Pokémon Go: Finding The Elusive Farfetch’d

Those who play Pokémon Go will know about the region exclusive Pokémon and that Farfetch’d can only be found in Asia. However, confirmed sightings seem to only be in countries like Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, much to the dismay of fans in South East Asia.

We managed to find this wild duck in both Hong Kong and Japan. Read on if you want to find out the exact locations…

A well-known nest site in Hong Kong is at Signal Hill Garden and we had originally planned to check it out, but when my hubby found it on the radar in our hotel room at Sai Ying Pun (in late-Aug 2016), he immediately put out an incense and managed to catch it!

Source: Google Maps

I hadn’t installed the game then and since the man was happy with just catching one Farfetch’d, we ditched our plans to go to Signal Hill Garden as we had a tight sightseeing schedule.

About two-and-a-half months later, we found ourselves on a plane to Kyushu, Japan for a 6-day trip and this time I had the game installed!

What luck! On the first day after I had checked into the hotel in Fukuoka and was taking a rest before going out for dinner, I spotted Farfetch’d in my room and had just caught it using a Great Ball, but just when it was in the process of determining whether I had successfully captured it, the GPS went into error! Argghh…it turned out that the GPS signal wasn’t good in the room and I then rushed down to the hotel lobby as the signal is more stable there. I could still see the shadow of Farfetch’d on the radar, but no matter how much walking around and even with the use of incense, there was still no sign of Farfetch’d re-appearing and it soon disappeared from the radar after 30min.

Source: Google Maps

This was somewhere between two Pokéstops, which are located just across from the JR Hakata station.

    

My second chance appeared at Kijima Kogen Park, where I had spotted Farfetch’d on the radar about 75 minutes before closing time (the park closed at 5pm that day).

Initially it was at number 5 on the radar and as we walked around, it went to number 4 and eventually was number 1 on the radar, but it started to rain! However, even when I put out incense, that elusive Pokémon still refused to appear! Unfortunately, we had to leave to catch the last bus back to our hotel at 16:11 and so didn’t manage to find Farfetch’d. 😦

By this time, it was 2 days before we were due to leave Japan and I was wondering if I was going home empty-handed. At the end of our bus trip that day (we had spent the day sightseeing) and when we alighted at the Yufuin Bus Terminal, my hubby said he had spotted Farfetch’d on the radar and soon after, it immediately appeared on his screen! He was extremely pleased with himself that he had caught his second Farfetch’d, although it was his very first one in Japan.

As for me, this Pokémon was still hiding itself from me! I could see it on the radar, but it still did not appear (imagine the frustration!) and so I started walking around the surrounding area. With only 6 Poké Balls left in my inventory (the nearest Pokéstop was a 4-min walk away), I was beginning to think that my chances were dwindling… and then I finally spotted it around the corner of a souvenir shop, which was between the bus terminal and the train station!

Finally, I caught it with 3 Poké Balls to spare but I didn’t take any pictures prior to the capture as I didn’t want to risk my chances after the first 2 failed attempts.

This was the area in which we had caught Farfetch’d (note that there are no Pokéstops at the bus terminal and train station).

Source: Google Maps

All the sites that we had personally spotted Farfetch’d don’t seem to be nests. We had spent about 10 days in Hong Kong and only spotted it once and subsequently 6 days in Japan with 3 sightings, of which I think the chances in Japan seem to be much higher! Hope you’ll have better luck if you’re out hunting in North Asia! ^_^

Pokémon Research Exhibition at S.E.A. Aquarium

Pokémon fans may be thrilled to visit the Pokémon Research Exhibition, which is being held for the first time outside of Japan, from 22 Oct 2016 to 2 Jan 2017 at the S.E.A. Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa. You can also get to meet Pikachu there!

Upon entering, you will be given a briefing by the research assistants in lab coats and basically you have a mission to accomplish at this exhibition and that is to identify the Pokémon hidden in a Poké Ball.

