About San Japan

About San Japan

San Japan, LLC, formed in Fall 2005, is an organization tasked with operating a yearly Japanese Culture and Anime Convention to provide high-quality education and entertainment for our attendees in a safe and fun environment, and to promote the acceptance and appreciation of the anime fandom in the Mid-South and throughout the country as a whole. 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 the planning began to work on San Japan [1.0] to initially debut in July 2007. However, due to issues with the 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.

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.

San Japan is continuing onto its 3rd year to be called San Japan :3. It is moving to the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel next to the Rivercenter Mall to hold this large fan convention which is growing quickly in size.

The Staff:

• Dave "Proz" Henkin
  Convention Chairman
• Lauren "SheWolf" Heacker
  Convention Vicechair & ConOp Coordinator
• Jason "Jay" Perez
  Events Director
• Sven "Doc" Berglowe
  Safety Coordinator
• Matt "Comter" Zeisler
  Registration Coordinator
• Ken Wallen
  Guest Relations Coordinator
• Daniel L Bottoms
  Video Room Coordinator
• Kawaii Seth, Kisa & Julia
  Events Coordinators
• Ricardo "Mr12345" Lepe
  Game Room Coordinator
• Bruce Tomlin
  Tech Coordinator
• Jackie Naehrig
  Artist Alley Coordinator
• The Gear Project
  Cosplay Coordinators
• S. David Ramirez
  Media/PR Coordinator
• Adrian "Bear" Padilla
  Dealer Room Liaison
• Christopher Pagonis
  Arcade Gaming Coordinator
• Krystina & Chris Johnson
  Artshow + Program Book Coordinator
• Barb Varians
  Volunteer Coordinator
• Tara McKinney
  Green Room Liaison
• Thomas "Eddo" Fort & Sarah "Sai" Kimmey
  Info Desk Coordinators
• Kiwi
  J-Pop Room Coordinator
• Ernest Zamora, Jr / AnimeFunTV
  AMV Coordinator
• Annie Smith
  TableTop Coordinator
• Chris “Kuri” Chapman
  Convention Main Gopher
• Special Thanks To The Following: Chris Solis, Darrell Hobrer, Jason Meador, Ryan Kim, Our Lady Of The Lake University, Tarra Ward, Jonny Yen & Cherry Blossom Productions, Dragon’s Lair, Heroes & Fantasies, Stuart Hamblin, James Wong, Quyen Ngo, Pablo & Amy Fraga, Scott Richardson, Kamikazecon, Tony Ambriz, EPAC, Realmscon, Ikkicon, Delta H, Chibi Ushicon, Keiichi.net, Patrick Delahanty & Animecons.com, A.C.E.S., San Antonio Public Library, Violeta Garza, UTSA Culture Center, JASSA

Questions? Please Ask On The San Japan Forums.