Japan Expo

This is a review of Japan Expo 2014.
For those who don’t know, Japan Expo in San Mateo is the US branch of the Japan Expo in Paris, France which drew 240,000 attendees last year. 2014 was the expo’s second year in the United States so it is definitely still a very new expo. As such, there are a relatively small number of attendees compared to larger, more established conventions which is both a good and bad thing.
The event was held at the San Mateo Event Center which consists of a bunch of buildings surrounding an outdoor courtyard area. This is great for moving around from building to building as it never felt too crowded. The downside is that the concerts were held in this outdoor area so at night it got quite chilly. Additionally, they held multiple concerts in the outdoor area at the same time so you could hear the sounds clashing with one another. I felt sorry for one singer who traveled from Japan to perform and wasn’t sure how to react to the DJ blasting music from the other end of the courtyard. Unfortunately, this clashing of sounds from simultaneous events was not isolated to just the outdoor ones. There were guest panels that were held in the same building as martial arts demonstrations that were going on at the SAME TIME. So it was quite annoying to hear shouts and grunts over the guest speakers. I think even the Japan Expo staff were annoyed and commented on it too.
While these are some glaring issues, I personally think this convention redeems itself with its relatively small size. Because there were so few attendees it was possible to waltz into a panel about 15 minutes before it started and snag a seat. This was a welcoming and almost mind-​blowing change compared to Animé Expo in Los Angeles where you can wait in like for over 3 hours and still not be guaranteed to get in because none of the staff even knows where the proper area to line up is. Add in some big name guests like Gen Urobuchi and Akira Yamaoka as well as industry representatives from companies like Aniplex and you have a nice, relaxed convention experience. Truly a winning combination in my opinion. Honestly, the longest (if not the only) lines were for the food trucks. The exhibit hall was also decently sized and had a good number of vendors and merchandise. Perhaps a little on the small side but again, it is still a relatively small convention.
I hope to see the convention grow so they can secure a new venue. However, I also hope that when their numbers do grow, they can keep that small convention feel or at least properly organize themselves with competent staff members. I would definitely recommend this convention if you are looking for one that has well established industry guests in a relatively stress free environment.

I decided to return to Japan Expo USA this year after their first year was ho-​hum. And while I was pleased that some of their previous issues had been fixed, a new crop of problems arose that make me indecisive as to whether I’ll attend their 2015 convention.
In 2013, Japan Expo held their convention inside the Santa Clara Convention Center. There were a lot of perks to this location; Indoors with air conditioning, lots of space and free parking. In 2014, Japan Expo was held at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. As such, the sun beat down on attendees and as the organizers provided little shade, especially in the autograph area, attendees were forced to bring their own drinks or shell out $ 3 for a bottle of water. Parking was not free and those that parked inside the fairground paid $ 10/​day. If you opted to stay at the official hotel for the event, there was no shuttle to/​from the hotel to the event, meaning that those attendees that flew in either took a cab or walked the two miles between the two. A further problem is that there is a big disconnect between their American volunteer staffers and the French staff who were clearly in charge. One of the volunteers informed me that none of the American staff spoke French and that, because the French staff were not fully fluent in English, communication between the volunteers and the French was strained at best.
JX desperately needs to fix its tiered badging system. This year, there were several tiers which included 1 day attendees ($ 25 for Fri/​Sun, $ 35 for Sat), general three day attendees ($ 55), Zen ($ 80 for all weekend, allowed an attendee to enter 10 minutes before general attendees), Gold ($ 120 for all weekend, allowed an attendee to enter 15 minutes before, also included a T-​shirt which you could not trade if the size did not fit and a manga cookbook) and Platinum ($ 200 for all weekend, allowed an attendee to enter 20 minutes before general and came with all Gold items and an additional DVD which could not be exchanged). While all 25 total Platinum and Gold tickets sold out, everyone I had spoken to had purchased a Platinum/​Gold/​Zen badge with the understanding that they would have multiple chances to obtain autographs from JX’s guests. This was also conveyed to Zen, Platinum and Gold attendees by staff working in the autograph area on Friday. What happened was that, after Friday, all those with a Platinum/​Gold/​Zen badge were told that they could not get another autograph from the same guest, making their badge effectively worthless. The registration system and autograph ticketing system was racked with problems all weekend long and US staff frustratingly trying to fix a system whose directions were all in French.
Space was a big problem at this convention. While this is not a large convention by any means (I estimate less than 5000 people were there on any given day, small considering Animé Expo in LA pulled in 85K this year), the available indoor room space was shared between attendee and guest panels and a martial arts tournament. What this meant was that a guest speaker, such as manga creator Izumi Matsumoto, a soft spoken man, could not be heard by attendees of his panel as his soft spoken speech was interrupted by continual cries of «Hi-​ya!». I hope that, as JX plans to hold their 2015 event at the same fairgrounds, they are able to better utilize their space so that this does not happen again. Shade was also in short supply, with concert goers, food truck aficionados and those seeking autographs left to roast in the sun all weekend. Those that attended all three days were looking mighty crispy at the end of it.
One thing that JX has going for it is that it manages to always get a solid guest list of Japanese talent. This year, JX featured several artists, composer Akira Yamaoka, Madoka Magica creator Gen Urobuchi and several musical guests. Their guest list is where the strength of the convention lies for many attendees, especially those who shelled out the additional funds to get more than one item signed. Due to scheduling issues, though, many of these concerts weren’t held until the late evening, which left guests like Yamaoka with a sparse audience. Unlike other animé conventions, JX does not have a charity auction and all the great art these guests draw is given to JX’s French financial backers. The food truck selection had improved since last year. I had a good chicken teriyaki meal at one of the trucks for $ 12 including a small side salad and a drink. The exhibitor hall was about half the size as the Santa Clara Convention Center’s hall was and the vendor selection was not that good. There were a few Japanese artists exhibiting traditional artwork towards the back of the hall but it was not that popular among attendees.
Would I go again? Maybe. If they fix the badging issue, add some shade and get a good guest list, then yes.

