Pocky Day

December 30, 2014

I am sorry that I took so long to publish this post! Last time I came to Japan again for the 9th time in the past 2 years, so grateful for the opportunity! This time it is by Glico. They invited media [Go Girl, Cita Cinta, and Detik], including 1 blogger, me *shouts happily*



The trip was supposed to be 4 days, 2 days in Osaka and 2 days in Tokyo. I have never been to Osaka before so it's very interesting to see what Osaka offers! I came there for 11-11. 11th November is Pocky Day because 1 represents Pocky sticks. Get it, get it?

So here's the 4 days trip of me, all filled with Pocky and happiness XD



DAY 1

On the first day I arrived at Osaka, I was having different schedule with the media. The media people interviewed the Pocky staffs and do office visit, however for me they specially brought me around Osaka to shop and eat since they knew that it's my first time in Osaka. How thoughtful!


My face was after the Thread Lift and Botox treatment from Dermaster so it's still swollen, I couldn't even smile properly on the first few days T_T Btw that's my make up on the first day! Btw I covered it with foundation but it's still shown through. The 4 dots on the tip of my nose is from the thread lift treatment, it disappeared after a week :)


Went for a quick lunch and get to know everyone before heading out


I smiled as widely as I could lol damn botox, now I know why all the plastic face cannot really laugh widely. Lesson learned! No more botox until the next 10 years I need XD well doesn't matter, it's gonna be gone in 3-5 months. Counting that it was done months ago, I only have 1-3 months left :<


Osaka on that day was pretty nice. The weather was chilly and kinda windy but the sun shone bright. I was staying next to the station and the road wasn't crowd like Tokyo or Jakarta. I love it here


If you watch Hanzawa Naomi, this is the place for Osaka Nishi Bank! It's in fact a mall LOL
They photoshop the video by adding Osaka Nishi Bank billboard, but in fact it's never exist before hahaha so smart one


I said to Glico Staff that I would like to go shopping and looking around Osaka girls styles. She brought me to Hep Five which is like one of the most famous shopping malls there. Around the area, it's surrounded by other malls and shopping streets as well. 

Anyway, turn out that although the women have same level of beauty with Tokyo gals, the men are much more handsome and tall O_O The Glico staff said Kansai guys are taller and manlier and more funny
I spot many ikemens on the street and to be honest I didn't spot as many as that in Tokyo. In Tokyo, I only looked at guys not as many as my fingers lol


Some pictures to represent Osaka street



I didn't intend to shop that much but autumn winter outfits are so CUTE!!
Maybe because I live in tropical island, I hardly have autumn winter coordinate. Also living in this country for my whole year made me careless about the choice of autumn winter outfit

The coat has certain thickness depending on the weather. When people say "oh it's gonna be 15 degree here" then I don't know how cold it is, I just put on any coat that I can find. Later on they say my coat is too thick, so is likewise -___-

But sometimes the degree doesn't help much because there are times when it's not that cold but the wind is so strong and it's so damn chilly. Also there's coat for rain too and there's fur jacket for autumn but also for winter. But for me fur is same la, HOT. Like, why so many coats I don't get it????!!! 

I am still learning about the fashion of autumn winter lol 


In the end I just bought what I like and then surrender to the fate lol


After shopping we went to the famous Ferris Wheel in Osaka! It's very big and tall, mostly famous for couple. The night was mesmerising, however I can't argue that Jakarta has more tall buildings and more lights

Then we went to Japanese Izakaya to have welcome party with all the staffs. Including yakitori and beer and sashimi. But since it's pretty dark and noise [the pictures turn out not very good] and not really entertaining for you so let's all skip to day 2!



DAY 2


We learned about what Japanese [mostly girls] do during Pocky day! They will decorate their own pocky and also play some games, it's basically a home party while eating Glico products
The mini home party was held at one of Glico's staff, and she prepared all the deco items that is edible from cake shop ^.^


If there's a class to make kawaii pocky like this in Indonesia, would you guys be interested?

^___^


The staff provided 2 games, one of it is this Pocky Game where you pick out a stick of Pocky in turn. You lose if you pick a stick that activates "jumping" action as all the Pocky sticks will jump out of the box ^.^


Another one is this game where you slowly take out a stick [that represents pocky] from the group without moving other sticks. I was so concentrated at it LOL


I ate many Glico snacks while playing and decorating my Pocky. My favourite is this!! It's Baton D'or that's a Pocky stick with MORE BUTTER and MORE FLAVOR and MORE COATING that's only available in Osaka [a few shops only]

It's like The God of Pocky!!!!!!
They have variant flavours and the one that I hold was MILK and OMG once you taste this you can feel the richness of flavour spreads inside your mouth. I wanted to buy but usually people had to queue for so long to get them and I had no free time! T___T


PLEASE It's a taste of heaven!!! LOVE IT!!
If you go to Osaka you have to try it ok!!!

