Day Dream Carnage/ Tokyo International Anime Fair!

I can’t believe it’s been two months since my last update! I’ve been really busy, so I’m going to make several posts!

So the 23rd- 24th of March was the Tokyo International Anime Fair! It was my first proper anime con in Japan, and I was really excited to cosplay and see other people cosplaying!

The weekend got off to a bad start. I had a terrible sleep the night before, and got up at 5am so I could get ready, finish packing and make it to Tokyo for 9am.

It was the release day of Day Dream Carnival, a highly anticipated Angelic Pretty print. We could tell from the fuss online it was going to be very popular, so it only seemed sensible to turn up early.

It seemed to work- my friends had arrived first and were fourth in the queue. We sat down and waited for a further two hours for the doors to open.

I’d never been to an release date before, either buying my Lolita goods online or second hand, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. At first, there was only a handful of us, but by 11:00, there were hundreds of girls, most dressed up in Lolita. It was quite a sight, and many tourists stopped to take pictures of us.

Finally the shop girls handed out slips for the “lottery”. Apparently this is done to discourage girls from camping over night, and ensuring those with shopping services don’t arrive first and buy up all the stock to make a profit. Either way, I thought it seemed a fair system. I assumed due to the numbers we would be raffled in groups of 20 or so- that seemed to be what most of us thought.

However, after the first girl drew a high number, we soon realised the lottery was indiscriminate. All of my friends drew a number in the hundreds. After picking number 163, I realised I didn’t want DDC *that* much. Instead I went to Closet Child with another friend, and found a blouse and a cardigan to go with my Sweetie Chandelier skirt. It seems I made the right decision- my friends that waited for hours didn’t even get what they wanted, and had to travel ages away to a shop in the next prefecture.

Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t get DDC, because I prefer my Milky Planet!

After grabbing some food and retrieving my suitcase, I took the two trains to the Tokyo Bay Area- it was a part of Tokyo I had never been in before. Time was ticking on, so I headed straight to the Tokyo Big Sight Arena where the anime con was being held. I was shocked at how big the place was.

For some reason, anime cons in Japan are very strict about cosplaying. You are never allowed to walk into the con wearing the cosplay, and you are supposed to change out of it before you leave. I’m still not sure of the reasons- some have explained it as protecting cosplayers’ identities, so people can’t recognise them. I didn’t understand this until much later.

I was disappointed by the changing room, too- literally four walls to protect us from the sight of others. It was all girls, but there was literally no screens, curtains or mirrors. I quickly pulled on my cosplay, which was Misaki from Kaichou wa Maid-sama.

It was about 4pm by this time, and the event finished at 5, so I only had one hour. Next to the the changing room was the “Cosplay Area” where was the only place you were allowed to take pictures (again, very different from back home).

I literally wandered in to the Cosplay Area with my suitcase, a little overwhelmed at being my first con. I had my suitcase and my other bag, and I just stood around, wondering what I was supposed to do next.

It just took one man with a Nikkon camera to approach me and ask for a photo, and the next thing I knew, I was swarmed. There was a sea of people before me, mainly middle aged men, all with professional cameras. I posed and smiled for about twenty straight before I had to take a break. It was crazy and amazing at the same time. There were quite a few other foreigners about too, and one of them, an American called Eric, came up to chat to me. He was kind enough to take a photo for me on my own camera, because I didn’t even have one yet.

My maid-sama cosplay

The nice thing about the Japanese photographers was the level of respect. Each one would ask in some way if it was ok to take a picture. Then, they would thank me and bow. Some even gave gifts, like candy or a heat pack. It was overall a nice experience, and I didn’t once feel creeped on like would probably happen back home.

I also was approached by two different camera crews, and conducted two interviews in half English, half Japanese. They were mainly interested because I was a foreigner, and wanted to know about anime lovers in the UK. I was sure to big up the amazing cosplaying community in Scotland!

With not much time left, I had a quick look around the con. It was actually smaller than I expected, especially if comparing it to the Tokyo Game show, which was hosted in about 3 large halls, whereas the TIAF was crammed into one.

There wasn’t many cosplayers left, but I did get my picture taken with a Kurapika cosplayer, from one of my fave anime/manga called Hunter x Hunter! (Thanks to Eric again for taking the picture!)

Me and the Kurapika cosplayer. I was so happy she made the heart sign too!

Finally it was time to go and get changed. Luckily I had booked a hotel a five minute walk from the Big Sight, so I didn’t have far to go. It was beautiful, like a 5 star. The room was big and luxurious, with a large bathroom. I got changed quickly and headed out to meet my friend Hannah who was heading back to England.

We met in Shinjuku and settled on an Arabian cafe neither of us had tried. Themed cafes are very popular in Tokyo. They are usually fun, but with a lower quality of food. However, we seemed to strike gold with this one. We were greeted by a girl wearing an Arabian get us, and told to rub a magic lamp before entering the restaurant. We both squeaked with surprise when the lamp let out a spark!

Inside the restaurant was done up like Aladdin’s cave. I half expected it to be tacky, but it was actually very well done! We had our own little private booth, surrounded by beaded curtains. It was great, because we could still see outside, but felt like we had our own little world!

Hannah peeking out from our little booth

The food was a great surprise too, really tasty. Although I’m not sure it was authentic “Arabian”, it was interesting and different! We also each got a novelty golden egg, which was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before!

By this point I was burnt out, and had to head back to my hotel. Needless to say I felt into a coma like sleep!

The next day we got up early to make the most of the con. My friend had got us Press passes which meant we could take pictures outside the cosplay area. There were some different stalls from the day before, but I was still disappointed at how small the con was.

I wore my Misaki cosplay again, because I wanted to get the most out of it. Again I was faced by the wrath of photographers, but I knew how to deal with it this time so it was okay. I felt sorry for the other foreign girls who were soon surrounded to the point they had to sit down. Needless to stay, they must have been trapped for a while!

Although friendly, they can be quite intimidating!

We also got interviewed several times before we finally left the cosplay area and wandering around the booths. There wasn’t as many things for sale as I had hoped. There was a cool Kamisama Hajimemashita collection of original sketches and a display of merchandise that had sold out the day before. Luckily I managed to get a cute folder.

There wasn’t much else merch I was interested- it was all quite heavily DDZ, Miku or One Piece- but I did manage to find a Full Metal Alchemist Patch, a Kurapika postcard and a Kurama keychain, so I was quite happy!

One of the best parts of the con was the food court. There was a cool Gundam cafe, an ice cream and crepe stall, and some other hot food. After we finished eating, I headed back and changed into my Kurama cosplay. Due to the fact I’d had to keep everything in my suitcase, my wig was squashed flat, despite the hours I had taken styling it. It was my first cosplay I had created from scratch though, and I was happy that some people recognised me, considering Yu Yu Hakusho was an anime from the 90s!

Finally it was time to get changed and begin the long journey home! Although tiring, it was a fun weekend, and it gave me good experiences that I can use for Comiket in August!

Tags: cosplay, Tokyo Big Sight