Artist Alley Information

There is a 24 hour cafe and coffee shop within the Grand Hyatt There is Denny’s less than 2 blocks from the hotel and a Whataburger that is 4 blocks away. Here is a list of places in the area that are open late night and 24 hours that are less than .5 miles from the convention.

No, you are not required to reserve or stay at the Hotel. However, it is quite beneficial for San Japan if you decide to reserve a room as we are required to fill a certain amount of hotel rooms in order to have access to the hotel meeting space.

To ensure that San Japan is able to hold future conventions at the hotel & convention center, we highly recommend in considering to reserve a room at the hotel. You’re also much closer to the action instead of walking 3-6 blocks in the hot Texas heat to another nearby hotel.

The hotel is right at the heart of the Riverwalk which you can take a tour. There is a River Taxi service a short distance from the hotel located on the Riverwalk by the mall which costs $10 each way or $12 for an unlimited pass. The Alamo, HemisFair Park with the Tower of Americas, and Ripley’s Believe Or Not are all located within a mile radius of the hotel.

The Grand Hyatt will be forcing all patrons who are staying in the hotel during San Japan to wear wristbands in order to access the elevators.

Hyatt: Wi-Fi will be free in all hotels room. Wi-Fi is not free in the convention spaces of the Grand Hyatt. There is limited free internet in the Grand Hyatt lobby.

Marriott: It is $14.95/night+tax in the hotel room. There is free internet in the lobby. If you sign up for their free membership rewards program then the internet access will be free in the hotel room

Hyatt: Self-Parking is $23++ day if you are staying at the Grand Hyatt and the room is under your name. The discount will only apply to one car with additional cars being the normal $45++/day rate. Valet Parking will not be discounted. The discount will be applied when you check-in but be sure to let them know at Front Desk.

Marriott: There is a 50% discount on parking if you self-park your car in the Marriott Rivercenter only (normal rate $43/day). The discount will only apply to one car with additional cars being the normal rate. There is no discount on valet at Riverwalk or Rivercenter hotel.

Parking is $11-$20 for open area parking in the immediate area. $11-$25/day for garage parking (24-hour parking). For more information on parking in the area, click here. The closest lot next to the Marriott Riveralk hotel, Marina Parking, is $11 per day which does allow overnight parking but is usually full by Thursday night of the convention. There is parking ranging from $3 to $10 but will require parking a minimum of 4 blocks from the Convention Center.

San Antonio Sales & Hotel Tax is 17.92% City/State Tax + 1.25% Tourism Fee added to the final bill. This will depend if there are 1 to 4 people staying in your room.

Grand Hyatt: Grand Hyatt will allow you to reserve two rooms per online reservation.

Marriott: You will need to setup a seperate reservation for each room that you want to reserve.

All activities for San Japan on the Grand Hyatt side will be on the 2nd, 3rd floor 4th floor. Elevators in the Grand Hyatt will not be accessible to the 2nd-4th floor except for disabled attendees. There will be escalators to the 2nd-4th floor inside the Grand Hyatt hotel.

There are 4 elevators total in the Marriott Riverwalk hotel accessible to hotel rooms. In Hyatt there are 5 elevators total for hotel rooms located on the 5th to 19th floor. There are 3 elevators for hotel rooms located on the 20th to 24th floor.

You will need to be at least 18 years old with a major credit card. Contact the hotel if you have questions about policies and setting up your reservation.

Grand Hyatt and Marriott have national policies which they put a hold on your card for additional services and potential damages to the room. The rate is $50/day for Hyatt, $40/day for Marriott. Even if you are paying by cash you must put a credit/debit card on file as a hold will be put on your card account.These policies for a required hold are set by the national corporate offices. They are not a policy set by our host hotels.

If you are using a debit card we recommend that you have at least $150-$350 extra for the impending hold on your card so that you are not hit with non-sufficient funds fees by your bank. After you’ve checked out the funds will be released back to your account in 5-10 days.

We list above the rates depending on how many are staying in your hotel room and the hotel selected.
Note: If there is any issue with the hotel room, like a key card being needing to be reactivated, the person/people that listed on the room will be the only person which can make necessary changes at front desk or ask for a new room key.

Grand Hyatt & Marriott: Your credit card will not be charged when you reserve your hotel room. It does not matter if you currently do not have enough money in your account to cover the charges of the room. It will only be charged when you arrive at the convention hotel OR if you don’t show up for your reservation (so be sure to cancel if necessary). You may see a pending charge on your credit card but this is done by the hotel to ensure that it is a valid credit card. This is standard national policy with all hotel reservations. You must cancel 72 hours prior to your arrival otherwise your credit card will be charged for at least one room night. This applies for both hotels.

It does not cost anything to run a panel at San Japan. There is no minimum age to run a panel.

We will post a list of all approved panels up to three weeks after panel submissions close. Approved Panelists will also receive an email confirmation OR linked to a list of approved panels. Approved panels do not guarantee placement on the final schedule. We are limited by the number of panel rooms and the schedule. Please do not e-mail us after you’ve sent in your panel submission to ask if you’ve been approved as this will have a major effect if you are approved at all.

All panel submissions must be made by June 5th, 2019 at 8:59 PM Central Time.

Due to time and space restrictions, we sometimes approve panels that do not end up on the schedule. However, due to cancellations and other occurrences, we may contact an approved panelist, later on, to add them to the schedule. We encourage approved panelists to stay available until the final schedule is released.

For San Japan, the required amount of hours approved/scheduled to receive a complimentary badge is TWO. We will be giving out discount codes for panelists who have 1 or 1.5 hours of panel hours on the final schedule. Panelists who have less than one hour approved and scheduled will not receive any discount. These codes will be issued by August 25th, 2019 which is 7 Days before the convention begins

Panelists who receive a comp or discounted badge will pick up their badge at registration like a standard attendee. Once you have your badge, or if you don’t have a badge and are only attending San Japan to run your panel, please head to Panelist Check In to pick up your Panelist Ribbon.

Panelist Check-In is marked on the convention map (TENTATIVE LOCATION: Hall 4B Entrance, HBG Convention Center). Once you arrive at check in, please give your name and the name of the panel you are running. The staff here will go over what you requested for your panel on your submission, and they can help with any last-minute needs.