At first I was like "meh why so exp [500 yen] for a box of Pocky?"

Then the cheapskate chinese-descendant Stella Lee understood WHY after she tasted it
It's just majorly heavenly amazingly deliciosoooooo~~

Tastes like a snack for rich people lol
You can get it at some big supermarket near cake shop area, only in Osaka!


After that, we moved to Dotonbori!! The most famous street in Osaka! And of course took picture with Glico most famous billboard which becomes the tourist spot in Osaka
I blogged about Dotonbori before HERE


Glico staffs are so thoughtful and the hospitality is superb! They knew that I wanted to try Osaka Takoyaki so much and after I finished shopping there, they had already waited me outside the shop with this fluffy warm takoyaki


500 yen for 10 pieces [2 had been eaten already before the pic lol]
Taste wise, it's amazing!! So fluffy and the take is big and chewy T___T <3


Later on we moved forward to Osaka Castle as well and learned about the historical building of Osaka that was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. I blogged about it full report HERE



After a tight schedule in Osaka, we moved to Tokyo by Shinkansen and had fast dinner before resting at our hotel. That concludes day 2

DAY 3



What is a Pocky Tour without doing Factory Tour? Yes you're right, I had opportunity to visit the Factory located in Saitama and was taught about how Glico became a big confectionary company on that day. The founder of Glico is Riichi Ezaki [ 1882 - 1960 ] and he's the man behind the food that all of you must have eaten before!

The name of Glico comes by the ingredient Glycogen that's supposedly good for body. Riichi Ezaki wants to make a confectionary that is also healthy for human esp young kids, the first product is Caramel Candy with Glycogen in heart shape. We'll come to it later


Glico has several branches all over the world and one of the main offices are located in Indonesia! It is because Glico believes Indonesia is a big market and so they've been here for a while. Glico produces Pocky and Pretz here!

To be honest I didn't know that Pretz was under the same company with Pocky because I thought they're competitors. Turn out that they're sister, or brother (??) lol


The left side of Pocky is the current Pocky and the right side is the first Pocky
Some improvements that they made for the new Pocky are =
  • The box packaging becomes standing up instead of laying down, making it easier to grab it
  • The packaging color is bolder with red as main color to attract attention
  • The stick without chocolate is longer for more convenient handling by fingers
But the chocolate flavours are still same until now, so rest assured!



So this is the first coin machine to buy Glico Caramel Candy back then! Long time ago, kids would insert coins to buy the candy and while for the Candy to come out, a samurai movie in black and white would appear on the screen so they could watch it! O__O

Also the movie was stopped halfway as there were several parts. The interesting idea is Glico made the candy to be enjoyed with your friends or family, so the kids back then would watch it together and buy it one by one [take turn] to watch the movie completely

SMART OR NOT!


It's the first advertising for Glico, super cute!!! <3


Other things that captivate my interest is this guitar in Glico Pose that was used by GLAY [Famous Japanese Musicians] for their concert in Osaka. It was signed by them as well


Unfortunately I never listened to GLAY ^^; #TeamLarcEnCiel lol


We also saw the process of making Pocky and Pretz! As expected of Japanese factory that everything worked so fast, and it's super clean! We were watching the workers behind the glass and even from the outside we could still smell the fragrant aroma!


Look at those amounts of Pocky that are ready to be covered with coatings. YUM!!!


If you come to Glico Factory, they would also give you the special factory edition of PRETZ with their factory mascot XD



Btw we also spotted Glico Wagon parked outside the gate. So cute!


To show more hospitality for us, Glico Team also prepared mini Tokyo City Tour for us to visit Asakusa and Tokyo Sky Tree. I have visited these places a few times, so I was just enjoying the moment and relaxing XD


Asakusa is not far from Tokyo Sky Tree. It is like 5-10 minutes with car. Btw the building near Tokyo Sky Tree that has funny bubble shape in gold is a Beer Company! It represents Beer's bubble and if you read Hi Miiko, it appeared on the episode when Miiko visited Tokyo Sky Tree as well XD


Day view of Tokyo from Tokyo Sky Tree

 

Night view of Tokyo from Tokyo Sky Tree

Which one you like more? ^^


Came to Tokyo Sky Tree in early 2013 when it's just recently built and it was all the same, still crowded ><
To be honest for the first-timer people who come to Japan, I don't recommend visiting Tokyo Tower or Tokyo Sky Tree because in Jakarta there are many high buildings where you can enjoy the view. Especially since the price is kinda steep. Around 1800 yen if I am not mistaken for 1 adult >< and it's kinda far.. However Asakusa is my recommendation to go!


