japan 笑笑

1.1. Interesting cafes and restaurants are everywhere, from main roads to little nooks, ah just everywhere~

1.2. And oh, did I mention that karaoke places lend costumes for costumers for free? In my whole Japan stay I haven't been in one of those funky costumes until my beau and I impulsively went to a karaoke place one Sunday feeling fancy, touristy, and all, that we had the guts to try those out! Tried it again with friends and it sure made our karaoke experience so lit!!! Would totally do it again! And speaking of costumes, I  even went on a kimono tour in Asakusa with friends (it's also my first time to visit the famed Senso-ji, can you believe it haha)! Touristy level 10000! 

  

Reason Number 2: Work
Full-time and part-time teaching. Need I say more? Honestly, I'm getting a little bored with my proper job lately. Been working at the same old company for some years already so I might need a new environment? A new challenge, maybe? But then I guess my part-time job suffices for the "challenge" I want so I'm still sticking to the routine. I'm thankful that through my part-time job, I get to meet different people, which consequently means I get to know life views other than mine. Fortunately, most of my conversation students are older and more experienced at life than me so they give me lots of views about things, which I find really valuable and useful. They learn from me, I learn from them. And I get some moolah to fund my travels, too. So much win 笑.

Reason Number 3: Getaways

Oh my goodness. I really thought I can stick to the plan of 2017 being my creative year, unlike 2016 which was my travel year. But lo and behold, whenever and wherever a chance presents itself, I grab it. I think it's because of my seemingly desperate need to "escape" everything that stresses me out. Yeah, I get stressed, too. All the time, in fact. And my hair has been playing the very willing victim, oh my. Sorry hair. But yeah, I wish I can make proper blog posts on these getaways soon.

Osaka-Kyoto-Nara New Year Trip | EchigoYuzawa, Niigata | Tokamachi Snow Festival

Atami, Shizuoka | Ashikaga, Tochigi | Nikko, Tochigi

You can read about my Echigo Yuzawa and Ashikaga trip here and here, respectively. But still, sooo many backlogs!!!☹

Reason Number 4: Creative Outlets

This is the reason of all the reasons I think I like the most. I've mentioned from past tweets(Twitter:@alyssashimode) that I kinda decided 2017 as my creative year, you know, finally acknowledging and supporting my love for lists and planning and stickers and paper products and journaling, with open arms. Now I have a daily planner and a goal notebook that I update once in a while and spruce up with washi tapes and stickers I've hoarded since my first year of living in Tokyo until nowww. Also this year, I decided to join in with the bandwagon and document my travels through the Traveler's Notebook. I've been nearing to finish one notebook of travels!!! Yay! Also I started the Eki Sutampu project of mine, the aim of which is to collect train stamps all over Japan, if available. 

I also made two more Instagram accounts besides my main account which is @alyssashimode, namely Nippon Streets @nipponstreets and 6750MILES @6750miles for more digital creative outlets because the previous ones (planner and journals) are a little too personal for me to share online (but sometimes I do for okay things hehe). Nippon Streets is where I post interesting tidbits of the streets I get to walk on every day, while 6750MILES is a collaboration between my friend Greggy and I, wherein we merge snaps of our daily lives in the respective cities we now call home, New York and Tokyo. 

   

// Please pleaseeee follow these accounts and let me know what you, think? //

Your suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated!❤︎

Yayyyy that was looong!!! So many ganaps in my life but I'm thankful that I get to do things I enjoy (well, along with things I don't enjoy doing that much haha)! Thanks for reading this life update! Hope you are doing well today!