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| Sonic Gear Home * Japan Fan Places 1 * Japan Fan Places 2 * Japan Fan Places 3 * Japan Fan Places 4 * |
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Whether it's pop-up, seasonal, or permenent...if Sonic appears it's a Sonic Fan Place.
Being able to take a look at banners, promotional events, conventions and more that are Sonic focused without having to actually attend is what this page is all about. This includes Sonic related events too, like contests, releases, parties, anniversaries or anything else that was a temporary gathering to celebrate something Sonic. |
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In Japan, Sonic Forces had some kind of game launch party or contest celebration with a Time Attack contest in Forces. Here, you can see the winners gathered for their photo shoot with their prizes. It looks like everybody got some kind of Sega related goodie-bag. What's likely to be the 'runners-up' got small Sonic plush dolls. Another got a larger version of the same plush (bottom right) but then look at the likely 1st place guy...he's got a statue dispaly figure type item! But...just what is it? Let's take a closer look. |
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Here is the best close-up that can be gathered from the photo. The first thing you can notice though, is the texture. It looks like it is flocked. While it's not the first flocked figure (Jazwares had an exclusive), this particular figure was never made in a flocked version. (It is the Joypolis 20th Anniversary one) Is it a 1-off? Was it made especially to be the prize here? If it's not fuzzy, what's making it look like that? Is it engraved or anything on the base to make it an exclusively Forces item? A one-of-a-kind Sonic item would be curious indeed. Do write in if you know about this figure. Photos discovered by: |
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Get a look at Joypolis' newest (and largest?) addition!
This HUGE sitting Sonic figure has been added to their roof top. He's got his feet hanging over the edge as he sits on top of the (wall?) one hand is 'holding on' while the other is waving to the fans below, welcoming them to Joypolis. This is a really cool giant figure that looks to be very on-model as well. Do you have another photo of it? It could be added to the entry. Hopefully this is a permenent addition! Photo discovered by Taaron |
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Joypolis in Tokyo is always a Sonic place...
But around a holiday it becomes more-so, with special decorations like these, and 'dressed up' mascot suit appearances. Here, the modern eyed but thick/short classic styled mascot suit is dressed as a witch or wizard. It has a pointy black hat & tied on red/black cape.
There's a photo background with sweets, cookies & icing theme, and a cardboard standee. The standee has this year's official art which is Sonic dressed as a vampire with vampire red/black cape, magic cane & his pumpkin candy-collecting bucket. They've added 'pumpkin hill type' stacked light up purple pumpkins to the edge.
This is a cute holiday decoration, and a good spot for photos with a mascot too. Photo discovered by Taaron |
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FES is an electronics/entertainment show/convention held every year in Japan. Lots of companies have booths & demos and new games are sometimes announced. So, of course, Sega will appear and make part of it into a 'Sonic place' like you see here with their big display. They have a large logo, a big Sonic standee cut-out, a very busy...poster? & of course, a Sonic mascot suit is in attendance to pose for photos and gather attention. (The thing in the bottom right corner is the year's FES logo placed onto the photo as some kind of huge watermark, it's not an item) |
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| The standee has Sonic dressed as a waiter with that FES-representing...flat...glob with a face on a tray. That thing must be the FES mascot of some sort (why a hat & monocle?) but nobody seems to know what it really is. You can find various years' FES merchandise/booth-swag around on Gear, because, as usual the Sega booth does have swag with Sonic on it most of the time. |
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Here is a photo of the entrance to Segaworld in Japan. The year is kind of unknown, other than 'modern', due to the type of Sonic on there. The building itself is quite brightly done with hot pink bricks, blue SEGA font neon sign, hot green, purple, and red borders. There are plushes in the window, but they're all non-Sonic, with Winnie the Pooh, a Pikachu and likely...Stitch?
Look at the purple dot, it says "Ad Yuraku", but why? |
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Sometimes there are abandoned items/furnishings or statues but...how about an entire abandoned building? This tile facade building clearly used to be something Sega, but what was it? And really, with those tall grasses growing in front of it...where was it? Without windows, a leaning top-part, and some peeling tile, it's clearly quite abandoned for a while.