At night we went for Shabu Shabu dinner in Japanese Restaurant


SEE THE MEAT???

It looks like it comes out from picture! The texture and the fat are top notch and it just melts inside your mouth OMG.


And the vegetables accompanying the Shabu Shabu. Seriously the TOFU is the highlight of the meal because it is the best tofu that I have ever had in my life. Not a food blogger so I can't really describe the angel taste inside my mouth, but just very grateful of Glico people to get me these awesome foods ToT


DAY 4


During the last day, we went to Tokyo Station and visited Glico Kitchen where they sell many Glico Products. It also happened to be the Pocky Day, 11th November
We ate some Glico confectionaries at the mini cafe and purchased many Glico products that you cannot find in Indonesia. Unfortunately I have another flight to Beppu after this for job so I didn't shop :(


Btw the spokesperson for Pocky this time is Ninomiya Kazunari from Arashi. Arashi is the top national idol from Japan and they're like super famous!! Also they're my most favourite idol too <3

He's the guy that you see appears on Pocky CM's and billboards and posters and on this picture too lol Btw you see many Pocky packagings ? They have like Panda, Kumamon, and other interesting flavours that is so yummy!! If you want to bring some souvenirs for your friends home when you come to Japan, you can bring this back! :D




They also sell chocolates, biscuits, collon, etc. Basically a heaven for food lovers!



At Glico Kitchen you can also try many other interesting snacks. I can say that I am well-fed by Glico Team because anywhere I go, they always feed me nice foods LOL



Seriously Glico, why after all these nice foods you only bring Pocky and Pretz in limited flavours in Indonesia? BRING MORE PLEASE WE WANT MORE!!!
I, who is not a fond of chocolate, also can say that I want more of your chocolate because the taste is just light and not sickening!!


Pocky in Taro and Matcha Flavors! The Taro flavor is winter-limited edition btw! Price is also not bad less than 200 yen !




During Pocky Day, Glico stores also provided some games and gave out some free merchandises! Like this one I played a game that I sticked down the globe with Pocky-Shape balloon. Because I won I got the Pocky-Shape balloon too! There are also some free gifts for Devil headband because the theme on that time was Ninomiya Kazunari who became devil and didn't want to share Pocky with people around him. 



After we're full, we went to Glico Office in Shinagawa to watch live-streaming of Glico event special for Pocky Day. However the weather was not friendly on that day because it was raining at the area where the event was supposed to be held, hence delaying the event to the day after tomorrow
 Although the main event couldn't be seen by us directly because our tour had ended on that day. The medias were going back to Indonesia and as for me I went to Beppu, Oita for Kokoro no Tomo Pop TV Shooting


It was short and enjoyable and I am very happy that I am invited by Glico!!
Thank you so much to Glico Team and Tsunagu Japan [the one that introduced me to them] for having me and I had the best time with you guys!
Thank you to Indonesian Medias that are friendly and helping and very kind

The trip was very fun and I am happy that I got this opportunity as a blogger
I had known much about Glico and I really hope the company would bring more and more unique products to indonesia



See you guys on my next post!  photo 21_zpsd46e6a3a.png photo 21_zpsd46e6a3a.png photo 21_zpsd46e6a3a.png

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14 comments

  1. Wow I feel dumb, I always thought the brand was called Alico because of the font, not Glico. Thanks for the informative post!!


    http://peeintothewind.tumblr.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. hi stella, i'm your fan, u look stunning girl. may i know what kind of camera did u take those photos. Awesome colorsssss... :)

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  3. Ohh the Pocky games look like lots and lots of fun to play! ^ v ^

    www.thedailydollyblog.com

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  4. the pocky looks adorable <33
    and the beer building on miiko really does look like a poo :')

    cheer, michelle ~ http://livedreammagic.blogspot.com/

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  5. Aaaaahhhh pockiiiiiii>,,,<
    mau pocky matcha like 100 box biar puas makannya:">
    but i still prefer kit kat matcha tho, enak:"">

    Adventure of P-Chaaaan!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. fantastic pictures! I love your nail design very much :)

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  7. Thank you!! I blogged about it before :D

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  8. Kitkat aku doyan yang rum! Boxnya warna biru dan coatingnya itu cokelat putih. YUUUM

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  9. TBH I only knew 1 pocky game before, the one that's played during goukon lol

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  10. I looooveee Pocky!! ^^ http://misskarlina.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete