Virtual Journal #11: OKIVFES 2025
Tag: Virtual Journal »
Summary
Another refreshing trip in this year’s OKIVFES, with gallery-viewing, games, and mini concerts.
Content
With the never-ending heat in the Philippines, an event came just in time to save me from it: OKIVFES! It was the perfect moment to cool off and relax in Virtual Okinawa once again.
I just went and explored in private instances this time, since I was just taking a quick break from game-making during my time of visit.
I’ll only go through some of the new things that I enjoyed in the event. You can read my OKIVFES report from last time if you want to know more about it in general.
ChimuDon Island, the event’s main area, came into view as your flying bus landed on its sandy shore. It had a very sunny summer vibe (Intense heat not included, thankfully), with flying geometric fish circling around a giant tree called “Gajudrasil”.
The island had a bunch of fun little activities, like drawing on the sand, throwing rainbow balls, and making some free throws from way up high.
There was also a picnic-themed area for special events, with a giant screen and chairs for everyone.
Near the entrance, you can find a simple beach hut themed around the Okitsura anime. The heroines—Hina and Kana—can take your order and prepare a dish for you, moving around and explaining its taste and origin.
There’s quite a few dishes to choose from, and you can interact and eat them inside the hut while resting. Promotional trailers for the anime were present in there as well.
Another interesting area was Yamaha’s booth, which had a giant mountain bike. You can take pictures of your avatar riding the bike with cool poses and backgrounds, as well as visit a separate virtual world where you can apparently experience true trail riding.
I didn’t get to try it, but it sounds like a fun time!
Getting inspired by other people’s designs is what got me into these virtual events in the first place, so I’ve been especially looking forward to the Okinawa Seaside Gallery. It had the same layout as before, with the only difference being the list of artists that they’re showcasing this time.
Some of the illustrations that I liked were Kon’s cute, sweets-filled cat girl, Hamaru’s softly-colored works, and the fashionable Iris-themed lady by Piroshiki.
Okinawa Miku Snap was the Hatsune Miku-themed version of the previous art-filled world, containing a whole new set of artworks related to her. You can even see her waving at you at the starting point!
Based on people posting pictures during the event, it might be possible to see Miku go around with you as you look at the drawings. I’m not sure if there’s a trigger for that or if it’s a live event, but I still had my creative fill as I looked around nonetheless.
I was particularly fond of Tsukigami’s drawing of Miku with a casual summer vibe, the elegant underwater adventure from 841, and the bright and fluffy posing by Kaninoto.
After the gallery-viewing, I went into the music venue: Okinawa Beat Squall. This world had two versions, with each having a different performer: One has Hatsune Miku performing live during the day, while the other has pre-recorded songs by Nema Ui at night.
I didn’t get to watch the former, but being able to experience the latter—even when I was just alone—was probably one of the best moments in OKIVFES for me. Nema Ui performances are just really good…!
I do wish they added some fake audience around at least, since that could still add to the hype, haha. (They did have them at a different world which also had a performance-watching area, though.)
Nema Ui also had a daily radio calisthenics event at her Ashibinaa world, which was designed to be like the place where she usually does her videos and streams.
In there, you can also take pictures, play some goya bowling, or stay inside the house and watch some of her videos.
The rest of the other worlds were pretty much the same as last time I visited, save for a few booths and gimmicks, like watching Eisa recordings in Virtual Kokusai-dori from a past event called “10,000 People’s Eisa Dance Team 2021 Online in Virtual Okinawa”, or making your avatar dance along with some of the event’s guests in Virtual Shurijo Castle.
Speaking of the castle, I did skip the horror-themed world of it once again, so I don’t know if things changed there.
This year, they also made a multiplayer version of it called “Majimun Busters!”, where I assume you can play a thrilling game of tag with others. It wasn’t made to be played alone, so I didn’t get to try that either.
Despite missing a few things, I certainly enjoyed my short vacation in Virtual Okinawa! You can really feel the love that its creators had towards showcasing the beauty of Okinawa as best as they could.
I’m already looking forward to going again next time, maybe even trying to join some of the scheduled live events.