The Sonic content here is the winged ring with Sonic & Tails in it, and the banner across has 'segasonic', so that tells the era it was made, but without additional signage, nothing of what this was for. The grass is wildgrass too, so it's not like somebody just |
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| let the lawn go. The trees in the background also suggest that this is out in 'the boonies' somewhere, but then why a Sega or Sonic themed thing all the way out there? That nice sign must be hard to get to as well, because that thing is a prime target for theives or memorabelia hunters as it is large, unfaded & clearly quality...yet it is still attached to the building. Discovered by Taaron
The backstory IS discovered!
The building is in Fukushima Exclusion Zone which means it's basically radioactive-town from now on. When the tsunami hit the nuclear power plant there, it ruined an area with too much radiation. This "Sega Games Hall" was afflicted by the earthquake first, and then the radiation problem second. That explains perfectly why raiders didn't steal the sign (poison sign!), why there's woodsy-background & grass (plants don't care radiation as much) and everything is falling slowly into ruin. (No one can go to it as a health risk) You can even see a video, and learn more at Sonic Stadium Fukushima Article. Discovered by SonicFan2832
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A sort of strange sign...
Here's a Segaworld in Japan (at some point) with a Sonic sign that mysteriously asks "How Are You Doing?" in English. In regards to the sign, well, it isn't doing too well. You can see that "Segaworld" was spelled out above, but the light is out for the "D". Then, the entire word "you" is unlit, as well as the lower half/feet part for Sonic. The shoe color looks faded also. It is on the wall with a painted-on red/white striped star. What was the purpose of this? Why a sign to ask such a thing with Sonic on there / could the people even read it. None the less, it is interesting to see. |
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Well, here's a wall.
Where's the wall though? It is unknown. The headline at the top is in plastic letters (and 'engrish' as well...hmm) which says "New Amazing For You!" which doesn't really make sense. Below that are 4 really huge posters with SA1 portraits for Sonic, Amy Tails & Knuckles. They each have the usual SA1 labels / titles and names but then look at the bottoms. There's clearly some small text there. |
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Is it their SA1 profile text? No. They're 'sorta-poems' of some kind? The limited resolution makes them difficult to transcribe here but...it needs to be done because the text doesn't seem to have appeared anywhere else.
Knuckles: "On Angel Island, high up in the air guarding the emerald he's stubborn but fair.
Descended from a noble warrior clan, when there's business to be done Knuckles is your man.
Tails: "A fast little guy, his tails let him fly. Sonic's best pal till the day they die.
He'll follow Sonic to the ends of the Earth, he's been the best friend since the day of his birth.
Amy Rose: "There's no hedgehog like Amy so pink and upbeat. She's tough, fierce and also so sweet.
She likes Sonic and is mighty fast, a cheerful ### that they ### ever
Sonic: "A quick bolt of lightening and Sonic's his name. Helping @@@ ### that's Sonic's Game.
Speed is his glory, it's what he does best, Sonic's the fastest North East South & West.
The posters aren't 'engrish' at all, but the poems also aren't the best. Tails' is oddly morbid and also wrong, Sonic wasn't best friends with a baby. Amy's is too difficult to get the words off of and what business does Knuckles do? If a better photo of this appears, the poems will have the text fixed. |
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A giant Sonic float turns this Frontiers display into a real Sonic-space!
This looks more like a parade float type item, than it does one of those 'fan powered' wind characters that one usually sees on the lawn for holidays. Notice it is shiny to contain the air unlike the matte fabric of the fan-powered item. This is a real attention grabber, and something that's perfect for photo opportunity at the event.
Look at the base, there are Kocos there, so if you sat you could probably have a photo with those too. It looks like the line to play the game forms in front of the huge poster that is the background to the image.
