This time, we had to wake up a little earlier! Meeting up at 10 in the lobby, our day had two plans: head to Unrealfest nearby, and tour the Tokyo headquarters of Cyber Connect 2!

Luckily, Unrealfest was just a few minutes walk away from our hotel, at the Akihabara Sumitobo Fudosan building. Right next to Mandarake! It was quite a small venue for a convention, but since it was marketed specifically towards a Japanese audience, it was very understandable.

There, I walked around the expo floor and took a look at a few games. My personal favorite was the Cyberpunk inspired game called Ukiyo! Although the frame rate was certainly low, the visuals and background art were absolutely stunning. Very neat! There was also a small games competition going on with the theme of the Japanese word “かける”, kakeru. It’s a word with so many meanings that I think it’s perfect for a game jam theme!

Stephen was also kind enough to introduce me to a company that specializes in a lot of Tech Art related fields. Perfect for what I’m looking at! I’ll definitely look into it a bit more.

Right after, I went to a panel on the visual style of Hi-Fi Rush, and the technical artistry that went into the game. It was even a bit hard to understand for me, and I know the language! Nevertheless, it was really interesting, and I was able to talk to the presenters afterwards and introduce myself. My first time introducing myself professionally in Japanese! Words came out of my mouth so fast I could barely believe it, haha.

Afterwards was a small lunch break before we were all headed to Akihabara station. Wandering around, I stumbled into a Tully’s Coffee, where I had some pasta and some banana cheesecake! You can tell I’ve become addicted to Japanese sweets, as I got a glazed croissant donut immediately after. Best donut I ever had.

Finally, to the station! Headed back to Ōimachi station (Hey! That’s where I met my host family!), we were hit with absolutely torrential weather. After all, a typhoon was headed its way to the country. Still, lots of inside out umbrellas and soaked shoes later, we finally made it to the company headquarters.

It was quite a fashionable office, and we were immediately introduced to the titles lined up in the center! We were them led to a little presentation about their company, and what they did. It was quite interesting how they made an effort to assign people to the projects they’re truly passionate about, or the franchises they love. Their encouragement to engage with media and fiction was also very admirable! You can tell the people there had passion.
Nevertheless, I’m always wary with crunch and worker treatment. There were a few reddish flags, but nothing that would completely put me off of working there. In the end, I think it would be a really neat place to work! Everyone was very kind, and I’m glad I was able to see the insides of a place like that.

Welp! Back to typhoon weather, haha. Originally, I had planned to go to the Jojo Bar in Nakano today, however with the fatigue and train delays, we decided on retiring the day early. Plus, an evening to process the trip was definitely in order.

After a small nap at the hotel, a few of us arranged to go to a Rotating Sushi place nearby! The Sushiro just a few minutes away seemed good, and I was excited to go to a place like this again!

Sadly though, my hopes were just slightly dashed when I saw that there was no sushi up for grabs on the conveyor belt any more. Turns out there was an incident a while ago of some complete idiot deciding to wipe his saliva all over some sushi and the table’s utensils, and it caused such a public stir that now the only option is made-to-order. The main conveyor belt was now nothing but a stream of salt, wasabi, and ads.

Nevertheless, everyone else seemed to be having fun, which I guess is all I could ask for in a trip I suggested. Turns out I REALLY like tuna sushi here! I also really enjoyed the small little melon sorbet that they offered. Was a pleasant time overall, with only the occasional mishap. (They really should keep towels at each table if there’s a water dispenser for each booth!)

I decided to get some ice cream that was near our hotel afterwards. They had a Hokkaido milk flavor, which really interested me! The ice cream was very heavy, but also moldable. Really neat!

Afterwards, we headed back to our rooms. I personally found the rainy, night-shone Akihabara to be super atmospheric and photogenic, so I took a few videos along the way.

Since we had the rest of the D&D movie to watch, the others came over to finish it up! I’m glad that everyone enjoyed it in the end.

As we all shuffled into our separate rooms, it all really dawned on us that it was the last night together!! Hugs were exchanged, goodbyes as well, and thanks for a wonderful trip together (just in case we couldn’t say goodbye the next day)

I’ll never forget this trip nor group for as long as I live 🙂