Please arrive no later than 45 minutes before your scheduled start time so that we have ample time to get you checked in, take care of any needs, and get you to your panel. Check-In will be open Thursday before the con. Please keep in mind that we keep track of every panelist that checks in (or doesn’t), and we will take this into consideration when selecting approved panelists next year.

Be as thorough as possible when filling out the tech section of your event submission. Forgetting to mention a projector or a certain kind of adapter will likely cause your panel to start late as our techs go off your original submission form when setting up.

Please do not presume that we will have adapters on-hand if you will be using a phone, tablet or a proprietary device. We will have the basics for HDMI or VGA input along with 3.5″/headphone audio input on-hand but it is highly recommended to bring your own adapters.

If you arrive at your panel then remember at that point you need an item, flag down any staff member and they will call in to have a part delivered. This request will be handled LAST if we have other technical needs that are being taken care of.

The layout will be posted in the Times & Layouts page prior to the convention. During the convention, there will be a map in every program and posted in certain areas of the con. If you get lost you can go to one of the Info Desk locations for directions. The staff at the Panelist Check-In area can also direct you to your panel room.

This is to be determined. We will have a field in which you should list your expected capacity so that you’re scheduled in the right size room. Please try to be as accurate as possible, though we understand this can be difficult to calculate for new panels.

E-mail programming(at)san-japan.org to let Panels/Programming Team know, or find a staff member with a radio to get in contact with the Panels/Programming Team. The earlier you can let us know the better. Being a no-call/no-show at San Japan will greatly affect on being approved for any future panels. We do keep track of canceled panels.

• Be original. Character Panels will no longer be accepted. This even includes Character Q&A variants so take that into major consideration. Asking for an exception will not be considered. We heavily recommend creating a Fandom Meeting to allow you to hold Character Q&As. We are not the only convention in Texas to take this stance on Character Q&As.
• Write a thorough description. 1-2 sentence descriptions with a generic panel title will likely get skipped. We need to know exactly what you have planned and how you are going to do it.
• Make a good pitch. Tell us what will happen at your panel/event, and why attendees will want to come to it. Unique ideas will be given higher consideration. Remember that your description will end up in the program if you are approved. You want the attendees to be as excited about attending your panel as you are about organizing it.
• Grammar and spelling are very important if you are going to be addressing a crowd during a panel. It also helps to make a good first impression on those evaluating panel submissions.

We will shut down panels if the person lies on their application on the material shown at which they will be banned from all future programming forever.

• We will be issuing discount codes for 1 hours and 2 hours of APPROVED programming. These codes will be issued AFTER Pre-Registration has closed. They can be used for 1-day or 3-day regular attendee passes. Up to TWO (2) codes will be issued. We are no longer issuing discounts beyond two people. If your approved panel(s) has more than two people then the additional panelists will need to purchase a badge at full price.
  • For 1 hours of approved panels, a 50% discount code will be issued.
  • For 1.5 hours of approved panels, a 75% discount code will be issued.

• Go to our Fandom Meeting (Meetup) form to fill it out. Fan Meetings do not count as panelist hours nor will a discount code be issued.

• E-mail gaming(at)san-japan.org in your interest to run a game tournament. Gaming tournaments do not count as panelist hours.

We will only allow most fan panels/events to be up to 90 minutes long. If your panel/events require more than 90 minutes, then you will need to send multiple panel submissions. If your event includes a preliminary round then a finalist round, or if you would like to hold more than one session, you will need to submit multiple panels.

Please send multiple panel submissions split into 1 or 1.5 hours long. If you want to run an event that is longer than 90 minutes, you must contact us privately along with sending us your proposal, which we will discuss privately. We don’t want to discourage great ideas from hitting our inbox. We have had some great ideas come through like a Persona event block so don’t hesitate to contact us

We want to give as many panelists as possible a chance to talk or put on an event at San Japan. We’ve run into issues over the years with people trying to put on 2-4 hour events with the sole intent of getting a free badge. Only selected long-time panelists who’ve shown multiple years of putting on quality panels will be granted extended run-times.

The codes will be distributed on or around August 25th, 2019 at around when the San Japan Guidebook has been posted to the public.

We do not send out codes at the following times:

• After you panel is submitted.
• When we inform you that your panel is initially approved.
• When PRE-REGISTRATION is open.
• AFTER Pre-Registration closes.
• When the BETA schedule is released.
• Immediately after the FINAL schedule is released.

We can not stress this with a ton of emphasis due panelists constantly e-mailing Programming: Panelist Codes are sent out on or around August 25th, 2019. We will send out a mass e-mail to all approved panelists with their panelist code.

We will not be issuing refunds to approved panelists who have already pre-registered for a convention badge. There will not be any exceptions.

Stop by Panel Check In at least 45 minutes before your panel set up time is scheduled to start. We will ensure you’re able to get into your assigned panel room first.

Tenative Placement for Check-In is by the Hall 4B Entrance in the Convention Center right by Hall 4B Entrance.

There will be not be any refunds for badges purchased using the discount code, nor will we allow you to transfer it to anyone.

When checking in, note that you or your friend is helping out so a PANELIST ribbon is issued to both of you. This will let the staff member at the door know to let you in before the others.

All groups who are not announced guests will only be offered a complimentary badge if they are approved and scheduled for at least 2 hours of programming. Groups who solicit their services requesting a room/booth/travel/payment to put on certain programming will be declined.

We do not allocate any space for storing personal items used for panels. Please make sure that you plan ahead and either have a hotel room or another storage option on-site. We are not liable for any lost, stolen, or damaged items that are left at San Japan.

We do not send rejection emails to panelists. We do list approved panels on the website and approved panelists will be sent an e-mail about it along with general announcements.