Advantage: hollow, foldable giant displays like this are easy enough to ship around the country or the world, so this could appear at future conventions, booths, or other opportunities. (As there's nothing Frontiers-specific about the structure of it) Which attendee has taken this photo? You can write in for credit. |
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Here's another look around at the Frontiers promotion that went on at the convention. Another view of the big parade-float type Sonic, a look at the long booth with posters background (the screens on the table are all the demo stations) And the 3rd shot has a mascot suit among ring props in front of the Frontiers cover art background. |
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| Sega did put on a good show for this, and the promoting worked: there were lines for the demos, and of course, the game was a success. All 3 photos by SegaOfficalPhoto |
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In 2023 Sega either remodeled or moved into "Osaki Sega Headquarters" in Japan. They needed conference rooms (specifically 4 of them) and chose to redecorate the Sonic way! Each one has a different character and slogan really big on the glass outer wall. Sonic has arms crossed pose with "Gotta go fast" slogan as a graphic and phrase written on there. Each art also has a larger clear/white duplicate of itself for the background. Amy is pointing and has "Have no fear" as her written slogan, but her graphic is a heart power up with "All I want is You" around it. Tails is shown jumping with "I Can do it!" and his graphic is the winged portrait/ring. Knuckles is punching/jump up pose with slogan "No time for games" and his graphic is the partially colored one with him in some rings that says "good as gold" |
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The 'good as gold' graphic has been used on several merchandise pieces, and for whatever reason always/only appears as partially colored in. It's the only art that's like that.
All of these look really professional and really cool. Having them full office wall size is great, and it looks very tidy and modern. These are company photos/were given to the press. |
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Here's a "needs more context photo"
This was sent in with its only context being that it is called Segaworld Natsumi and was taken in 1994. The photo itself has a bit of an odd quality to it, like the sky is blue but also dark somehow, the very shadowed interior of the empty building, the empty plaza...there's something slightly 'backroomsy' about it or somehow false looking.
The theme of the sign/building is 'fantasy desert land' with domed buildings, palm trees, and Sonic riding on a flying carpet. The 'sun shape' is behind the Sega World banner. Sonic is also dressed with a jewel headband that has a feather on it to make him fit the theme. But why "Agrabah" type theming for the area? It's clearly an arcade (you can see machines in there) but that's a curious theme to give it. More info will be added if someone knows. |
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A big item that'll only be found in Sonic places: It's the Classic Characters Inflatable Ring Display. Here, you can see it being finished/built, and then where it was displayed at Sega's booth for Sonic Superstars in Japan. But, because it isn't Superstars Specific, it will probably be used again for anything classic styled. And, with good reason too because it is both super big and cool to see! |
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| It's a giant gold ring with fully 3D characters for Knuckles, Amy, Sonic & Tails, each holding a different color of emerald. Everyone is doing dynamic poses, the emeralds are faceted, and everything looks great. That's really hard to achieve in a 'parade float size' type of inflatable item. With the ladders & people in the photo on the left, you can see that this really is a huge display piece. Photo by Kazuyuki (who is also the person in the upper left pointing at it) |
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There's a Sonic place in Japan's "Fuji Q Highland Park", and it's "Sonic Square"!
Fuji Q Highland Park is an amusement park with rides, arcades games and restaurants. It also (apparently) had a bit of a town square type empty area there in the middle, which has been turned into |
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"Sonic Square", the photo opportunity area. With big life size props like a spring, a ring monitor, the goal post sign, rings, palm trees and even a loop, there are plenty of opportunities for fun pictures with friends in the Sonic scene.
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| There's even a specialty food you could get, only there! It's the churro you see to the right. The churro is a traditionally Spanish or Mexican thing which is a long strip of 'star shaped' dough fried much like a donut and then rolled in cinnamon-sugar. (Fancy ones are indeed filled with things like jelly, also much like a donut but just long) They're a bit chewier and firmer than a donut though. The Sonic Square one though is going deluxe because not only does it have the cinnamon-sugar, it is also frosted with icing and then given what's clearly Fruity Pebbles (or a knockoff) sprinkled on there, plus an edible decoration disk with the logo of the place/event. This doesn't appear on Japan Food because it is exclusive to the event. |
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Of course, Lego is the fun 3D building toy, but you can also use them in a 2D way to create a mosaic picture...if you've got enough space, that is.
And here, in the Aeon Mall in Japan, they have plenty of space for this quite large Sonic Superstars mosaic in all Lego. The mask in the bottom right corner and the size of the floor tiles shows you that this is really big. It also looks great, there's nice pixel-style shading on Sonic, and the background has plenty of details too.
Simulating a pixel-look/sprites is actually a super excellent use for Lego mosaics just like this one. Hopefully this display stays up for a long time in the mall so that everyone who wants to go see it, can do so. Photo discovered by Taaron |
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