2012 Japan trip Day 4 - More Food and Beer and Food and Festivals
Sunday I found the area local to my hotel in higashi (east) Ueno was holding a matsuri (festival) at the local shrine. Drums on carts were being dragged around the streets, more mikoshi (portable shrine) racing was taking place and tengus (long-nosed goblins) in magnificent costumes were scaring young children.
I spent the afternoon at a committee meeting in Toyosu down near Tokyo Bay, listening to the folks of Hal-con sorting out the detritus of this year's convention and their plans for the next couple of years. I didn't catch much of it as it was conducted in Japanese, obviously. Afterwards they kindly took me out for some eats and a beer or two to compensate. These are the folks who will probably put forward a Japanese bid for the 2017 Worldcon. Expect to see them turning up at major Western cons more and more doing all the regular pre-bid things like holding down fan tables etc. before they actually announce some time in the next couple of years.
I spent the afternoon at a committee meeting in Toyosu down near Tokyo Bay, listening to the folks of Hal-con sorting out the detritus of this year's convention and their plans for the next couple of years. I didn't catch much of it as it was conducted in Japanese, obviously. Afterwards they kindly took me out for some eats and a beer or two to compensate. These are the folks who will probably put forward a Japanese bid for the 2017 Worldcon. Expect to see them turning up at major Western cons more and more doing all the regular pre-bid things like holding down fan tables etc. before they actually announce some time in the next couple of years.