You can choose only one Poké Ball out of the three difficulty levels – the red Regular Poké Balls (easy), the blue Great Balls (medium) and the yellow & black Ultra Balls (hard).

I don’t have much knowledge about Pokémon apart from watching some episodes from the cartoon series in the past and playing Pokémon Go, so I selected an “easy” ball.

There are 7 interactive stations in total, where you can pick up clues to try to identify the mysterious creature contained within your Poké Ball. However, note that you can only pick 4 out of the 7 stations to receive your clues, so do choose wisely as to which ones you think will be able to provide the most details for you to accomplish your task!

Place your Poké Ball at the slot on the machine to begin the analysis.

Remember to pay close attention to the given clues, as the machines will not provide you with the details a second time (haha…occupational hazard and I was “testing” their system!)

Took a short breather for a photo with this giant inflatable Pikachu.

When you’ve finally obtained your 4th clue, you will be prompted by the machine to make your final deductions and head over to the “Goal” for the answers.

I decided to go check out the Pokédex wall to see if I could find more clues to help me identify the Pokémon in my Poké Ball. More than 700 Pokémon are featured on both sides on the wall. Unfortunately, after scanning through all the pictures, I was still clueless!!

I could swear that this Totodile was laughing at my incompetence!

Ok, I gave up and headed for the last station and to my surprise, the answer was automatically given without me having to key in my guesses!

What in the world is this Pokémon? I’ve never ever seen or heard of it!

Unfortunately, all Poké Balls cannot be kept as souvenirs and have to be returned just before you exit from the exhibition, so please leave them at the trays.

The highlight for me at this exhibition was meeting Pikachu and trying to catch him and bring him home! LOL!

Pikachu Appearance: Daily at 11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm

Venue: Inside Pokémon Research Exhibition & S.E.A. Aquarium – B1 Entrance Atrium (2:30pm session)

Those of you who are interested in visiting this exhibition, do know that an admission ticket to the S.E.A. Aquarium is required and there is an additional admission fee for the Pokemon exhibition on top of the aquarium ticket. S.E.A. Aquarium Annual/Season Pass Holders can enter at no additional cost.

Dates: 22 Oct 2016 to 2 Jan 2017.

More details on tickets and pricing can be found at the Resorts World Sentosa website.

My Melody and My Sweet Piano Cafe「マイメロディ＆マイスウィートピアノカフェ」

This pop-up cafe at Shibuya is open for a limited time from 19 March to 31 May 2015 and I jumped at the chance to check out the cafe during my recent holiday as I love cute character-themed food! ^_^

Be mentally prepared to queue to dine here! Customers are only allowed about an hour to dine-in. We queued for almost 90 minutes (this was on the weekend) before we eventually got a table!!

Capsule machines (gachapon) containing limited edition items, as well as a seal printing machine which can print your name on My Melody and My Sweet Piano designed stickers, can be found just outside the cafe.

Before you are led to your table, there is a photo opp available at the entrance of the cafe. Several props and accessories can be found in a basket by the side and you can use them for your photo.

It looked a little too cutesy for my age but I gave it a go anyway! :p

  

The decor was quite simple and there was one table where “lucky” customers get to sit with giant My Melody, My Sweet Piano and Kuromi plushies as their dining companions.

This was the table setting and you are allowed to take the paper placemats with you when you leave.

We were shown this just before the menu was passed to us. Okay…so we may be served dessert before everything else…

Menu (in Japanese only):

I’m listing the food/drinks that we ordered in the sequence that they arrived at our table…

Strawberry Milk 「いちごミルク」 – ￥780
This beverage was topped with cute My Melody and My Sweet Piano images, with two pink chocolate hearts and a chocolate flower served by the side. I took a sip and was in strawberry bliss! ^_^ (FYI – the drink contains strawberry bits)

My Melody Latte 「マイメロディラテ」 – ¥680
Cute but the foam started sinking after it sat for a while at the table. This also came with chocolate candies by the side.

Souvenir coasters (i.e. you can take them home) came with our drinks, but we kept them and didn’t use them.