Great festival. Reasonably priced. Lots of variety of activities. Generous on give aways like posters, snacks, candy, cookies, Yakult, etc. It’s well organized and has a great venue. Free parking. We need to support this event and get the attendance up so it will continue on.

Japan Expo — This is an event to celebrate Japanese Culture and Entertainment. Japan Expo blends the very best of Japanese traditional culture with modern Pop sensations.
Here you will have a chance to meet manga publishers, animé creators, video games designers. You could participate in their cosplay or maybe spend an afternoon in front of the cultural stage for great traditional arts demonstrations. Or if you want more excitement, come watch a martial arts demonstration and/​or one of our j-​music concerts!
So, I believe this is the first year in the United States for this event and it is off to a great start. Not as big as some of the other events, but kind of a nice size such that there is not a bunch of people pushing and shoving.
Here are some of the pictures from the event.

I am also giving this event 5 stars. The only negative issues I had were pretty minor:
I would prefer a badge system that would allow me to come and go as I please, rather than having had to wait and have my ticket scanned every time I wanted to leave or enter. We stayed at the adjoining hotel for one night and it would have been nice if we could have entered the Convention area from the hotel rather than leaving and walking around the outside of the building (I made quite a few purchases and had to make multiple trips to the car/​hotel during the day). I would have preferred to see more artists and vendors and a larger Convention area. It didn’t take me very long to see everything there was to see. I wish the convention planners had planned to keep some of the events going through the night. Movie/​game/​gathering rooms that allowed fans to meet and hang out «after hours» would have helped keep the energy and excitement up.
The only «major issue» I can think of had less to do with the Con itself, but more to do with attendance. I believe this convention would have been magnitudes more enjoyable if there had been more people and more energy. The Convention area felt empty and many of the dealers and exhibitors didn’t receive the attention they deserved. Friday was the worst — almost painful. Saturday was much better, but still quite anemic. Sunday’s attendance was down again. Perhaps this is indicative of a first-​time-​convention, but it must get better next year.
Now, on to the good stuff! WOW! All I can say about the organizers of this convention is… AWESOME! The schedule was tight and everything seemed to run so smoothly! The guests were spectacular, the entertainment was top-​notch, and the staff was friendly and helpful. Events started on time and the variety was from traditional Japanese to modern pop culture… something for everyone. I only wish there had been more attendees to help fill out the dead spaces and create more energy!
Panels, movies, signings, videos, games, exhibits, art, music, and events both small and large helped this event get a five-​star rating from me.
And let’s not forget the cosplay… brilliance! Even though the turnout was so low, I never found myself bored. I cosplayed on Saturday and found the lobby area was nice enough for photos. There was also a Cosplay corridor with «cosplay first aid» and changing rooms for touch-​ups and breaks. Oh, and don’t forget the cosplay stage for photos and gatherings. A nice touch.
I did not catch every event but the Main Stage events were professional and worth the admission price alone! The live performances were special and the band 1000Say has a few new fans (they were so much fun). Another highlight for me was the cheer group Gamashara Oendan — if you missed them you must have been asleep.
If you have an opportunity to see the listing of events on the website, please look… you will be impressed. There is just too much for me to list here…
So, thank you Japan Expo for putting on a great event! Thank you dealers and artists for sticking it out… and thank you beautiful cosplayers and fans for being there! Next year? More people and more fun!