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GENERAL RULES
MOTIVATION
There are open questions as to the legality of custom controllers and controller modifications in the FGC. This has led to uncertainty both for players and product developers: Players don’t know what controllers will be tournament legal in the future, leading them to choose traditional gamepads and fightsticks. This limits choice for players, preventing players from choosing the very best controller according to their own personal taste. Controller manufacturers are uncertain as to whether future products will be tournament legal, stifling innovation. To resolve this uncertainty, Evo has developed these tournament rules for 3rd party controllers, which SAN JAPAN will adopt.
SAN JAPAN tournaments are all Bring Your Own Controller (BYOC). Players are responsible for having a tournament-legal controller, arcade stick, or other input device on which to compete. More details about what constitutes a tournament-legal controller are listed below. Players must be in possession of such a device when they are called to play in a tournament set. Players in a tournament pool may not ask to borrow controllers from any other competitors who are also active in a pool, except in the event of mid-set equipment failure. Players who are active in a tournament pool should also not lend out their controllers to others in the pool, except in the event of mid-set equipment failure.
Controller: The device a player manipulates to interact with the game. Examples of controllers include:
Input Mechanism: Any device on the controller which the player interacts with to play the game. Example input mechanisms include:
Game Input: A signal sent from the controller to the game in reaction to the player manipulating some input mechanism. Example game inputs include
Controllers at SAN JAPAN are tournament legal, so long as they abide by the rules below.
Regardless of any specific rules that SAN JAPAN suggests, controllers must also abide by logic that fighting game developers take into account when designing their game. For example:
For players that require a converter in order to use their controller on tournament consoles, the only currently tournament legal converters are Brook Converters. The Chronus Max Plus and Titan One converters are outright banned. Other converters may be permitted for tournament use following a review. Players are responsible for ensuring that their controller works on the tournament consoles.
All controllers, even those for casual play only, are required to be wired to a console. Wireless controllers, of all kinds, are not eligible for play unless specified as legal in a game’s individual rules. A wireless controller with the batteries removed and powered exclusively through a USB connector will be considered legal. Wireless controllers that operate exclusively through a USB dongle will also be considered “Wired” controllers.
Players are responsible for their controllers and their functionality. If a controller’s wireless sync interferes with tournament matches, it will be confiscated. Players who are found to be using an unapproved wireless controller will be disqualified from the tournament and have their controller confiscated until the end of the event.
PlayStation 4 Exception: The PlayStation DualShock 4 controller is legal for tournaments contested on the PlayStation 4.
PlayStation 5 Exception: The PlayStation DualSense and DualSense Edge controller is legal for tournaments contested on the PlayStation 5.
The Hit Box Cross|Up remaps input mechanisms found on a stock controller to different locations on the device. Specifically:
Since the Hit Box Cross|Up avoids violating other rulings by implementing a SOCD cleaner and does not send multiple inputs, it is a tournament legal device.
The Hit Box Smash Box maps many of the analog functions of the Nintendo Gamecube Gamepad to digital buttons. For example, a player can activate specific analog tilt angles by entering chords of digital inputs. The Smash Box is therefore tournament legal.
The Gafrobox implements a specific method of SOCD cleaning where holding multiple, opposite directions will always keep the most recent, still depressed input. For example, when a user holds Left, presses Right, and releases Right, the Gafrobox will send the Left, Right, Left inputs to the game. In this case, 3 user inputs (press Left, press Right, release Right) has resulted in 3 different game inputs (Left, Right, Left) and therefore is not in violation. The Gafrobox also implements SOCD cleaning such that Left and Right are never simultaneously sent to the game and is not in violation. Therefore, the Gafrobox is tournament legal.
Some tournament players have developed a novel grip with the PlayStation DUALSHOCK®4 controller which allows them to simultaneously hold Left on the analog stick while pressing Right on the D-Pad, or vice versa. The device violates the SOCD ruling, but is specifically allowed by the “stock” controller exemption. Therefore, the PlayStation DUALSHOCK®4 is tournament legal.
In 2014, tournament player Full Schedule added extra buttons to his stick to activate Up+Left and Up+Right simultaneously. Since a single button press resulted in multiple non-opposing cardinal directions, the Full Schedule stick is tournament legal.
