📕🌺 Yumykon Time (trip version) ~ (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm finally taking some time to tell you all about my trip and share some photos I took.

I'm a little sad that I didn't take many photos of things, partly because I was so happy and enjoying so much that I couldn't even think about taking photos and also because I'm not used to taking pictures of everything. But I have some to show you!

So, on the 25th, I started the day by packing my things and preparing some snacks for the bus trip, which was going to take 4 hours and 30 minutes. At 11 PM, I went to the bus station to catch the bus. It was a good trip! Cause it was cold, so I managed to sleep the whole night. The trip ended up taking 6 hours instead of 4 due to traffic, so I arrived on 26th morning.

Arriving in São Paulo, I checked-in into the Airbnb and after I went to meet a friend, Nozaki-chan ~

 
She recently arrived from Japan, and I was very excited to meet her. We went for a walk in a place in São Paulo that has a huge Japanese-Brazilian community. We walk around various places and ate at a cool ramen restaurant with a Hello Kitty theme LOL.

After that, we strolled through several geek, otaku, and Asian culture spots. We had ice cream, then milkshakes, then bubble tea until it got dark, and we went to have dinner at a nice place that served tonkatsu.

Besides all these cool places we went together, what made me happiest was the strong connection we had. I had never felt so close to someone in real life as I did with her, and she was so affectionate with me that I can't describe the explosion of feelings I had 💕

I was so happy to have spent time with her that I didn't was ok with just that day, so I invited her to come to the Airbnb I had rented to stay with my friends. For a moment, I was worried that I might be being too hasty or intense. But she accepted and said she was very happy to spend more time together, she even cried. 😭🥺💜

So, we went to the Airbnb, and after we arrived, the rest of my friends also arrived. The Airbnb was very cool, modern, and comfortable. On that first day, we watched quizzes on games, anime, and cartoons on YouTube and competed to see who knew more about everything. Even though I miserably failed at the quizzes, it was a lot of fun, and we kept doing that until everyone passed out from sleep.

The next day, early in the morning, everyone got ready to go to Gamescom Latam. I dressed up in my Ada Wong cosplay ~

and Nozaki-chan dressed an Ash costume from Pokemon that we bought for her before ~

Again, we had a lot of fun doing all sorts of silly things at the event. We went hunting for free goodies, participated in games at some stands, bought lots of stuff from the artist alley, tested various indie games, and talked to game developers.

While we were doing all these things, I was constantly stopped by people to take photos. Sometimes I was startled because people would come close and start taking photos with me without asking. o_o But it was fun anyway! And every time someone took a photo with me, I handed out stickers and my business card. I ran out of everything I produced at this event! ✨

I also felt very happy that Nozaki-chan walked around the event holding my arm. She is so caring and concerned about me... She always asked if I was tired, if I wanted water, etc.

At the event, my friends and I had a hard time finding a table for all of us to sit together and eat. But we used a strategy to get one. Since there were several dining areas, each of us split into squads to look for free tables. If one was found, that person would sit and protect the table and chairs, send a message to the other squads, and they would immediately run to the location. An easy mission for us. 😎

After breaking the system, we enjoyed a delicious (and overpriced) burger.

At the end of the event, all of us 25-year-old seniors started feeling intense leg pains from walking around so much, so we left an hour early while it was still easy to get an Uber.

Back at the Airbnb, the plan was to play board games until we passed out. The game of the night was Dead of Winter, a zombie apocalypse survival game where everyone must fulfill their responsibilities to contribute to the colony. And, of course, exile the traitor if there is one.

The game is extremely fun, and I have never loved a board game so much. Unfortunately, our friend Gabriel is a psychopath who revealed himself to be a traitor at the last moment and destroyed our entire colony... 💀

We had so much fun and goofed around to the point of breaking a glass at the Airbnb. Fortunately, when we contacted the Airbnb manager, he was nice and said we didn't need to worry about it, we just needed to clean it up.

The next day was basically the same as the first day of the event, with the only difference being that at the end of the event, instead of Nozaki-chan coming back to the Airbnb with us, she went back to her house. We hugged for so long that I wondered if someone had glued us together as a joke... But yeah, it was dealing with the feeling of having had such a happy moment with her while also feeling a sense of preemptive mourning knowing that I might not see her again soon, so we stayed hugged for a long time, saying sweet things to each other and crying a lot. Today, after the trip, I still feel the pain of that hug so much that I'm considering going back to São Paulo soon for my birthday (August 18) so I can see her one last time before she returns to Japan.

What happens after that, I don't know. All I want is to live near her, but I don't believe it's possible. Anyway...

The next day, my friends and I went to eat at a luxury sushi restaurant that has a Michelin star and is located in the richiest place of the country.

I must confess that I felt a bit out of place there, a poor Japanese artist among a bunch of millionaire businessmen is somewhat disconcerting.

But anyway, it was really fun to mess around, enjoy ourselves, and annoy rich people. We enjoyed the luxury restaurant in our own way and ate a lot of extremely delicious food.

By the way, the restaurant had a lot of luxurious features, huge statues, and even a gigantic Buddha statue... but the music playing was Western pop. I found that simply bizarre. LOOOOL.

Where's the Japanese music? Or at least something Asian... even K-pop would have been acceptable.

But I really can't understand the connection between Adele and The Weeknd with Japan. 🤪

After that, we went back to the Airbnb, and the last days of the trip were spent staying in the Airbnb playing Nintendo Switch, board games, YouTube quizzes, and a tabletop RPG about criminal investigation that a friend of mine created. Food resources provided by Uber eats. 😎

I had very happy moments with all of them and especially with Nozaki-chan, who touched my heart in a very intimate way. I'm sad that in a few months she will return to Japan and my friend Gabriel will go to Canada.

I really want to take a new trip soon to see both of them before they leave for a long time.

My most important life goal is to develop games and create things for people. But if I could define something else that is important in my life too now, it's making friends and seeing them smile. I think I would have a fulfilling life being able to see them every day and have fun with them.

With this trip, I think I gained more motivation to work hard... now for my friends too. I want to be able to have them with me always and maybe even work on the same things together someday.

So... I remain determined! 🔥

Thank you for reading, know that all of you are equally important to me.

After all, I don't think I would have been able to do all this without the success you all provide me every day. ✨

Love you all! 💕