Here is a list of changes we will try to enact:

• Programming for Saturday will be limited to one panel total per standard panelist. This is being enacted as just about every submission we get in wants their panel on that day. When we release the schedule we get flooded by messages saying it is schedule conflict causing us to nearly rewrite the entire Beta schedule. This will also allow us to put in a lot more variety on Saturday for panelists.
• Friday will be limited to two panels total per standard panelist.
• There will be a much higher chance of approval if the panelist says they’re willing to hold the panel on Sunday. There will not be any limit on the number of panels they can hold on Sunday. We are putting a much greater emphasis on Sunday programming.
• We are no longer holding 17+ panels. All panels rated 18+ will require all attendees to show a government-issued picture ID in order to enter.
• We will not allow game demos as a panel. Game demos from a company must take place in the appropriate gaming section.
• We will try to send at least one mass email sent out to approved panelists along with posting a list of approved panels. It will be on the panelist to ensure they check their Spam mailbox.
• We have lowered the number of required hours down to TWO hours. In doing this we’re only approving up to TWO badges per person.

We decided that after years of seeing submissions that we’re putting a ban on Character Q&As and variants. The reason for these decisions is based on the quality of these panels in the past and the feedback received from attendees which have not been favorable.

Your panel submission will  not  be considered if you miss the deadline. We  do  not consider submissions submitted through our contact form or by e-mail. Please have your submission in by June 5th, 2019

You fill out a volunteer form. When it is open there will be a link at the top of the page. Cut-off date is July 20th, 2019. We will NOT be accepting any general volunteers after that. No exceptions will be made (so don’t be late). We will accept walk-up volunteers, however, those volunteers get no perks and you must work your allotted hours before gaining access to the convention.

You receive the following benefits as a general volunteer:

• A volunteer badge that gives you access to all places like a regular attendee.
• Access to our convention suite for snacks and drinks (no longer prepping/serving hot meals due to health code concerns).
• Crash space allocated for non-local volunteers.

We will no longer force general volunteers to pay an application fee we are removing the prior benefits of a vendor room voucher along with the $5 food gift card.

When you arrive at San Japan, head over to Room 207B in the HENRY B. GONZALEZ Convention Center. When you arrive at this room the HR Department will be able to help you out. When checked in they will help to direct you to your department head.

For General Volunteer Registration, this is the only way to volunteer. Read below if you have already made arrangements with a staff head to help out San Japan. RANGERS (Staff) Volunteers do get a few extra perks.

We will inform you immediately if you are rejected. If you hear nothing then 99.99% chance you have been accepted as a volunteer. We absolutely need as many people as possible to help us out. However, if you do not send in payment to volunteer then you will not be accepted. Don’t procrastinate!

It does not count if you are only working towards 12 hours. It will count if you have crash space as you will be required to fulfill 21-27 hours. If you are a crash space volunteer you will be required to work at least 6 hours on Thursday. We do track Volunteers hours.

General volunteer crash space at one of our host will only be given to people who do not live in the San Antonio Area (must be at minimum 30 miles from the Convention). We do not allocate crash space at the hotel for locals for general volunteers with no exceptions given.

General Volunteer rooms will have to share a room with up to 5 other people in there. We do not give anyone their own separate room for any reason and asking for an exception will be denied.. All rooms are separated by gender. You must be at least 18 years old to be given crash space for legal liability reasons.

All rooms will be assigned a Room Leader who will be checking in with the Volunteer Department for the duration of the convention. Information to volunteers who qualify for crash space will be sent out in LATE August 2018.

Cosplaying while volunteering for San Japan is allowed as long as the costume does not interfere with your duties in helping San Japan and approved by the department head. If it is noticed that your cosplay is interfering with your duties then you may be asked to change out until your shift has been completed. However, this does not apply to the Safety department as you will be required to wear a safety shirt. If you are assigned to Assets, Events or Safety department as you will be asked to wear normal clothes.

No, you do not have to pay to pre-register if you sign up to volunteer and you’re accepted as a volunteer.

Here is a list of the positions that will be available:

• Artist Alley Helper
• Convention Suite (Catering/Snack Suite) Helper
• Craft Room Helper
• Asset Control Helper (ConOps)
• Human Relations Helper (HR)
• Dealer Room Helper
• Programming Helper
• Info Desk / Merchandise Helper
• Lines & Signs Helper
• Load-In/Load-Out Helper
• Main Stage Helper
• Merch Helper
• Registration Helper (NON-Cash Handling Position)
• Event Safety Volunteer
• TechOp Volunteer / Setup
• Video Gaming Departments
• Video Rooms Helper

Maid Cafe and Guest Relation positions are personally recruited by the department head. They do not accept outside general volunteer applications. Details about each position are listed in the volunteer application.

The Maid Cafe is the most popular department that people want to join. There are no open positions for the Maid Cafe for General Volunteers. The maid cafe applications are opened at intervals times and selected from applicants.

You can add them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SweetnessMaidCafewhere they’ll announce about the applications. We receive frequent inquiries on how to be a maid which you will be required to be vetted in as a helper by that group before being offered a maid or butler position.

We can always use some extra staff members. If you have advanced technical skills in Audio/Visual, willing to help out in Events setup, have a customer service smile even under stressful situations, want to help keep our volunteers happy, you have exceptional organizational skills, or have a skill that would be highly beneficial to San Japan then we’d like to hear from you. Just check out our Open Staff Positions. You can use the form on the page to submit an inquiry to join the staff. We highly recommend coming in as a Ranger first prior to applying as we need to see you in action first.

Unless you heard back from the volunteer coordinator saying there’s something wrong with your volunteer application, you don’t have anything to worry about. We contact all of our volunteers by August 5th, 2018 with confirmation of status. Then you will be contacted a second time with their position assignments and other information. If you have any concerns then e-mail volunteer@san-japan.org. Volunteer Confirmations will be sent out no later than August 5th, 2018.

No. You will be responsible for your own transportation to San Japan and you will have to cover your own parking charges.

Your volunteer badge is valid for all three days of the convention.

No. After July 20th, 2018 we are not taking any additional volunteers. If you e-mail asking us to make an exception, the answer will be no.

A RANGER (Staff) volunteer is a volunteer who was recruited or asked to help out a department. They are generally arranged by the department head/coordinator. They have additional benefits including guaranteed hotel space arrangements, receive a free t-shirt, free meals throughout the weekend and access to a special invite-only after-con event held on Sunday evening. They are expected to work much longer hours than General Volunteers.