We appreciate your feedback on this ruleset, and look forward to engaging with the community in discussing these rules. If you have specific feedback you would like to convey directly, please direct it to support@SAN JAPAN.gg with the subject “SAN JAPAN Controller Ruleset Feedback”.
MOTIVATION
Tournaments are about more than just winning. They are an opportunity to meet people from different countries and different walks of life who share a passion for competing. They also serve as a place where you can hang out with friends from thousands of miles away, who you met playing games online. Nevertheless, a major part of tournaments is about determining a champion. We all enter tournaments because we have a competitive spirit within us, we want to test ourselves and earn accolades. As the stakes are raised, so is the pressure to perform.
This document is an attempt to codify every rule that will be in effect at SAN JAPAN. Our goal is not to make things overly complicated but rather to make sure everyone is treated fairly because they know what to expect and how to act. In the event of a conflict, strict adherence to these rules will ensure that things don’t become personal and everyone can have a good time. All tournament competitors are responsible for knowing these rules in advance.
The following terms will be used at SAN JAPAN:
Game: A game is a single head-to-head competition between 2 players, ending with a special win screen for the victorious player. There are multiple games in a set.
Set: A set is a match between two competitors in the tournament. The two competitors play each other in a series of games until a winner is determined. Most tournament sets at SAN JAPAN are Best 2 out of 3 games (Bo3), also known as “first to 2 games” (FT2), unless otherwise specified. For all SAN JAPAN tournaments, the sets that determine the top 3 placements in the tournament—known as Winners Finals, Losers Finals, and Grand Finals—are Best 3 out of 5 games (Bo5), also known as “first to 3 games” (FT3). Due to how double elimination brackets work, Grand Finals can contain two Sets of games in the Match.
Round: A round is a unit of measurement that exists within games for certain titles. In general, players need to win a certain number of rounds in order to be declared the winner of the game. The number of rounds required to win the game can vary by title. Not all titles featured at SAN JAPAN will have rounds.
General Manager: The person ultimately responsible for running the event.
Tournament Director: The person managing the brackets, tournament staff, and tournament experience.
Tournament Official: Assistants to the Tournament Director. Officials will monitor tournaments as they run and will resolve conflicts or make rulings as needed.
Bracket Referees: Bracket Referees are staff members tasked with running sections of tournament brackets – also known as pools. Referees will be in possession of a paper copy of the bracket for the pool they are running. Referees are tasked with checking competitors into the pool to verify their presence, and with telling the players in the pool where and when they need to play their tournament Sets. Bracket Referees aim to run their bracket to completion in a reasonable timeframe. They are not tasked with making any decisions regarding conflict resolution or tournament rules.
All participants must register online before the close of online registration in order to participate in the tournament. Entry into the tournament after the registration period expires is not permitted except at the discretion of the General Manager.
There should only be one registration per person. If a player is found to have registered multiple times in order to allow them multiple tournament entries into any title, they will be disqualified and removed from the event entirely.
Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable. Players may not assume the identity of people they know are not attending in order to compete in a tournament. Any players found to have assumed an identity that isn’t their own will be disqualified and removed from the event entirely.
All tournaments at SAN JAPAN are double-elimination tournaments. Double-elimination is a tournament format where players remain in the tournament until they have lost two sets, at which point they are eliminated. A double-elimination bracket is a structured flowchart that determines which competitors face off against which other competitors, and in what order.
Double-elimination tournaments are divided into 2 brackets . The 2 brackets that make up a double-elimination tournament are known as the Winners Bracket and Losers Bracket .
The Winners Bracket is so named because it consists of all the players with 0 set losses in the tournament. All players in a double-elimination tournament start in Round 1 of the Winners Bracket. Players who win their sets in Winners Bracket advance to the next round of Winners Bracket. Players who lose their sets in Winners Bracket will be placed in a designated spot in the Losers Bracket.
All players in the Losers Bracket have 1 set loss in the tournament. Players who win their sets in the Losers Bracket advance to the next round of Losers Bracket, while the players who lose are eliminated from the tournament.
