To start, the Japanese word oshi is used when recommending or pushing for something. Originally, this word was used to describe anime characters etc. by putting oshi after their name, kind of in the way you might use the word stan in English.

But recently, the definition of oshi has changed to mean liking something so much that you want to recommend it to someone else. Using the word "like" is not passionate enough to define something you would want to be an oshi of.

With this in mind, we can now take a look at the word oshikatsu.

Katsudo (or katsu) is the Japanese word for activity. So, oshikatsu refers to activities or actions performed to show how much you love and support your favorite oshi.

Finally, an oshikai is an event where people who have their own oshi get together to share about their favorites as well as why they would recommend them to someone else.

In Japanese, there's another popular word similar to oshi called otaku. It can be hard to pinpoint the differences or try to classify someone as one or the other.

According to the writer of this article, who is a self-proclaimed former otaku, otaku refers to someone with obsessive interests. In contrast, an oshi relates to the person or thing that you're obsessed with.

As a result, you can say you are an otaku, but you would never call yourself an oshi. Instead, you could say that you are an otaku because you are a/an (insert name of your favorite person/thing) oshi.

When it comes to similarities between the two words, both are used when discussing someone who passionately likes something to the point that they want to recommend it to others. With this being the case, there aren’t many differences between oshikatsu and otakatsu (otaku katsudo).

Although, due to oshikatsu becoming popularized, it’s become more of a common and easy word to use when describing someone who’s passionately trying to support something they are a huge fan of.

In Japan, there are currently many oshikai being held with countermeasures against Covid-19 in mind. This time around, we decided to report on our experience using the oshikai package offered by Hotel Pasela Living.

This hotel is located a two-minute walk from Exit A3 of Higashi-Shinjuku Station or a 15-minute walk from the East Exit of JR’s Shinjuku Station.

At Hotel Pasela Living, there is a total of eight guest rooms, with one room located on each floor. These rooms are so spacious, they can be used as a living room, dining room, and bedroom all at once. One stay will have you wishing you lived there!

Inside the room, you’ll find a 100" projector screen, a 65" TV, a Blu-ray player, a Bluetooth speaker, various kinds of chargers, Chromecast, and a mirroring cable to connect your smartphone to the projector.

The closets and kitchen are also stocked! Plus, the guest rooms are made to be very family-friendly, including closets that have convenient items such as kid’s hangers.

There are also cooking utensils, cutlery, and plates! This gives you the option to enjoy the kitchen in many ways. You can cook something yourself, use a food delivery system, or buy some food and drinks before you arrive at the hotel.

What’s more, all of the plates and cups are made out of plastic, so there’s no need to worry even if your child drops something! Another amazing perk is that you can enjoy the drinks and ice cream in the fridge for free!

This is the bathroom area. There’s even a washing machine, making it the perfect room for an overnight stay!

The large bathroom sink area is easy to use. You can easily do your makeup here when cosplaying during an oshikai!

This bath is so spacious, a whole family can fit in it! Not only does it have a TV, but you can also enjoy the bath’s jacuzzi setting (complete with a cascade bath system for your shoulders).

To make your stay even more comfortable, one area you can’t forget to check out is the section for room amenities located on the hotel’s first floor. Here you’ll find pillows, pajamas, hair conditioner, body soap, and more!

Also, you can choose five amenities that you like for free! Offering everything and anything you need for an overnight stay, there’s makeup remover, toner, face wash, and more. In addition to this, there are some unique items such as origami paper, bath salts, and eyeglass cloth. With these many options, it will be hard to choose only five!

This hotel also offers various guides in English that explain how to enjoy your stay, how to check in, and how to check out. Although there's no foreign language-speaking staff, all hotel workers offer excellent service by using items such as pocket translators to avoid any miscommunication.

As for rates, overnight stays start at 8,400 yen per person, a three-hour day use plan starts at 15,000 yen per room, and a five-hour day use plan starts at 18,000 yen per room. Prices for day use are calculated by the room rate.

After we learned about the hotel’s facilities, it was time to start our own oshikai! The oshikai package, offered by Hotel Pasela Living, comes with seven free items. This includes a sketchbook, a snack pack, a multi-outlet extension cord, detox foot pads, a recordable talking button, remotes for each person, and seven different kinds of glow sticks for each person.

A stand-out item is the recordable talking button shown in the middle of the photo above. It’s also known as the toutoi button - which means 'adorable' or 'precious' button in English.

With the toutoi button, you can create your own original recording. For example, this might include expressing some of the overwhelming and uncontainable feelings you feel towards your oshi.

To enjoy this feature to the max, you can record yourself saying “Adorable!” or “I can’t take it anymore!”. This definitely adds to the oshikai fun!

You can also decorate the room with party decorations and photos of your oshi to create more of a festive atmosphere. Glow sticks are standard items to have during oshikatsu or an oshikai, so having enough for each person to rent out for free is a great perk!

Our own oshikai was birthday-themed, centering around one of our editorial staff’s oshi. For the birthday party, we decided to have food delivered. Since the hotel is close to Shin-Okubo, Tokyo’s Koreatown, Korean food is a popular food choice for guests to enjoy.

The footage played on the 100" projector screen was a true highlight! It feels as though you are actually at a concert! Due to the writer of this article not knowing much about the artist shown during the oshikai, it became a great chance for our editorial team to recommend them.

Recommending your oshi to someone else is called fukyo in Japanese. In English, this means to preach or spread.

Being able to share your oshi while also getting the chance to discover or learn about someone new is the absolute best part of having an oshikai!

Through the oshikai, you might find a new oshi as well as a friend that will help you cheer them on.

Here, you can get absorbed in a conversation about why your oshi is so great, while at other times, you can enjoy the footage playing on the screen.

Due to Covid-19, it’s been difficult to attend concerts in Japan. It’s understandable why so many people are enjoying oshikatsu at home alone or during online drinking parties.

After enjoying the concert footage, we showed each other our oshikatsu products and even made some new ones. Recently, you can easily buy oshikatsu items at many 100-yen shops. For those who enjoy oshikatsu through merchandise and other promotional products, you can try completing your collection by exchanging items you don’t yet have with others.

In this article, we introduced the oshikai package at Hotel Pasela Living. However, there are plenty of options for facilities where you can enjoy oshikatsu popping up throughout Japan. Oshikai, where you can share your favorite idols or items, can lead to so many other fun possibilities! Why not try enjoying one with a friend?

Health & Safety Measures
Disinfection, sanitization, cleaning of store and equipment/ installation of sanitizing and disinfecting solutions/ disinfection after every customer leaves/ ventilation of the store/ staff wearing masks, washing hands, disinfecting, gargling and measuring temperature/ refused entry to customers who are unwell/ request customers to wear masks.

*Oshikai is a registered trademark of Sanza Co., Ltd.