My Sweet Piano’s Sweet Dessert Pizza 「マイスウィートピアノのスウィート❤なデザートピザ」 – ￥1,280
When this arrived, I was wondering if they had forgotten about our main courses and served us dessert right away! However, we were already informed earlier that dessert could possibly be served before the other dishes…

Gosh…this was a HUGE dessert with a big fluffy cloud of pink cotton candy which made up My Sweet Piano’s head, accessorized with 3 pieces of chocolate flowers.

Its base was a chewy mochi-like pizza, topped with blueberries and a strawberry compote, which wasn’t too sweet. The face and ears were actually biscuits and they tasted like shortbread. If you like berries and sweet stuff, this would be the perfect dessert for you! I felt it was sweet enough and thus I didn’t drizzle on the additional syrup which was provided.

By the time the main courses arrived, they were rather lukewarm so we didn’t really enjoy eating them. I suppose it’s kind of expected at such cafes that the food art/food presentation will supercede everything else?

Both curries each came with a glass of salad, served on the side.

My Sweet Piano Vegetable Curry Rice 「マイスウィートピアノベジタブルカレー」 ¥1280
The curry wasn’t piping hot, probably since it was only a thin layer on the plate and the plating may have taken a while to complete. It did look cute though, with the cauliflower florets and potato mimicking My Sweet Piano’s hairstyle, complete with edible flowers. This was a vegetable curry and its flavour was quite light and pleasant. The ears are actually pieces of bread, which can be used to wipe up the remaining curry at the end of your meal (i.e. use it to wipe the plate clean!)

My Melody Chicken Curry Rice 「マイメロディチキンカレー」 ¥1280
This curry like the earlier one, was almost cold by the time it got to the table. Similarly, Melody’s ears were also pieces of bread. The curry has a stronger, meaty flavour (cos this is chicken curry) so its taste definitely differs from the earlier vegetable one. There were pieces of chicken hidden under the “ears” and they seemed to have been marinated with some spices (a bit like chicken satay). Edible flowers came with this dish and they provided different flavours which added an extra fragrance to the curry.

There is a souvenir shop at the cafe which sells My Melody and My Sweet Piano merchandise, as well as limited edition goods only available at this cafe!

 

Being a foodie, the only “merchandise” that I bought was this box of donuts (available for takeaway only) and limited quantities are being sold daily.

「カフェ限定 テイクアウトドーナツセット」 – ￥800
マイメロディとピアノちゃんの特製ドーナツ２個セット♪

They were a little cake-like and weren’t too sweet. I liked the crunchy bits on Piano’s head. Not only did the donuts look cute, they tasted good too!!

Verdict:
If you are into food quality and taste, the desserts (including the takeaway donuts) and beverages are good, but the main courses may not be worth the money that you’re paying for them! However, if you enjoy photographing cute food, then you might overlook the value-for-money part – well, it’s not everyday that you get to dine at such a place!! :p

ADDRESS:
THE GUEST cafe & diner
Shibuya PARCO PART-1, 7th floor
15-1 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0042, Japan.

My Melody and My Sweet Piano Cafe will only be open for a limited period.
Dates: 19 March 2015 to 31 May 2015
Opening Hours: 11:00 ~ Last Order(Food) 22:00 / Last Order(Drinks) 22:30

Enquiries: 03-3477-5773　 （THE GUEST cafe＆diner)

Bandai Character Street「バンダイキャラクターストリート」 in Tokyo

If you love taking pictures with statues, one of the places you can visit is the Bandai Character Street, just outside of the building which houses the Bandai Head Office, which is located near Asakusa and you can find characters from various anime and TV games on display.

Anpanman「アンパンマン」 certainly looks eager to welcome visitors to this place!