GENERAL volunteerssign-up through the San Japan website and are generally either new or have volunteered for less than 3 years. RANGERS are given a private link to sign-up and have generally been volunteering for over 3 years with San Japan.

If you would like to work directly with the convention or a department as a RANGER for future conventions then we suggest staying in touch with a department head or director. We are always looking for a few good people to help make San Japan a great convention. If you need to get in touch with a department head we will get you in touch with our HR department.

When we review the application we will be looking to see if you’ve applied at prior conventions, what departments you’ve helped, your qualifications if you’ve applied for a department that needs technical skills, and if you have Customer Service skills.

We are putting a larger focus on volunteers who have Customer Service experience and can handle the stress of being a volunteer. We want to ensure that our volunteers on the floor are friendly to our attendees. If this sounds a bit intimidating, don’t be discouraged as we will have all kinds of positions to choose from as we need plenty of volunteers to help in the background.

The change is due to our rapid growth. We need as many willing and able volunteers to help out in many aspects of San Japan. It was decided to loosen some of our rules to see if we can find more willing volunteers to continue to help make San Japan a great convention. We are still enacting the rule that you must be at least 18 years old at the beginning of San Japan to receive hotel crash space.

Be sure to arrive at San Japan by around 11 AM Thursday to help with setup. The assigned Volunteer Coordinator will get you checked-in. (TENTATIVE LOCATION: Room 207B, HBG Convention Center)

We will have a limited amount of crash space set aside for those who arrive on Thursday but you will be required to work at minimum of 6 hours on Thursday along with 27 hours over the duration of San Japan Thursday – Sunday with at least 8 hours a day on Friday and Saturday.

All General Volunteers MUST inform us 2 weeks ahead of time that they plan to arrive on Thursday of the convention. Do not presume that crash space will be available on Thursday.

Crash space is a common phrase amongst convention attendees for ‘space in a shared hotel room amongst other patrons’. All general volunteer rooms are gender separated. General Volunteer Crash Space may have to share a room with up to 5 other people.

No, you do not any shape or form need to purchase a convention badge in order to volunteer at San Japan if you are accepted as a general volunteer.

No. If you have been directly recruited to work under a department then you will be directed to the staff volunteer page for sign-up to be renamed as RANGERS. There are additional perks to being part of the RANGERS staff are listed further down the FAQ. However, if you wish to remain a general volunteer you may for up to 3 years. We are pushing for multi-year General Volunteers to become a RANGER with San Japan.

We will have a separate private form to sign-up as a RANGER. The RANGER form is not on the San Japan website.

We will be sending out all volunteer acceptance e-mails by August 5th, 2019 and e-mails about Crash Space will be sent in some time in LATE August 2019. We ask for your patience until then.

You will be sent your department assignment and shifts by the HR Department. We will be tracking them by check-in and check-out. The department head will be given notice on this.

All general volunteers are expected to complete their assigned shifts. If we are notified by the department head that you did not show up to your volunteer shifts without informing your department head or HR on why you were a no-show then we will be revoking your convention badge along with being removed from crash space.

We will be adding these restrictions due to issues we’ve had in the past:

• All volunteers and staff may not bring their pets or children to the convention to stay within allocated crash space. We do not offer a babysitter service.
• Volunteers may not have their child work beside them if they are less than 13 years old.
• Illegal activities will not be tolerated at all. We will press charges for theft, drug activity, or hotel/venue damages.

The above video created by TWC News in 2015 does an excellent job to answer those burning questions. We couldn’t even write out a better description. We had over 17,000 attendees for our 2017 convention.

San Japan is happening on August 31st – September 2nd, 2018 in downtown San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio Grand Hyatt Hotel and also the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel. We take place at the center of the famous River Walk. It is located right by the Rivercenter Mall.

Address:

900 E. Market St.
San Antonio, Texas 78205

This is our permanent convention location. We are not planning to move to a different venue within San Antonio.

If you are looking for the dates for the next San Japan we will always take place on Labor Day Weekend forever.

The convention officially starts at 9 am on Friday, August 31st, 2018, Labor Day Weekend. For specific times, click here for the exact times for registration and Dealer room hours. We will be posting schedules on the San Japan website starting in mid-August on when panels & events would be happening.

It is not required at all. You will see a lot of people who will be dressed up but all we ask is to bring yourself and try to have fun at San Japan.

San Japan is an all-ages convention. However, if you are under the age of 13, you will need to have a parent or legal guardian who is 18 or above with you at all times.

Your ID is only necessary if you plan to pick up your pre-registration badge by showing your ID OR if you plan to attend any 18+ events. It mustbe a government-issued ID for all 18+ events. You do not have to show your ID in order to purchase a badge at the convention. The electronic dance is an all-ages event and does not require ID to enter. All events will require a convention badge which will be checked at all events.

We will only accept Government Issued ID with a picture ID such as a driver’s license, Texas State ID or USA Issued Passport. We will notaccept school IDs, birth certificates, or social security card. If you plan to attend any 18+ events, it is imperative that you have an ID. We will not make any exceptions if you do not have a government-issued picture ID and attempt to enter an 18+ as we check everyone’s ID upon allowing entry. An expired ID is okay as long as the birth date and the photo is recent.

We will not allow an underage person, even with parent or guardian permission, into an 18+ panel. No government issued picture ID = No admission to an 18+ panel, even if you look 60.

No, it does not. Your convention badge is your ticket. We will NOT be charging extra for you to see any of the music acts that we’re bringing in or charge extra to watch the cosplay show. We do not charge extra to attend a panel.

We want everyone to enjoy all the fun they can with just their badge. The only time a panel or event will cost extra will be if we absolutely need to charge extra. This applies to panels which include additional materials like workshops or the Maid Cafe. We will inform attendees about this ahead of time.

Only the Cosplay Show and the Formal Masquerade Dance will require a ticket in addition to your badge. We list on our Event Tickets page on how to acquire them. Music events designated in the Grand Hyatt do not require a separate ticket.

We will always list on the schedule if an event requires a separate ticket.

