So you’ve decided to attend Anime Festival Asia 09. You’ve checked out the VIP Guests list, taken our travel advice to heart, and prepared all the necessary arrangements for attending an international con.
But once you get to Singapore, what else is there to do for the Filipino otaku besides the con? Here are five great ways to experience the city, all within commuting distance to AFA09.
Chinatown
Hop on the train or bus and make your way to Chinatown to visit China Square Central — a mecca of Japanese and Western toys and collectibles in Singapore. Here you’ll find three floors worth of stores that sell everything from My Little Pony to Macross Revoltech Figures. The larger stores accept international credit cards, but cash is generally preferred. Come prepared.
Orchard Road
Okay — so you’re not exactly a fashion victim, so there’s no reason to go to Orchard Road, right? Wrong! The upper floors of Ngee Ann City (Takashimaya) on Orchard Road house one of the the largest Kinokuniya Bookstore branches outside of Japan. Go crazy with their selection of manga, magazines, and artbooks in both Japanese and English. International credit cards are welcome — don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The Singapore Zoo and Night Safari
Who wouldn’t want to go see a big white stripey kitteh? :3 The Singapore Zoo plays host to a number of albino and regularly colored big cats, rhinoceroses, and primates in enclosures devoid of bars and resembling their natural habitats. Next door is the Night Safari — which can get really hairy, especially with the animals ranging so close to the electric trams.
Hawkers Centres and Food Courts
Hawkers centres and food courts are found anywhere and everywhere in this city obsessed by good food. Take your pick from Singaporean, Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other international cuisines prepared fresh and for cheap. My personal favorite is the char kway teow and the curry lahksa. OM NOM NOM NOM.
Little India
If you — like me, are part of a large extended family clamoring for souvenirs with every trip, then Bugis Street in Little India is your best friend. A quick stop there and you’ll soon find yourself up to your eyeballs in key rings, shirts, and other knickknacks. Don’t forget to grab something to eat there, as well — the food is absolutely fantastic!
AFA09 will be held on the 21st and 22nd of November at Singapore’s Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre (Halls 403 – 404). For event schedules and ticketing information, please visit the official AFA 09 website at AFA09.COM.
JPOP Manila 
Boy. Not bad iteneraries.
*Points to “Orchard Road” and “Little India”*
Maybe I’ll go to some of these places (hopefully this November).
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yay another recruit to the AFA09 army
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It’s definitely FOOD first for me. 😀
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hahahah you and rael will get along famously then~
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You should mention Sunshine Plaza. It’s a hot spot in Bencoolen area where in it lies one of the most famous Otaku shops in Singapore, Kareshi Kanojo no Mise.
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Also, there’s a Japanese hotspot called Liang Court as well. It’s a shopping mall with every shop being targetted at the Japanese, or people who likes Japanese stuff. There’s tons of good Japanese food, a branch of Kinokuniya, a goth lolita shop, a Japanese supermarket Mediya and even a crepe store amongst others. Hardcore Otakus prefer to visit this branch of Kinokuniya as the selection of Otaku-related books are more focused in this branch; this is because the Japanese store managers are ALL otakus and really know their stuff!
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great tips @Mycstea — thanks! 😀
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We barely passed Orchard Road when we were there and I want to go back and explore some more. Sese’s sister also said Orchard Road also has hobby shops for board games and other such geekery.
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IDK about orchard road being the place for geekery — TAKASHIMAYA is more of the exception rather than the rule. ah, but if the giant BORDERS BOOKSTORE has board games then it would be a good place to start~
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I will check out all these other places next time. I hoope to find places of geekery aside from places of otakudom. 😀
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actually KINOKUNIYA is also a good place to be if you collect western graphic novels, sci-fi/fantasy, and artbooks
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I think I shall run out of money the next time I go back. XD
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There are some recently launched new shopping mall @ orchard including:
ION ORCHARD – Straight out from Orchard MRT station, you will be greet by this giant shopping mall with 3 basement floor and 5 level of high street fashion brands. The basement food court are modelled after Ginza shopping mall where you can find a lot of japanese related food there.
http://www.ionorchard.com/
Walking further you will see ORCHARD Central located at left exit of Somerset MRT station where also, you will find a very nice building skinned by a lot of LED lights. The shopping mall layout is a bit like Hong Kong style. Visit at night and took the very long escalator up to level 8 ( if i am not wrong) to view the very nice orchard road scene.
http://www.orchardcentral.com.sg/
I believe Orchard road is now in major revamping and during AFA09, is just the good timing to revisit all these shopping malls. ^^V Please bring more ammo yah guys.
Illuma @ Bugis – A very funky X futuristic building design where you can find the first Shabu Shabu Maido Cafe there as well. Affordable price and plus others japanese food. You can also visit a very big arcade game center at the top level plus many other small stalls selling Japanese related merchandise.
Illuma images FYI. =)
That’s all i can remember. Will add more if i recall. 🙂
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brilliant — thanks for the tips, @jim!
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