I had previously heard that on rainy days the staff will dress the characters in raincoats and when I visited (it so happened to be raining that day!!), I discovered that some characters had preferential treatment while the others were left to soak in the rain! :p

Mametchi「まめっち」 from the Tamagotchi anime series

Primopuel「プリモプエル」

Doraemon「ドラえもん」

Ultraman「ウルトラマン」

Kamen Rider「仮面ライダー」

Common Frog from the Frog Style Family「フロッグスタイル」

Cinnamoroll「シナモロール」

The rain somewhat dampened my spirits, but I eventually decided to abandon the shelter of my umbrella and have my picture taken with Pac-Man「パックマン」, one of my favourite game characters when I was growing up. (and yes, I ended up a little drenched after…)

Address:
BANDAI Co., Ltd Head Office「バンダイ本社ビル」
〒111-8081　東京都台東区駒形1-4-8
1-4-8, Komagata, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 111-8081, Japan.
[Map]

Getting There:
・ 3-min walk from Asakusa Station (exit A1) on the Subway Toei Asakusa Line.
・ 5-min walk from Kuramae Station (exit A5) on the Subway Toei Oedo Line.
・ 8-min walk from Asakusa Station (exit 4) on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.
・ 10-min walk from Asakusa Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line.

Tokyo – for Gundam fans

Any Gundam fans out there? Those of you who are crazy about the anime will probably want to visit some or all of the places listed in this post.

I personally am not a Gundam fan but I went to check out some of the places just to tempt a colleague (who’s a die-hard fan of the anime) to visit Tokyo as he hasn’t visited Japan yet!

My adventures took me to DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, which is located at the Odaiba area (one of my favourite places to explore) in Tokyo.

You can pose for pictures with a giant statue from the Gundam anime which resides at the plaza outside the mall.

This is how the statue looks from the back.

There are several performances (FREE!) scheduled daily in the evenings where the statue comes to life (well…sort of) and there are video projections on the screen behind.

Two different shows were scheduled on the evening when I visited – 「GUNDAM Chime みんなのメロディ」 and 「GUNDAM STAND at Jaburo 哀・天使編」, so I decided to watch both (since the shows are free anyway) and record them on video for my colleague. ^_^

「GUNDAM Chime みんなのメロディ」 – this has since been replaced by 「RISE！」 from 26th April 2014 onwards.

In the evenings, the statue will be lit up daily from 18:00～23:00.

Performance Timings
During the day performances, the statue’s head will move and some mist will be released from the statue.
12:00 / 15:00 / 17:00

「RISE！」(approx. 5 min 30 sec） – this show started since 26th April 2014.
20:00 / 21:00

「GUNDAM STAND at Jaburo 哀・天使編」（approx. 13 min）
19:30 / 20:30 / 21:30

For those who may be interested, here’s a video of the show:

Gundam Café
Opening Hours: 10:00～21:00
Located on the 2nd floor of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, this takeaway-only cafe sells Gundam-inspired food items, including lattes with coffee art depicting various Gundam characters. There is also a variety of gifts available at the shop.

Other Gundam Cafes located in Tokyo can be found at Tokyo Station and Akihabara and both these locations allow you to dine in.

Finally, the hardcore Gundam fan certainly won’t want to miss a visit to Gundam Front, a museum dedicated to the anime and this is located on the 7th floor of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza (admission charges apply).

For those who want to take another step further to complete their Gundam experience in Tokyo, Gundam themed rooms can be found at the Grand Pacific Le Daiba hotel so you may want to check that out!

Getting There:

• Take the JR, Tokyo Metro or Toei Subway to Shimbashi「新橋」station, then take the Yurikamome「ゆりかもめ」monorail (15 min) to Daiba「台場」station and it is a 5 min walk to Diver City.
• Take the Tokyo Metro to Toyosu「豊洲」station, then take the Yurikamome「ゆりかもめ」monorail (16 min) to Daiba「台場」station.
• Take the JR or Tokyo Metro to Shinkiba「新木場」station, then take the Rinkai Line「りんかい線」to Tokyo Teleport「東京テレポート」station and it is a 3 min walk to Diver City.
• Take the JR to Osaki「大崎」station, then take the Rinkai Line「りんかい線」to Tokyo Teleport「東京テレポート」station and it is a 3 min walk to Diver City.

