Just returned from a short trip to Jakarta for the Indonesia Japan Expo 2008 www.indonesiajapanexpo.com Programs include fan art demo, cosplay competitions, J-rock Band performances, workshops for origami (Japanese paper folding), Ikebana (Japanese style flower arrangement) demo, Batik (Traditional Indonesian cloth) painting, etc. I enjoyed a pretty cool 3D show of the Shinkansen (新幹線) at the event but missed out the ghost house tho… there wasn’t enough time.

Kohaku

If you’re interested to find out about where to obtain original anime/BL goods in Indonesia, do pop-by this booth in Hall A to find out more. I bought 2 clear files from the booth. One of them is an out-of-print Junjou Romantica file and the other one is from Tsubasa Chronicle. Will post pics later XD

Besides publishing a free magazine on anime/manga/goods and Japanese culture kohaku-mag.com, they also feature an Indonesian online store 8orenji.com that carries only original goods, magazines, figures and doujinshi not easily available in Indonesia. Check it out too. Spend money wisely. Say “no” to bootlegs and buy original! ^^)b

Event Schedule
Name of event: INDONESIA JAPAN EXPO 2008
Date: November 1st – 9th November 2008
Public hours: 10 am – 9 pm
Venue: Hall A,B, Open Space – Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran Jakarta, Indonesia
Organizer: KOMPAS & NIKKEI
Co – Organizer: PT. Dyandra Promosindo

Anyway, the main purpose of this visit was to catch up with my friend Akiyama and fangirl about BL together in person lol~ XD Let’s do it again, girl!

View from my apartment at around 630am (No traffic!)

Jakarta
Security is tight in most areas due to the impending execution of the Bali bombers (wiki). Security checkpoints were setup at the expo and all the shopping malls we visited. It didn’t cross my mind to take photos of that but probably good that I didn’t, in case I was deemed suspicious ^^” But generally, people are pretty much going on with their daily lives, working, studying…

Collage of random pix taken during my stay

Collage Jakarta

Oh but I did forget to take a pix of the taxi we used as our main transport. In any case, if you visit Jakarta, use the taxis managed by Blue Bird Group. They’re the only taxi company that charges by the meter, so you don’t have to go through the stress of haggling prices with the drivers.

And another tip, there’s a service charge of 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah (approx US$9) at the airport when you check in for departure, so don’t spend all your money before you fly.

While waiting to board my flight, I bought an item at a shop inside the airport that I can use as souvenir and prop for my 1/6 action figures. No hints. I’ll be keeping that a secret first ;)

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