A few weekends ago it was the Japanese Cultural Expo at Brooklyn Mall and I had managed to make my way there! I could only make two of the three days though and I managed to miss half of the demos at the display stage. Due to work, I had to miss Friday but managed to make the rest of the weekend.
Saturday
I had arranged to go to the expo with my parents and my brother. If all had gone according to plan, we would have arrived around 11am. Instead, we arrived at 12pm.
Arriving at the mall we walked around a little to try and find the expo. We were on the upper level, but thankfully we could easily spot the bonsai and the Japanese wedding gowns from above. It wasn’t long until my family split up and we went and did our own thing.
I ended up walking around with my brother and our friend Dylan. I really enjoyed seeing the Ikebana, the flower arrangements, were really pretty. The wedding gowns were also interesting to see. They look like they are quite thick and heavy. Wearing them would be quite something. Their designs were intricate and some were really colourful.
I won’t lie, I was hoping to see more cosplayers but it was so good to see the familiar faces (and characters) there. Plus it was great to see a new face or two. I enjoyed chatting with my fellow con-goers. Although I didn’t really spend enough time with my fellow ‘media’ peeps.
We tried to make the ‘Your Name’ screening, but the movie was fully booked. I am a tree lover through and through. Seeing the bonsai put me in a happy place and I wish I had the temperament to pick up the hobby myself.
On our way home, we stopped for food at Wimpy. It was a really great day out with the family. My mom went shopping, my dad purchased a new bonsai, my brother spent time with a friend and me, I tried to make the most of the time and everything at the expo.
Sunday
Once again I only managed to get there around 1ish and had already planned to watch the Your Name screening at 2pm. That left me one hour to drag le boyfriend around the displayed things and hunt down cosplayers and do mini-catch-ups with everyone.
I somehow managed to show everything off to le boyfriend and grab pictures of all the cosplayers before heading off to the movies to catch the screening.
Watching Your Name in theatres was so worth it. It was so good to have the big screen and surround side. I had originally thought the movie might have been in English but was pleasantly surprised that it was in Japanese with English subtitles. Which, in hindsight makes sense, it is a Japanese expo, so the displaying it in its original language just completes the experience.
I spent more time observing the samurai armour. I find it astounding that people actually use to wear armour like that. I can’t imagine it was too comfortable. That and actually seeing them in real life, made me appreciate the attention to detail in a lot of the anime I watch.
Overall, I had fun, but I do regret missing some of the actual demos. Next year, I hope to actually make the demos but I suppose that will also depend on work and the movie screenings.
Click here if you would like to see all the photos from the Expo.