Ghibli Museum (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館)

After watching a number of movies by Studio Ghibli, I was curious about the Ghibli Museum and thus asked my Japanese colleagues about it. As they haven’t been there themselves, several of them decided to make this a group outing….haha… (if nobody had initiated this topic, they wouldn’t have thought of going)

Entrance to the Ghibli Museum is strictly by advance purchase of a reserved ticket which specifies the appointed date of the reservation. Tickets for each month up to three months ahead will be sold from the 1st of every month (check the details on the Ghibli Museum website).

If you have difficulty in getting tickets to the Ghibli Museum, JTB can help you with the ticket reservations or suggest a 1-day tour package.

Official Ghibli Museum website – http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/

We bought our reserved tickets from one of the LAWSON convenience stores in Japan. You really need to ensure that you buy the tickets on the 1st of the month cos they sell out fast!

There are only 4 entrance timings daily as part of the crowd control measures enforced by the museum.

You will need to arrive at the museum within 30mins from the appointed time, otherwise if you miss the timeslot given, you will not be allowed admission to the museum.

Signpost providing directions to the Ghibli Museum. 可愛いね！

Entrance to the museum.

When you purchase your museum ticket, you are given a paper ticket/voucher to be exchanged for the admission ticket (filmstrip ticket) which is only given upon entrance to the museum.

Each admission ticket contains part of a filmstrip from one of the Ghibli movies – how cool is that?!

You aren’t allowed to take any photos inside the museum, thus the only pictures you can take are of the exterior of the museum and the rooftop.

MUSEUM EXTERIOR

Ticket booth with Totoro as the ticket collector… (note: this is mock-up of a ticket booth)

Spiral staircase (shaped like a birdcage) leading up to the rooftop.

Another view of the spiral staircase and the rooftop.

ROOFTOP

You can find the robot from Laputa: Castle In The Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) on the rooftop of the museum.

One of the cubes from Laputa: Castle In The Sky (天空の城ラピュタ).

まっくろくろすけ (makkurokurosuke) – a.k.a. Soot balls. If you are a Ghibli fan, you should know what they are!  とても可愛いね！

You can find the entire place decorated with items related to the various Ghibli films.

Souvenir items from the Mamma Auito gift shop

I bought a set of bookmarks which were made using filmstrips from the various Studio Ghibli movies. However, you won’t know which frames you will get as they are wrapped in brown paper and you can’t peek to see what’s contained inside. This can be a little annoying especially if it’s not from your favourite scene in the movie.

Bookmarks made from filmstrips from Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し).

Bookmarks made from filmstrips from Kiki’s Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便).

THOUGHTS

The storyboards from the Ghibli movies which were on display in the museum were quite interesting to look at.

I think the best display in the museum was the zoetrope. It was so magical to watch the Ghibli character figurines come to life! Too bad they didn’t allow photography or videography inside the museum. However, I can find some videos of this on Youtube – not sure how they managed to secretly film it cos the staff on duty do watch you and stop you if you attempt to use your camera.

Since then, Pixar has borrowed the concept from Ghibli and has created a similar zoetrope but instead featuring the Toy Story characters and you can see this at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Overall, worth a visit if you are familiar with Studio Ghibli’s works and it is also a good place to kill time on a rainy day.

Godzilla in Tokyo!

Hah! I managed to track down Godzilla at Hibiya in Tokyo…

He was quite elusive and difficult to find initially and I had to walk several blocks before I eventually spotted him!! LOL…

This statue is located next to Hibiya Chanter (actual name: “Toho Hibiya Building”).
The Toho movie company created Godzilla and this explains why there is a statue outside the building.

Before you start getting excited over the picture above, here’s the actual size of the statue: (^o^)

Pokemon Center Tokyo

Heard there was a Pokemon Center in Tokyo and decided to drop by just to satisfy my curiosity…

Heh heh… here’s a picture of me holding up a sign to direct people to the Pokemon Center! LOL…