You are perfectly allowed to bring your own food to San Japan. You can store it in a bag or in your hotel. The only restriction is that you can’t sell food on the convention floor in the hotel or convention center.

No, we do not require cosplayers to enter the Cosplay Show or cosplay events. You may show up in a costume if you’d like and no further action is required besides having fun.

It is the policy of San Japan that what goes on in the privacy of a hotel room is not of the convention’s concern. However, we do ask that room parties be kept to a reasonable size (remember the fire marshal restrictions) and that the noise is kept at a reasonable volume. Hotel security will break up parties that receive complaints. However, if San Japan safety personnel have reason to believe that illegal activities or activities that could threaten the welfare of the convention are taking place at a room party, they have a duty and a responsibility to act to ensure the safety of all involved.

All patrons staying in the San Antonio Grand Hyatt will be required to wear a wristband in order to access their hotel room. Please put this into consideration. This policy will always be enacted for all years that San Japan uses them as their main host hotel.

San Japan does not perform bag check inside the convention center. All bags, including backpacks, are allowed at the convention. We do nothave a clear bag policy at our venues, unlike the Alamodome or AT&T Center.

The only time bags are not allowed is after 11 PM in our Main Stage Ballroom on Friday and Saturday of the convention weekend. The Hyatt hotel will not bag check for free so be prepared for this. We do not offer lockers nor will we watch your bags.

The San Japan theme changes to year-to-year. The 2019 Theme is Sports which is everything that involves sports anime. You are not required to adhere your cosplay to this theme.

We will be taking Event Submissions starting in late January 2018. We are now taking event/panel submissions which ends on June 5th, 2018.

As an Anime convention, we will be bringing you multiple viewing rooms, gaming, interactive events, game shows, industry panels, guest panels, karaoke and more.

We will be posting on our Panelist FAQ that answers these questions in detail along with many more.

To receive a free 3-day panelist badge, you must hold at least 2 hours of approved panels/events. If you have a companion(s) helping out, that companion must also be with you in your panels for all 2 hours of panels/events. We will give out discount codes for panelists with 1-1.5 hour in approved programming.

Sorry, but liability prohibit us from offering this. We will have a form at a later time for Fandom Meetings.

We will have multiple ‘dances’ takes place within San Japan. On both Friday & Saturday night starting at around midnight will be a ‘dance’ with Electronic Dance Music and multiple DJs (we can’t answer the question on what type of music that will be played there, that is up to the DJ). The EDM Dances are all-ages shows which take place in the Grand Hyatt.

On Friday evening will be the Formal Masquerade hosted by the San Japan Masquerade Event Staff. This will be a strict formal dress code which requires a mask. The rules for the formal dance are on the San Japan website.

No, you only have to attend your appointment time. Once you’ve been judged then you’re done for the pre-judging section. You will still have to participate in the Cosplay Show. If you no-show at the Cosplay Show you are disqualified. If you miss your appointment time you may come to another time but you will have wait until the very end of the pre-judging session which will be two hours of waiting so don’t be late or no-show when you’re called up.

No, you can bring the cosplay on a coat hanger.

ANY reference photos, printed or you can show on your phone. Construction photos of your cosplay also helps.

Attendees who are age 0-5 will be issued a FREE child badge with a paid full price badge. Child badges can only be picked up at the convention. The child must be with an adult at all times.

Yes, this is true for Formal Masquerade. We are changing the Cosplay Show to be ticketed in the MIDDLE ORCHESTRA SEATS ONLY as we are switching to first-come/first-serve seating for all other Cosplay Show sections in 2019. Cosplay Show Tickets for the MIDDLE ORCHESTRA will be a charity donation of $5 for your valid San Japan Badge available at the CHARITY SECTION. Pickup will be available throughout the convention.

The Formal Masquerade Dance has switched over to being a charity event. We have a page with details on how it will be handled..

We are not sold out of regular San Japan convention passes. We do not have a limit on the number of passes. The only limit we have is on Gold Passes and Premiere Passes which typically sell out within minutes once they are released to the public. We recommend on pre-registering for San Japan but if you need to purchase passes at the convention then you can do so at the convention.

You are not required to purchase a pass on the San Japan website as you may purchase a pass at the convention location. We have convention badges for sale at the convention. Don’t worry, we will not be sold out as our facilities can comfortably fit over 40,000 people and we anticipate around half that size in attendance.

Yes, we do sell 1-Day passes/badges when they become available which will be after pre-registration has closed. We do not offer 1-day passes/badges until pre-registration has closed. The prices for them will be listed after pre-registration has closed which is when they will go on sale.

• Rate Announced July 10th, 2019 – Friday – 1-Day Badge (Age 13 & Up)
• Rate Announced July 10th, 2019 – Saturday – 1-Day Badge (Age 13 & Up)
• Rate Announced July 10th, 2019 – Sunday – 1-Day Badge (Age 13 & Up)
• Rate Announced July 10th, 2019 – Regular 3-Day Pass (Age 13 & Up)
• Rate Announced July 10th, 2019 – Child Pass (Age 6-12). Child Pass is Valid for ALL 3-Days Of The Convention. Child Passes are only sold at the Convention. We do not sell Child Passes online.
• FREE for anyone 5 years old and under (ONLY AVAILABLE AT THE CONVENTION)
• Lost Badge Fee For 3 Day Only – $75. We will not replace Lost 1 Day Badges.
• $5 Military Discount with a Valid Military ID (Active Military Only) will be given At Door Only (Does not apply to Pre-Registration, ALL On-line registration, Gold Passes or Premiere Passes). Applicable to 1-Day and 3-Day Badges. There are no Military Discount for Child Passes.

Regular 1-Day and 3-Day passes will be available for on-line purchase starting on July 11th, 2019.

Regular 1-Day and 3-Day passes will be available to purchase on-line while the convention is happening up until September 1st, 2019 at 3PM. We will have badges/passes to purchase at the convention. You are not required to purchase them on-line in order to attend San Japan.

Registration will be located in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in the Bridge Hall (near Hall 4B) in the redesigned HBG Convention Center.

Pre-Registration/Online Registration pickup is available on: Thursday 8/29/19 at 5:30pm-11:30pm.

