LD's Guide to Japan

This past weekend I got to experience a part of Japanese culture that is fairly well-known, but something I had never seen first-hand: Cosplay.  The Toyama Cosplay (short for “costume play”) Fest was held on Saturday and Sunday, and I decided to check it out, not knowing what to expect at all, and was blown away by how many people there were and how passionate they were about it.  I had no idea that this is much more than just a hobby for cosplayers; for a lot of people, it’s work, and it’s a whole lifestyle.  They spend their time studying their characters and learn the best ways to portray them, and they go to conventions all over the country (there were people from all over at the Toyama convention).

At this convention, they had some rental costumes available for people to try for free, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot.  The costume (as seen in the pictures above) was for some anime character—I forgot the character’s name—and I had to have help putting it on because I had no idea what I was doing.  But once I got it on, I had a great time.  Being the only white guy there—let alone a white guy in costume—needless to say I stood out quite a bit, and many many people stopped me to ask if they could take my picture.  I felt like a celebrity.

I quickly learned that cosplayers have a repertoire of poses that they use for pictures, that I can only assume they practice quite a bit at home because they go into them seamlessly whenever asked if they can have their picture taken.  You can see some of the poses in the pictures above.  I tried to do a pose, too, but I felt pretty awkward.  hahah.  It’s harder than it looks!

Anyways, it was a very strange experience, but it was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely glad I went.  I was told that the biggest cosplay convention is in Tokyo in December, and I would love to see that someday—I bet it’s a madhouse!  haha