Sure! I've got a whole post about the experience here (http://rallamajoop.livejournal.com/69308.html), but to cover some of the bigger things: (hoping these aren't too obvious or stuff you already know)
1. Get there early. Especially if you're planning on getting into any of the really exclusive events (we were in the queue from 7AM on the first day and we still missed out on tickets to the Squeenix closed theatre screenings), but it's a good idea in general as the lines outside tend to be wrapped the whole way around the building by opening time. You buy tickets at a booth on your way in, then you get to sit down in line for ages until they actually let you in. I don't know how fast the line clears once things open properly since I was there well before that on both days, but I wouldn't count on it clearing fast.
2. Even though it's a big cosplay event, you're not actually supposed to show up in cosplay. I can't pretend I entirely understand this, apparently it's a Japanese thing where they think that if passers by can see that cosplayers are going in, it'll lower the tone of the event. I am told that they may even turn you away at the door if you show up already in costume, though we got away with being partially in costume - possibly because we were foreigners, possibly because they didn't know for sure that our hair wasn't just naturally that colour, possibly because the policy isn't as strictly enforced as I'd been told, but what you're supposed to do is bring your costume in a bag and change when you get there. There are special change rooms for doing this, though the queues for that were always ridiculous. We got away with changing in the ladies toilets, which were much less crowded.
3. Cosplayers also aren't supposed to pose for photographs in any of the main halls. There's good reason for this - the halls are always packed, and anyone stopping to pose for pictures is going to hold other people up. There are three halls in the convention - two for the big displays, and the last for food and merchandise. The designated cosplay photography areas are in spaces between the halls (all of the photos on my post were taken there). It's kinda ugly - all bare concrete, but there isn't really anywhere else that would work. Most cosplay groups sorta stake out a bit of wall and stay there as people come by to take photos.
Considering all the crowds, the event is actually really well run. Everything's very organised, even when you do have to queue for an hour to see anything interesting. Pushing into queues is also a really big no-no - often they have extra staff lining the edges of the queue to make sure no-one tries to. I don't know if you speak Japanese or if you're going with anyone who does, but it made a huge difference for us that we had a few fluent speakers in our group. The long and short of it is that we had a great time, even though it was one of the most stressful con experiences I've ever been through.
On a side-note, according to another friend of mine who cosplayed Aeris there (and who may be doing so again this year), Aeris is still unusually popular in Japan. You may get a lot of attention. Out of curiousity, if you don't mind me asking, do you know where you're going to do the main photoshoot?
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1. Get there early. Especially if you're planning on getting into any of the really exclusive events (we were in the queue from 7AM on the first day and we still missed out on tickets to the Squeenix closed theatre screenings), but it's a good idea in general as the lines outside tend to be wrapped the whole way around the building by opening time. You buy tickets at a booth on your way in, then you get to sit down in line for ages until they actually let you in. I don't know how fast the line clears once things open properly since I was there well before that on both days, but I wouldn't count on it clearing fast.
2. Even though it's a big cosplay event, you're not actually supposed to show up in cosplay. I can't pretend I entirely understand this, apparently it's a Japanese thing where they think that if passers by can see that cosplayers are going in, it'll lower the tone of the event. I am told that they may even turn you away at the door if you show up already in costume, though we got away with being partially in costume - possibly because we were foreigners, possibly because they didn't know for sure that our hair wasn't just naturally that colour, possibly because the policy isn't as strictly enforced as I'd been told, but what you're supposed to do is bring your costume in a bag and change when you get there. There are special change rooms for doing this, though the queues for that were always ridiculous. We got away with changing in the ladies toilets, which were much less crowded.
3. Cosplayers also aren't supposed to pose for photographs in any of the main halls. There's good reason for this - the halls are always packed, and anyone stopping to pose for pictures is going to hold other people up. There are three halls in the convention - two for the big displays, and the last for food and merchandise. The designated cosplay photography areas are in spaces between the halls (all of the photos on my post were taken there). It's kinda ugly - all bare concrete, but there isn't really anywhere else that would work. Most cosplay groups sorta stake out a bit of wall and stay there as people come by to take photos.
Considering all the crowds, the event is actually really well run. Everything's very organised, even when you do have to queue for an hour to see anything interesting. Pushing into queues is also a really big no-no - often they have extra staff lining the edges of the queue to make sure no-one tries to. I don't know if you speak Japanese or if you're going with anyone who does, but it made a huge difference for us that we had a few fluent speakers in our group. The long and short of it is that we had a great time, even though it was one of the most stressful con experiences I've ever been through.
On a side-note, according to another friend of mine who cosplayed Aeris there (and who may be doing so again this year), Aeris is still unusually popular in Japan. You may get a lot of attention. Out of curiousity, if you don't mind me asking, do you know where you're going to do the main photoshoot?