By the end of the tournament, there will be 1 player remaining in Winners Bracket and 1 player remaining in Losers Bracket. These two remaining players will play in a set known as Grand Finals. If the player from Winners Bracket wins this set, they are the tournament champion. If the player from Losers Bracket wins this set, the two will play another set, known as a Grand Finals Reset, which will determine the tournament champion.
Tournaments at SAN JAPAN will have hundreds of competitors. To make these tournaments manageable to organize, the double-elimination brackets are sectioned up into smaller double-elimination brackets. These smaller sectioned double-elimination brackets are known as pools.
Each pool will have between 16 and 32 players in it. Pools will take place in 2-hour blocks throughout the Friday and Saturday of SAN JAPAN. Players who make it far enough in their pool will advance in the tournament. Advancing players will be asked to return at a specified later time to continue with the tournament. At least 3 players will advance out of each pool, with at least 1 player advancing from Winners Bracket, and at least 2 advancing from Losers Bracket. Losses will carry over for players who advance out of a pool in Losers Bracket, meaning those players will remain in Losers Bracket. Players may need to advance through several rounds of pools—known as tournament phases —as they compete in the tournament.
Eventually, after enough rounds of pools, players that remain alive in the tournament will be combined into a single double-elimination bracket of 64 or fewer people, with half of the remaining players placed in the Winners Bracket and half placed in the Losers Bracket. This single combined double-elimination bracket is known as the semifinal phase of the tournament. The semifinal phase proceeds in the same manner as the pools do, except that it will be complete once there are only 6 players remaining in the tournament: 4 players in the Winners Bracket and 2 in the Losers Bracket. These last 6 players will compete in the final phase of the tournament, also known as the Top 6. The players who make the Top 6 will play on the main stage of the event, and receive medals and tournament prizing based on their ultimate placement.
All players in the tournament will be “separated by region.” To the best of our ability, we will place players in the bracket in a manner that minimizes the chances of them playing against someone who lives in close physical proximity to them. This increases the likelihood that you will play against players whom you have never played against before.
Check-in for tournament pools begins 10 minutes before the start time for the pool. For example, players in a 2pm pool can check in with the pool’s Bracket Referee by 1:50pm. Players are responsible for checking in to their pools on time.
Every pool will have a Bracket Referee.When players arrive at the pool station before the designated pool start time, they should find the Bracket Referee and introduce themselves, giving their name and handle. The Bracket Referee will then verbally confirm to the player that they have checked-in for the pool. Players who have not checked in with the Bracket Referee by the time the pool starts risk being disqualified from the tournament.
Players will be scheduled for pools in such a way as to avoid being in multiple tournament pools at the same time. However, there are cases especially in later phases of the tournament where a player may be competing in multiple tournaments simultaneously. Players must notify their Bracket Referee of any official SAN JAPAN tournament-related conflicts they may be subject to.
Players in the tournament who have not yet been eliminated must remain by their pool station while the pool is running. If a player needs to leave the vicinity for any reason, such as needing to use the bathroom, they must inform the Bracket Referee prior to leaving. Players who leave the area without informing the Bracket Referee first may be disqualified from the tournament.
Players who are away from the pool area for an extended period of time may also be disqualified if the reason for their absence isn’t related to another official SAN JAPAN tournament.
Players are free to leave the pool station area once they have been eliminated. Players who have advanced to the next phase of the tournament may also leave the station area after reporting their last Set result to the Bracket Referee.
Players may utilize a personal coach during tournament pools. Players may not use a personal coach during Top 8 Finals. A coach must be declared by the player before the start of each tournament match. Coaches may not change during a match but may be changed for subsequent matches in the bracket. Players may only receive coaching for 30 seconds between games.
These rules will be in effect when tournament sets are played. If you are playing in the tournament, be sure to study this section carefully, especially if you have no prior tournament experience.
