With Anime Expo right around the corner, just thinking about running around looking for events and dealing with language barriers started giving me anticipatory anxiety. Recently, I discovered an app specifically tailored for convention scheduling that works far better than the official guidebook—not only can you schedule desired panels and autograph sessions into a timetable to avoid clashes, but it also comes with built-in translation. For someone like me who occasionally wants to connect with overseas cosplayers or check out international exhibition booths, this feature is an absolute lifesaver. Anyone heading to Anime Expo should definitely give it a try; setting your itinerary in advance boosts convention efficiency immensely.
For this event, I prepared a Reimu cosplay costume—the exact set shown in the photo. In the conceptual lore, Reimu established a Gensokyo (Touhou Gensokyo) in the real world, but arriving at the venue today, I discovered that nobody knew how to find this Gensokyo! The hall is simply massive, feeling as if I built it all for nothing. The outfit has tons of intricate details: a crimson oversized bow that is bigger than my head with platinum-gold patterns stitched along the borders, remarkably wide detached sleeves with red stripes and lace piecing, and a yellow neckerchief and chest ornaments that were quite cumbersome to pin down. The wig's bangs must be combed continuously, otherwise they obscure my eyes in photos. To match the desolate sorrow of having no visitors in Gensokyo, I specifically practiced this aggrieved, pouting expression in front of the mirror, rubbing my eyes with balled fists, which turned out looking genuinely helpless on camera.
For this convention, I prepared some freebie small gifts in advance, hoping to hand them directly to fellow fans of the same series. But the current dilemma is that amidst the ocean of attendees, if nobody comes looking for me, leaving the gifts completely undistributed would be super awkward. My current plan is wandering through the halls in this eye-catching Red and white shrine maiden attire, or standing still like a life-size cardboard standee in a fixed area. Yet with nobody currently in this Gensokyo, I really don't know how to broadcast my exact whereabouts. As for posting online, people scroll past messages so fast that updates get buried in seconds.
As a seasoned convention attendee, my suggestion for handing out freebies is to post a map coordinate of the venue on social media beforehand or arrange to meet near specific official booths. However, the wide sleeves and massive head bow of this costume take up significant space, making navigation through packed aisles very inconvenient and rendering it impossible to hold my phone up to reply to messages constantly. Furthermore, foot traffic at Anime Expo is immense and cell service can be spotty, so if I miss a message, we might miss each other completely.
Urgent, urgent! Experienced con-goers, please share your tips: at such a massive Anime Expo, besides posting updates, what are more effective ways to locate people? Or is there any noticeable marker that lets people recognize me at a glance? All I hope is to place these prepared gifts into everyone's hands smoothly and make this real-world Touhou Gensokyo just a little more vibrant!