Normal Registration/Pre-Registration and Online Registration pickup will open at the following times:

• Thursday 08/29/19 at 5:30pm-11:30pm
• Friday 08/30/19 at 9:00am-9:30pm
• Saturday 08/31/19 9:00am-8:00pm
• Sunday 09/01/19 10:00am-4:00pm.

Please note that all times are when Registration will be open but we might be open later if there are a lot of people still wanting badges when we’re scheduled to close.

No. You do not have to show up at the convention on Thursday or Friday. You can pick up your convention badge at any time during the duration of the convention when Registration is open during the convention. Your convention badge is valid for the duration of the weekend.

We list our registration hours and layouts on the Times & Layout page

The price of Gold Passes are $196.49* with 165 passes released for our 2019 convention. Gold Passes have always sold out. We are anticipating the same in 2019. They will be available on April 15th, 2019 at 8:00PM Central.

People who purchase the ‘Gold Pass’ will get the following benefits:

• First in line for most panels/events* including the concert(s).
• An exclusive badge to show your support for San Japan.
• Exclusive early access to the dealers room 30 minutes before regular attendees for Friday & Saturday.
• Pre-determined San Japan Merch.
• Sunday brunch with most of the attending guests.
• Free Convention T-Shirt.
• Includes the regular benefits of a regular attendee badge to attend all events.
• The Gold Pass will not include front of the line access for autograph sessions on Friday or Saturday. An exclusive autograph session will be on Sunday afternoon (Does Not Include Paid Autograph Only Guests).
• We do not issue free tickets to the Maid Cafe for Gold Pass holders. The Maid Cafe is a paid event for all San Japan attendees.
• We will be issuing a limited number of tickets for our Cosplay Show (Center Orchestra Seats) and Formal Masquerade Dance. Gold Pass holders will be issued one ticket to the Cosplay Show and Formal Masquerade Dance.
• Gold Pass will not be issued any complimentary tickets for paid autograph sessions. Paid autograph sessions is a paid event for all San Japan attendees.

Attendees 12 and under will not be allowed to attend the VIP brunch. We will not be selling a separate brunch ticket for children ages 0-12. This is due to limited food and seating.

*There is a $3.50 Service Fee applied to each individual Gold Pass purchased

The current solution is to send an e-mail to registration@san-japan.org. Please include a copy of your receipt.

Do not just send us your name and e-mail. Please send as much information as possible including your name, address, e-mail, transaction confirmation number and DOB. We receive thousands of pre-registrations so we need all the info possible to confirm whom you are.

NO further changes will be allowed to your online registration after July 20th, 2018. requested changes after July 20th, 2019 will need to be discussed in personat the San Japan Registration section.

If you purchased a Friday pass on-line but meant it to be for Saturday pass then we advise to just show up at the convention. regIT staff will help in making an exchange.

E-mail registration@san-japan.org. Be sure to include your full contact information to verify yourself. We ask to please format your email with the following:

Your Name:
Your Address:
Your E-mail Address:
Your Date Of Birth:
Transaction Receipt # (If Possible):
Confirmation # (If Possible):

As much information given will greatly expedite your inquiry. You can also bring your VALID government-issued ID (Drivers License, Passport) as your confirmation too.

Yes, you may pick up a friend, family or significant other convention badges if you have their barcode confirmation paperwork. If you do not have their confirmation paperwork then we will not allow you pick it up for them on their behalf.

You can pick up your 3-Day Pre-Registration, 3-Day Online Registration or Friday 1-Day Badge on Thursday 08/29/19. An ID is not required in order to purchase a badge at the convention so you can purchase them for friends and family. You can not pick-up your Saturday or Sunday 1-Day pass until that day of the convention. You will be turned away if you attempt to pick it up.

Pre-Registration will cost the following amount (up until 11:59PM Central Time):

• $44.00* Tier 3-Day Pre-Registration from October 21st, 2018 through November 12th, 2018
• $51.50* Tier 3-Day Pre-Registration from November 13th, 2018 through January 1st, 2019
• $56.50* Tier 3-Day Pre-Registration from January 2nd, 2019 through March 14th, 2019
• $61.50* Tier 3-Day Pre-Registration from March 15th, 2019 through May 14th, 2019
• $66.50* Tier 3-Day Pre-Registration from May 15th, 2019 through July 8th, 2019

For Pre-Registration, we will accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and Debit cards if you purchase the pass online. To purchase a pass now, go to our Pre-Registration page. We do not accept Mail-in Pre-Registrations. You can pay by eCheck.

We have selected Nine-Tails as our store to pre-register which you can pay with cash or credit card. Nine-Tails does charge an 8.25% Sales Tax if you pay by Credit Card. You may purchase your pass from Nine-Tails starting on November 15th, 2018. The address is Wonderland of The Americas Mall, 4522 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX. They are located on the 2nd floor near Stein Mart & Bijiou Theater.

*For our 2019 convention there will be a $3.50 Service Fee for each individual badge for all pre-registration passes purchased on-line or at Nine-Tails.

We will have badge checkers at all Exhibit Halls, video gaming, all panel/programming rooms, Lila Cockrell Theater and at Main Events. Badge checkers will be checking to ensure all badges are valid San Japan badges. ‘Sneaking’ into areas requiring an attendee badge will have you escorted over to on-site SAPD which further actions will be considered by San Japan including charges filed. If you plan to attend San Japan but only plan to be in public spaces with friends at the host hotels or have photos taken in Hemisphere Park then you’re allowed to do that without restriction.

The group discount rate for 2019.

• 8-12 Badges Purchased = $3.50 off per badge.
• 13-19 Badges Purchased = $5 off per badge.
• 20-29 Badges Purchased = $7.50 off per badge.
• 30 & Up Badges Purchased = $10 off per badge.

All badges must be purchased at the same time. The discount is applied at checkout. The group discount will only apply to pre-registration passes. After July 8th, 2019 the group discount will no longer apply on-line or in person. We do not accept checks or invoices for group discount purchases.

READ BELOW IF BEFORE JULY 20TH, 2019.

