March 28, 2010 (Two years ago, to this day... Crazy!)
17th Day of travel in Japan - Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan
Again, as said in the last post that I did, over a month ago, this was the day spent at Tokyo Anime Fair 2010 (TAF). So, I was able to re-upload the photos that were onto Flickr. I'm really getting tired of the way that these server sites are able to store photos. I wish there was a more dependable way, but I am losing track of things. This first photo is Tokyo Big Sight, if you haven't seen it before. It is an amazing site, but I was not really able to see all of it until a few months later at Comic Market. Those photos were posted earlier on this blog.
Ben and I were coming here really for the first time, and it was an amazing site. We really didn't know how to do anything here, and Ben really got upset because of that. Let me explain a thing about how these events in Japan work. There are many events happening here at TAF, and in order to know how to get free stuff, i.e. posters, fans, bags, manga, postcards, etc., is to know the timing of everything.
As many of us know, the luck is about being at the right place at the right time. Well that is how these anime events in Japan seem to work as well. In other words, if one wants to get a lot of cool free items, one simply needs to know the timing of when things will be given out. The schedule of things are given at the door to the event, and anyone simply needs to grab one. Oh yeah, and read Japanese... and know how to read a map.
Tokyo Big Sight, is exactly as it says. A big sight. There are always more than one convention happening at the same time. Ben and I didn't know what the other event in the other halls were, but when I went to the summer Comic Market Convention, there was a gardening convention happening while I was there. Not to mention that TAF was only on one floor and in one section of the convention hall. Comic Market was on multiple floors and had multiple sections of the hall.
The line to get into the convention was pretty long, but being that we got there kind of late, we didn't have to wait that long. There was a fee to get in, but it was not that bad of pricing, if you are wondering about Comic Market, then I can tell you it is free to get in. Also, being that you are on an island, yes Odaiba is an island, there are plenty of places that you can go around and eat.
I ended up eating at a fast food cafeteria inside the convention hall, but there were sit down (proper) restaurants in the corridors of the convention area. As you can see below there was a good variety of food as well.
My buddy Ben is looking back at the camera as we go into the convention hall. You can see the prices of entry on the right of that photo, next to the "overseas" sign. There was also a business only day, and an everyone day.
Below are some balloons of some figures that we can all recognize. It was an amazing event, and very informational. There were all sorts of booths that were giving away things, as well as giving out information about an anime or manga that was about to come out.
The booths were arranged by studio, manufacturer, and distributor. Meaning that while you may think there is a reason to the madness, there is always a surprise around the corner. Think that you know where everything is? Think again. Keep your eyes open for hidden jewels, and treasure troves.
Theses guys were traveling promoters. There were walking about and taking photos with a lot of little kids. It was cool to see.
This lady was handing out bags to promote a new game that was coming out. Although I had no interest in the game, I did grab a bag. Unfortunately, I had to leave the bag behind in Japan... Too much stuff to bring back... sigh... next time....
These booths were pretty cool, and they offered quite a bit. There were various movies playing around in little theaters that the booths set up. I was able to see a few of them. Not all of them were that great, but they were not bad either. Again, you needed to know the timing of when the movies were being shown. Understanding the language helps a TON!
This was a sweet booth. It had all sorts of figurines, cells, and drawings. A lot of the stuff that was being displayed were signed by the voice actors and artist as well! Pretty neat booth.
Kind of interesting to think about, but the photos for the trip that I took in March 2010 are coming to a close. There are not that many more photos that I have from the trip. Mainly because after this time, the weather really started getting bad. Some more interesting posts will be coming out soon though, being that I have had a chance to have a photo session not so long ago!
Thanks for checking out the post!
