Japan Expo USA 2014 was held this weekend on August 22-24 at the San Mateo Event Center. This was the 2nd time this expo has been held in the USA. Japan Expo is a festival for all things Japanese. From the Traditional Japanese Culture to Japanese Anime this event has all things that anyone that loves all the different aspects of traditional and modern Japanese Culture.
This expo first started in Paris in 1999 growing from an attendance audience of only a couple thousand to now over hundreds of thousands. They are now also hosting events in Belgium and USA. The first USA Event was held at the Santa Clara Convention Center last year in August 2013. This year they decided to move the expo to the San Mateo Event Center.
The festival expo featured many awesome things to do without the super big crowds like Anime Expo. Good or bad, walking around to all the activities wasn’t like trying to swim through a sea of people. It sure made meeting people and getting signings way easier and were their people to meet like Amie Lynn, Living Ichigo, Akira Yamaoka, and Mayuko to name just a few.
There was also of course Anime, Martial Arts, Panels, Video Game Tournaments and Concerts to see or participate in. Talking about all of them would be futile, but all of it was very enjoyable. Of course it wouldn’t be a Japanese Expo without the cosplay and many people brought their A game. The Masquerade had many amazing cosplayers from Hastune Miku to a huge Gundam.
Though not without flaws , there was nothing too surprising for a 2nd year Expo that is still learning the American market. Overall the Expo was a good experience. I enjoyed the Showdown eSports video game area, Sega presentation about Project Diva, Akira Yamako’s concert, all the cool art, and of course the Sake tasting.
Major thanks to Jayson Tran Photography for providing pictures.