If you would like to transfer your Pass, please forward your barcode Confirmation email to registration@san-japan.org along with the following information about the new Pass owner at the top of the email body:

First Name:
Last Name:
Badge Name:
Email:
Gender:
Birthday:
Phone Number:
Street Address:
City:
State:
Zip code:

The deadline date is July 20th, 2019. Transfers of all types are not allowed after July 20th, 2019 with no exceptions made. This includes nickname changes.

READ BELOW FOR AFTER JULY 20TH, 2019.

Once the transfer deadline of July 20th, 2019 has already passed absolute no Passes may be transferred with changed information at this point after July 20th, 2019. You may still give or sell (it would be on you to receive any money from the new Pass owner) your Pass to someone else by giving them your Barcoded Confirmation email and requesting a “blank” Pass be issued for that Pass so that a new Pass owner may write their own badge name on their Pass. The new Pass owner only needs to show the barcoded Confirmation email and mention that they need a “blank” Pass at the convention to claim their “blank” Pass.

We have an extensive On-Site Registration FAQ which answers the most common questions broken down by day with everything you need to know and do to pick up your badge/pass at San Japan. We even list the expected wait times. Our wait times in 2018 never exceeded 45 minutes at peak traffic times and was below ten minutes for a majority of the time.

Be sure to contact regIT at registration@san-japan.org. We will work with you to get your refund if before the registration cutoff or if there has been a double payment. If you initiate a chargeback refund through credit card instead of contacting San Japan then you will be blocked from using online registration for all future San Japan conventions.

There is still a strict no refunds policy on all refund requests after July 8th, 2019 on all badges. This includes duplicate badges purchases if it is not the fault of the regIT registration portal. If you are unsure that you are not able to make it San Japan then we highly recommend to purchase your badge/pass at the convention or buy it online on the day of the convention.

First, please check your spam filter to ensure it is not in there as all passes are sent immediately after payment has been received (except for eChecks). Next, contact regIT at registration@san-japan.org. You can send an inquiry through our contact form but it will be forwarded to that e-mail address.

We will need the following information when emailing us.

Your Name:
Your Address:
Your E-mail Address:
Your Date Of Birth:
Transaction Receipt # (If Possible):

If your registration information comes in but it doesn’t have a barcode, DON’T PANIC. regIT will be able to look up your information with the numbers listed on the confirmation.

Yes, this is true for Formal Masquerade. We are changing the Cosplay Show to be ticketed in the MIDDLE ORCHESTRA SEATS ONLY as we are switching to first-come/first-serve seating for all other Cosplay Show sections in 2019. Cosplay Show Tickets for the MIDDLE ORCHESTRA will be a charity donation of $5 for your valid San Japan Badge available at the CHARITY SECTION. Pickup will be available throughout the convention.

The Formal Masquerade Dance has switched over to being a charity event. We have a page with details on how it will be handled..

Pre-registration for our 2019 convention opens up on October 21st, 2018 at 12:01AM and ends on July 8th, 2019 at 11:59PM CENTRAL Time. There will be tier pricing so the earlier you pre-register the cheaper the price.

The availability for 1-Day passes/badges and regular 3-Day passes/badges begins on July 11th, 2019. Online Registration for our 2019 convention will be open until Sunday, September 2nd, 2019 3:00PM. Passes will always be available online as we do not turn it off until one hour before San Japan registration closes on Sunday September 1st, 2019.

The service fee is to ensure a smooth and efficient Registration experience. The service fee is not being imposed by regIT but is being implemented by San Japan as a way to cover/defer the cost of using regIT. The fee is required for every individual attendee badge.

No, we do not mail out badges of any kinds at all. You must pick them up in person. Mailing out badges are not being considered.

This is the name that’s put on the front of the badge which can be a personal nickname, the name of a character or an online name. The name must be a PG nickname as we do screen all of them. We will send you an e-mail requiring a new nickname if we deem it to be racy or offensive . After July 8th, 2019 we will be turning this feature off. Any badges purchased July 8th will be issued a blank badge and issued a sharpie to write your name.

This section only applies for Pre-Registration only as all pre-registered badges get a pre-printed badge. We do not ask for your nickname after July 8th, 2019. Blank badges are issued for badges purchased after Pre-Registration has closed. We do not issue pre-printed badges that have been purchased after July 8th, 2019. We will have sharpies on-site to write in your name.

E-mail registration@san-japan.org about your issue. Be sure to state what device and browser you are using. Be as thorough as possible.

This would be correct, you are pre-purchasing a 3-day San Japan pass at the lowest current tier price when you purchase pre-register. Pre-registration is the lowest rate you’ll spend for a convention pass at San Japan. We do not offer 1-Day pre-registration as it will only be (and always will be) 3-Day pre-registrations. 1-Day passes are available after pre-registration has closed.

For those who’ve already pre-registered, we do not offer any “upgrade” when purchasing a Gold Or Premiere Pass when they are released to the public. If you are able to obtain one, as they will be in high demand when they go on sale, you will have to pay the full price for a Gold Or Premiere Pass. There will be a refund fee after 60 days of purchase of all types of passes up until July 8th, 2019.

You may print out and/or bring any one of the following to pickup your Pre-Registration or Online Registration if you have any of the following:

• Barcoded Confirmation email from San Japan (ID is not required in order to pick up your badge IF you have the confirmation email)
• A Valid, government-issued photo ID is only required if you do not have the barcode confirmation email printed out or shown on your phone.
• You have the Paypal confirmation e-mail printed out or shown on your phone.

In most cases, displaying your Barcoded Confirmation email on your smartphone will allow us to scan the barcode directly from your smartphone.

To answer an extremely commonly asked questions, Yes, you can pick for your friend if you have their barcode confirmation email. An ID is not required in order to pickup a friends or family badge if you have the barcode confirmation. We will not accept your family/friend Paypal confirmation.

In 2019 we are introducing the Premiere Pass for attendees who want the first in line benefits to most panels/events* but are not interested in the Gold Pass perks of the VIP Brunch/Autograph session. The price of Premiere Passes are $126.50* with 150 passes released for our 2019 convention. They will be available on April 15th, 2019 at 8:00PM Central.

