#hkcon

Some photos from my friend Ichi and I at Hello Kitty Con 2014! We had so much fun!

Summary of con:

I was there for Hello Kitty everything….obviously. Ha ha ha. Honestly while I like Hello Kitty….I love some of the other Sanrio characters more. Cinnamoroll, Twin Stars, Charmy Kitty, and of course Tuxedo Sam are my favorites….so yea I had to go. I went with my friend Ichigo and while we somehow did not realize that tickets would sell out like they did we managed to get Friday badges; and then thankfully got some of the last slots for both the tea parties they held on Friday and Saturday. It was held in Downtown LA in Little Tokyo. Totally fell in love with that place by the way. Needless to say, seeing as this con sell completely out of all their badges about three months before the actual con it was very popular. There were all sorts of amazing people there and TV interviewers. It was nuts, but an awesome kind of nuts.

Expenses for the con: ¥¥¥¥¥

Badge: ¥¥¥¥¥

$30 (about for one day) and $40 (for the tea parties and this was per a tea party….but you got really big and cool gift bags worth almost the price of the tea party fee so more than worth it.)

Hotel per night: ¥

we stayed at the Kawada Hotel….which has very small rooms….so be warned…but really you’re not there except to sleep really and it was clean. For downtown LA the price was really reasonable and I would stay there again.

Travel: ¥¥¥¥

Our mode of travel was airplane and then taxi…and the taxi can cost about $100 from airport by itself….plan ahead and get a shuttle. And thankfully my friend and I split the cost so it didn’t completely kill our pocket books.

Food: ¥

Little Tokyo and Downtown LA in general have many great places to eat that are A-rated but super inexpensive.

Vendors Area:

I didn’t spend anything in the vendors area….I was very picky about what I wanted and they really didn’t have anything that was super crazy exclusive to the con. But Ichigo bought a mug for a friend and that was just over $15. Then there was a JapanLA booth and that had clothing pieces from about $30 - $60 or so. Anything I really did buy was in Little Tokyo honestly.

Cosplay Cost: ¥

I made two outfits and both my main fabrics were imported from Japan with licensed Sanrio prints.

Booths presented at the con:

All sorts of vendors were there. Of course they ALL had to deal with Sanrio (and mostly Hello Kitty) but really it was all over the place with booths like JapanLA, Hello Kitty Spam, and just random merchandise in general. I was really hoping for more stuff with the other characters on it but there wasn’t much to be honest. My only real complaint besides the badges selling out and the con not being prepared to sell at door like we originally heard. There was also a cosplay/outfit competition which we entered with our Twin Star Lolita dresses that we designed and made…and we happened to get second place at!

Guests:

All sorts of artists, fashion designers, bloggers, and what not were there. Including people like the current kawaii ambassador Misako Aoki who was super awesome to meet. There weren’t really any panels that spiked my interest for what they did have. There was a mini art school though and a fashion section, not to mention free permanent tattoos by super amazing tattoo artists….if you managed to get in for a certain time. There was quite a line for that.

Accessibility to other things:

Food at the con itself was a bit pricey so we didn’t eat there but there were plenty of places to eat outside the con and there were lots of things to do within walking distance. We had lots of fun just checking stuff out in Little Tokyo and China Town.

Overall feelings about the con:

It was such an amazing experience and I am sad that they won’t be doing it again (from what I have heard). On a good note they are holding a tour next year called Supercute Frienship Festival that seems to go across mostly the west coast. I really wish we could have gone all three days, but really we will be prepared for the tour. XD

Extra notes:

Go to Little Tokyo and try all the little drinks that you normally can’t find like Qoo and C.C. Lemon.

Go to Fairy Tale Boutique if you love Lolita stuff. They are super friendly there and have cute stuff from Swimmer and brand Lolita shops from Japan.

There is an arcade in Little Tokyo that has purikura (Japanese photobooth)!! My favorite random find! It was about $10 but it’s one of my favorite things to do when in Japan so I was super happy to be able to do it here in the states.

Jungle Anime is an awesome anime store. Go. Just go. Especially if you happen to like Kamen Rider. Lol.

Looking for a yukata or kimono or pieces for one? Check out S.K. Uyeda. The Japanese ladies there are super cute and very helpful. I really adored them. They were like the older ladies that are a bit gruff on the outside but really want to help make you feel pretty and find what you are looking for. I just wanted to hug them! <3

Eat at Fugestu-Do Sweet Shop if you get the chance because you won’t be disappointed. Super yummy handmade Japanese sweets!