Reebok Ree-thym of Lite @ Tokyo, Day One

By Miranda Yeoh  •  in News

Right from the moment when Xu (Lapsap/TAG/Mini Compo), MSN Buzz journo and I ran the marathon (in Reebok Ultralites, of course) from the KLIA Express train to our gate during last call, we knew that we were going to have a pretty crazy time with Reebok at Tokyo. We, er, did that on purpose of course. We were putting our Ultralites to the test.

We ran from train to gate in 5 minutes, if you were wondering how long the sprint took. The midnight flight meant that we would be arriving in Tokyo at 7am with our morning faces on – not pretty. We didn’t expect the ride from Narita Airport to Ebisu, Tokyo to take 2 hours and we definitely also didn’t expect the traffic jam on Sunshine Bridge. Isn’t bad traffic only a South East Asian problem? Apparently not. When we finally checked-in at The Westin Ebisu, we passed out for a few hours before checking out Harajuku and Shibuya.

Two train stops away, Harajuku is the area to find Japan youth culture at its most extreme. Unfortunately, it was midweek so nobody was dressed up. We managed to walk through some of Harajuku’s Ura-hara or back alleys wishing we had more time (and money) to shop… A definite must visit for any street wear fan is to check out the famous Neighbourhood boutique that is located in the same building that houses Kiks Tyo and Supreme.

With little time left before our welcome dinner with Verbal and Reebok, we headed to Shibuya and took the Hachiko exit that led to the famous Shibuya crossing. Seeing it in magazines and movies is one thing, but it’s a different experience all together being there to experience the after work rush. Ideally, it would have been nicer to check out the Shibuya Crossing at night but we were pressed for time. After a few unsuccessful tries to find the Hachiko statue, it was time to head back to get ready for our dinner.

The Verbal x Reebok welcome dinner held across the hotel at Oto Oto was an interesting one. Apart from meeting Sneaker Freaker, WGSN, Freshness Mag, High Snobiety and Hype Beast, I was introduced by Xu to HK actor/DJ/LMF member/Subcrew founder Sam Lee. The dinner finally started as soon as Verbal arrived with his stylish wife Yoon who was dressed in Versace. It was so effortless I can see now why why CNNGo.com dubbed them as “Tokyo’s Ultimate Fashion Power Couple”.

After countless bottles of Sapporo, weird tasting fusion Japanese food and speeches from Verbal and Steve McPherson, Brand Director of Reebok Asia Pacific, it was time for an early night in because day 2 is when the interviews and the parties happen so stay tuned for that!

Our trip to Tokyo for the Reebok Ree-thym of Lite Party was held from 14 – 17 September. Check out our pictures below!