People who purchase the ‘Premiere Pass’ will get the following benefits:

• First in line for most panels/events* including the concert(s).
• An exclusive badge to show your support for San Japan.
• Exclusive early access to the dealers room 30 minutes before regular attendees for Friday & Saturday.
• Pre-determined San Japan Merch.
• Free Convention T-Shirt.
• Includes the regular benefits of a regular attendee badge to attend all events .
• The Premiere Pass will not include front of the line access for autograph sessions on Friday or Saturday. It does not include access to the Gold Pass Autograph session on Sunday afternoon.
• We do not issue free tickets to the Maid Cafe for Gold Pass holders. The Maid Cafe is a paid event for all San Japan attendees.
• We will be issuing a limited number of tickets for our Cosplay Show (Center Orchestra Seats) and Formal Masquerade Dance. Premiere Pass holders will be issued one ticket to the Cosplay Show (Center Orchestra) and Formal Masquerade Dance.
• Premiere Pass will not be issued any complimentary tickets for paid autograph sessions. Paid autograph sessions is a paid event for all San Japan attendees.

The Premiere Pass does not include access to the Sunday VIP Brunch or VIP Autograph Session. They are only available to Gold Pass holders. You will be turned away on arrival.

*There is a $3.50 Service Fee applied to each individual Premiere Pass purchased.

There is a military discount for San Japan which is only offered at at the convention. It is only valid for active military only. It is a $5 discount on 1-day and 3-day on-site badges. We do this as we must have visual verification of the ID.

We do not offer it:

• Via online code.
• For pre-registration.
• For Military Family Members.

The suggested badges will never be considered. We only sell one type of badge which is an all-access badge to the entire convention. It’s on the attendees to decide what they do with that. If you would like a cheaper badge then we heavily recommend pre-registering at the earliest possible as the first registration price tier will always be cheaper than a 1-day badge on Friday or Saturday.

Attendees who are age 0-5 will be issued a FREE child badge with a paid full price badge. Child badges can only be picked up at the convention. The child must be with an adult at all times.

If you pay online then you will receive an e-mail confirmation of your registration. We do not mail out tickets / badges. Please Save Your E-mail If you pay in person at Nine-Tails, you will receive a printout plus your confirmation by e-mail.

Even if you lose the e-mail or printout, Don’t Panic! We will have your information in our database. You can still show up to the convention to show us your government-issued photo ID .

In this case, please bring your Pre-Registration Payment Confirmation email/page to claim your badge. However, State IDs are very easy to obtain for all ages. We will accept pre-registrations if you have the San Japan Pre-Registration Confirmation E-mail displayed on your smartphones, tablet or other electronic device.

We do accept drivers licenses (all kinds, expired ID is okay), military ID and passports. We do not accept birth certificates, School IDs or temporary paper ID without a picture on it. The government-issued ID must have a picture ID on it in some fashion. No exceptions are made.

Just your smiling self and some money or credit card. IDs are not required to register at the door if you’re paying for a normal pass/badge. We are strongly encouraging as many people as possible to Pre-Register to get the guaranteed lowest convention member badge rate. Payment for sure accepted at the door will be accepted in the form of Cash, Visa, Discover, Mastercard or American Express. We will not accept checks.

Please direct refund requests to registration@san-japan.org up until July 8th, 2019. After July 8th, 2019 we will not be issuing any refunds or credits for any reason. This includes medical or catastrophic emergencies. This applies to Gold Passes along with standard attendee badges. This includes 1-Day or 3-Day badges purchased after July 8th, 2019.

If you are unsure if you’ll be attending or going on a different day then we highly suggest to purchase your badge at the convention. All purchases after July 8th, 2019 will not have refunds for any reason whatsoever including medical, personal or natural disaster emergencies. You may transfer your badge to another person after July 8th, 2019 up until July 20th, 2019 at no charge. Transfers will no longer be allowed after July 20th, 2019.

There will be a refund fee after 60 days of purchase but there will not be any refund at all after July 8th, 2019. The fee is $5 per badge for a regular attendee badge, $10 for a Gold or Premiere Pass.

If you can’t make it to San Japan and have gone past the refund deadline that the bar code confirmation is valid to whoever redeems it. A transfer is not required as we do not require an ID in order to pick up a badge if the person redeems a barcode confirmation. Your San Japan barcode confirmation is like an unused concert ticket which anyone can use. This includes the Gold Pass and Premiere Pass.

Refund requests processing submitted before July 8th, 2019 can take up to 5 business days. Multiple inquiries will not speed up your refund request.

We appreciate that you want to volunteer at San Japan. Check our volunteer page for information on how to volunteer. We will try to have the application up by April 2019 with online signup ending on July 20th, 2019.

You are not required to purchase them online.

Yes, convention badges will be for sale at the at-con rate if you show up on the day of the convention. If you wish to pay in cash you have to show up on Friday – Sunday of the convention. Please visit our On-Site Registration FAQ which we answer a lot more questions.

If you arrive with your Barcode Confirmation E-Mail which is e-mailed to immediately after you purchase your convention badge you are not required to show your ID to pick up your badge. This applies for picking up friends and family member badges too as we will only accept their confirmation paperwork. You do not have to print out your barcode confirmation out as we can accept them from a phone or tablet.

No, we do not. You must purchase a 3-Day badge even if you are only attending for 2 days. It is still cheaper than any combination of 2 1-day passes.

No, you will be redirected to the front of the line to pick up your child badge.

All questions that we’re receiving to date pertaining to what to do when you arrive at San Japan to pick up your badge are answered in the San Japan On-Site Registration FAQ.

It answers:

• Thursday Pick-Up / Purchase.
• Registration hours.
• Expected wait time.
• Where to purchase / pickup your badge.
• How to purchase a convention badge at San Japan.
• What is needed to pick up your badge.
• Gold Pass Pickup.

It is broken down by the day of arrival including Thursday pickup.

The minimum age a person has to be to purchase a badge on-line through regIT is 13 years old. For anyone under 13 you must purchase a child badge in person. We list our reasons for this within the FAQ. You can purchase a badge for anyone including siblings, family members or friends.