About San Japan
San Japan, LLC, formed in Fall 2005, is a fan-run organization tasked with operating a yearly Japanese Culture and Anime Convention to provide high-quality education and entertainment for our attendees in a safe & fun environment along with promoting the acceptance and appreciation of the anime fandom in the Mid-South. The inaugural convention was held in San Antonio, Texas on August 8th, 2008 through August 10th, 2008.
Mission Statement: We, the staff of San Japan, are here to serve three purposes. Our first purpose is to bring Japanese cultural awareness to San Antonio through panels and workshops. Our second purpose is to bring international awareness through video and panels. Our third purpose is to make a strong community between the attendees and staff and keep lines of communication open.
History
San Japan was started in late 2005 by a collective group of volunteers who wanted to work together in bringing a different type of Japanese fan & culture convention to San Antonio, Texas. A hotel host location was decided by the original management and planning was started to work on San Japan [1.0] with the initial intention to debut in July 2007. However, due to issues with the chosen host location, it was decided by the acting chairman to postpone the event to ensure that San Japan makes a grand debut which the attendees deserve in the Alamo City. To make up for the postponement, a one-day event was organized at Our Lady of the Lake University called San Japan: Zero Day Anime to give people a sample of what to expect for the main convention. Over 800 people attended this event. This event was later spun off to be its own convention which is now run by the Mizuumi Anime Club called Mizuumi-Con.
It was decided for the grand debut convention to be held at simultaneous locations at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium & El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel to be held in August 2008. After an additional year of planning, San Japan 1.5 premiered on the San Antonio Riverwalk. It was a success with over 3500 attendees at the convention. Afterward, planning was immediately started for the second year which was called San Japan 2.x. This convention happened in mid-August 2009 with 4003 attendees. In its 3rd year for 2010, upon moving to our new location at the Marriott Rivercenter, San Japan showed continued growth with 5049 attendees.
San Japan had its 4th year in 2011 which was called San Japan 4TW. It took over the entire San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel next to the Rivercenter Mall to host one of the city’s largest fan-run convention which is quickly growing leaps & bounds in size.
Starting in 2012, in its 5th year called San Japan: Mach 5, San Japan is moving the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the San Antonio Grand Hyatt Hotel. It is the largest hotel & convention center within the San Antonio city limits. This will be San Japan’s permanent location.
Dates Of Conventions
San Japan : Zero Day Anime – November 10th, 2007 [Program Book - PDF] – Our Lady Of The Lake University [Attendance: 815]
San Japan 1.5 – August 8th-10th, 2008 [Program Book - PDF] – Municipal Auditorium + El Tropicano Hotel [Attendance: 3523]
Mizuumi-con – March 21st, 2009 [Sponsors] – Our Lady Of The Lake University [Attendance: 1416]
San Japan 2.x – August 14th-16th, 2009 – Municipal Auditorium + El Tropicano Hotel [Attendance: 4003]
San Japan :3 – July 9th-11th, 2010 [Program Book - PDF] – Marriott Rivercenter Hotel [Attendance: 5043]
San Japan 4TW – August 5th-7th, 2011 [Program Book - PDF] – Marriott Rivercenter Hotel [Attendance: 6891]
San Japan: Mach 5 – August 10th-12th, 2012 [Upcoming] – Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center + San Antonio Grand Hyatt Hotel
San Japan “6″ – August 16th-18th, 2013 [Upcoming] – Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center + San Antonio Grand Hyatt Hotel
The Staff:
- Dave “Proz” Henkin
Convention Chairman - Lauren “SheWolf” Heacker
Logistics Chairperson - Jason “Jay” Perez
Events Chairman - Sven “Doc” Berglowe
Safety Director - Matt “Comter” Zeisler / regIT
Registration Contact - Ken Wallen
Guest Relations Director - Levi Hampton
Night Events Director - Daniel L Bottoms
Video Room Coordinator - Ricardo “Mr12345″ Lepe
Game Room Director - Bruce Tomlin & Rudy Alba
Tech Coordinator - Jackie Naehrig
Artist Alley Coordinator - The Gear Project
Cosplay Coordinators - Pablo Miguel Alberto Vazquez
Steampunk Coordinator - S. David Ramirez
Media/PR Coordinator - Adrian “Bear” Padilla
Dealer Room Liaison - Christopher Pagonis
Arcade Gaming Coordinator - Krystina & Chris Johnson
Artshow Coordinators - Meghan Olivarez
Program Book & Consuite Coordinator - Nahal Mirzaie
Volunteer Coordinator - Thomas “Eddo” Fort & Sarah “Sai” Kimmey
Info Desk Coordinators - Michael “Kiwi” Johnson
J-Pop Room Coordinator - Michael “General Vash” Isenhour
AMV Coordinator - Nathan Saucier
TableTop Coordinator - Katy Tunks
Convention Operations Manager - Chris “Kuri” Chapman
Convention Main Gopher - Kara Conner
Charity Auction Manager - Craige Howlett
Convention Adviser - Michael Hicks & Josh Compean
Morale Support - Christopher Morton & Spencer Mears
Move In/Out Team - Randy Gray
DJ Coordinator - Special Thanks To The Following: Michael Loredo, Chris Solis, Darrell Hobrer, Jason Meador, Ryan Kim, Our Lady Of The Lake University, Cythina Rosas, Heroes & Fantasies, Dragon’s Lair, Stuart Hamblin, Pablo & Amy Fraga, James Wong, Tod Kennedy, Tony Ambriz, Amanda Graves, Quyen Ngo, C.W. Reynolds & ninjaHELL!, Brianne Coleman, Britt Myer, Mu Epsilon Kappa Anime Club (MEK), Ikkicon, Oni-Con, AnimeFest, San Antonio Neo-Victorian Association, James Leavings, Randy Gray & Area 512 Entertainment, Chibi Ushicon, Keiichi.net, Patrick Delahanty & Animecons.com, Ooples, San Antonio Public Library, San Antonio CVB, UTSA Culture Center, Joel Rodriguez and many more, more.
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