JmoFを見つけましたー Day 1

Today was mostly filled with preparation for and travel to JmoF! JmoF stands for Japanese Meeting of Furries and is the largest and most popular furry convention in Japan. It's pretty famous in America as well but not many people are able to make the trip out to Japan. I'm super excited to finally get to experience the convention I've seen pictures from over so many years!

We packed up all of our luggage and began our drive off to Aichiken. I was a bit worried for Atsu since he has been getting only a couple hours of sleep each night. He's been having to work on some of the mornings but still staying up until two or three in the morning. I admire his stamina and ability to function without sleep but he also has been falling asleep for a couple minutes at a time during down times because of his lack of sleep! He seemed fine for the drive but hopefully he's able to actually sleep some once he gets to the convention.

We then arrived at Sekki's house to retrieve his luggage and my fursuit head before heading to the convention. Once we arrived at the convention, we went up to the top floor to look out over the city. It was super pretty and I was getting hyped seeing people already out and about in the lobby.

I got my badge and convention materials from the convention registration after arriving so that I would be able to attend any events or breakfast immediately. The lanyard that comes with the Sponsor is one of the coolest lanyards I've ever seen and was definitely worth it. I'll probably use this one as my primary lanyard for conventions to come. The lanyard has a reenforced badge strap along with a clip for additional badges. I have not seen this additional clip before! The lanyard also has a strong buckle embedded into the strap that makes it easy to put in and off while in suit but is also sturdy enough to remain secure on the neck. Many of the lanyards I’ve had before have a similar clip but is easily removed or broken. The designs and colors on the layard also are very fashionable and has a cool asthetic. It's a good example of Japanese design as it takes into account the visual asthetics as well as how convenient the lanyard would be to use. I wish American products would take the convenience of peoples' use into account more often like this!

We went to a nearby Ramen place with a couple of additional people after arriving to the con and getting settled in. I attempted to talk with someone from Tailand but their accent and my own in Japanese seemed to clash in a way that made it hard to understand each other. This is not a problem I've had before where I couldn't be understood. It helped me come to the realization that my accent is something I should work on to be able to communicate with people from China or Taiwan through Japanese. We were repeating the same word back to each other but he was thinking I was saying something else so he wrote the sentences that I was already repeating back to him into a translator. An interesting experience! I'm wondering if this is an isolated experience or if it would be a common trend with people from those parts of Asia. I supposse one day I may find out but in this trip, there was only this one instance.

The convention is conveniently located next to a Don Quixote which has pretty much any grocery or everyday item that you could possibly need. I went over there with Atsu and Shu to pick up some alcohol and a couple things for their taiko and fue performance on Sunday. It was fun getting to walk around and explore and see all the various foods that would not be an option anymore once I return home. I've been trying to buy many things that seem out of the ordinary to get as many new experiences as possible 😺 After grabbing some drinks and such we returned to the room and passed out. It was a tiresome day of travel but we still have the rest of the con ahead of us!Read more