The Bracket Referee instructs two players to play a set against each other at an open console
Before both players sit down at the console, they must come to an agreement which side they will play on (who will be 1 player side and who will be 2 player side)
If an agreement cannot be reached, a game of paper-scissors-rock will determine who gets to pick their side
After players sit down and connect their controllers, one of the two players should go to the console menu and remove any existing bluetooth-connected devices that are shown as paired to the console
This is a very important step, as it is necessary to avoid the possibility that tournament sets are interrupted
Back in the game, players enter offline Versus Mode and ensure their buttons are set up correctly.
After both players confirm their buttons are set, they enter offline Versus Mode again and pick their character or characters from the select screen
Either player may request a Double-Blind character selection, which consists of the following steps:
The player on the left side (1 player side) decides their character(s) and whispers their choices to the Bracket Referee
The player on the right side (2 player side) then picks their character(s) directly on the select screen
The player on the left (1 player side) then picks their character(s) while the Bracket Referee confirms that their selections are consistent with their whispered choice.
Double-Blind selection can only be requested before either player has selected a character on the select screen.
Players play out the first game of the set.
After each game in a set ends, the loser of that game has the option to change their character(s) and/or the stage prior to the next game in the set
Specific changes the loser of the prior game can make vary depending on the tournament
The winner of the prior game is not allowed to change characters unless otherwise specified in the tournament-specific rules
If the winner of the prior game selected “Random” for their character, they must return to the character select screen and select “Random” again before the next game
Players should not exceed 60 seconds between games in a set. Players who repeatedly take excessive time before continuing with a set may be subject to disqualification.
The set continues until one player wins the required number of games (either 2 or 3 games) to win the set
If a game ends in a draw, it will be replayed. It will not count as a game win for either player.
Players unplug their controllers, stand up from the console, and report the set result to the Bracket Referee, who will update the bracket accordingly
If a game pauses during play, players should immediately signal for a Tournament Official. Unless the Inevitable Defeat condition is met (see below), the player whose controller paused the game will receive a Round loss. The round loss due to a pause could simultaneously result in a game loss if the pausing player’s opponent is on game point, as well as a set loss if the opponent is on set point. If the game does not have rounds, such as in. Dragon Ball FighterZ, the pause results in a game loss, and could result in a set loss if the opponent is on set point.
In the event that the game pause is due to a legitimate malfunction with one of the players’ controllers, the player will be allowed to find another controller prior to continuing the Set, if possible. The player will still receive the round or game loss penalty. If a replacement controller cannot be obtained in a timely manner, the player must continue to use their current equipment or forfeit the Set. Once a replacement controller is obtained, the player is allowed to use the remainder of the round time to configure their buttons and test their controller without gaining any in-game material advantage (e.g. building super meter). If the player gains an advantage in this way, the penalty for pausing will be increased to a game loss. Players are allowed to re-configure their buttons between games in the set, if needed.
In the event a game is interrupted for reasons beyond the players’ control—such as in the event of an unexpected power outage—the Official and the players will make the best attempt possible to resume the game in as close to the same state as where it was when the interruption occurred. If the game state cannot be sufficiently recreated, the game will be replayed with both players picking the same character(s).
The Inevitable Defeat condition comes into play if a pause occurs during a move or animation, and after the game has been unpaused, the round or game ends (i.e. a player is KOed) with no further inputs from either player. If this condition is met, the pausing player will not be penalized a round/game, and the set will continue as normal.
If a player intentionally triggers a known bug or glitch that prevents the game from being played, the player will be penalized with a game loss. If a player unintentionally discovers a bug or glitch during the course of a tournament set, no penalty will be issued. It is at the Referee’s discretion to determine culpability.
Players can be disqualified for not following general gameplay rules and/or an individual game’s tournament rules. Players who are disqualified will be marked as having lost 2 sets and are eliminated from the tournament. Their opponents will automatically advance. Players who are disqualified from a tournament are not entitled to a refund.
Actions that may lead to a player receiving a disqualification include, but are not limited to:
Collusion is intentionally under-performing in a tournament set in order to manipulate bracket results. Players who are determined to have colluded or collaborated in collusion will be disqualified from the tournament and forfeit all rights to any titles or prizes they might have otherwise earned. The determination as to whether collusion took place will be made at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director and General Manager. Tournament Officials and Bracket Referees cannot, and will not, make this determination.
For serious infractions, players may be removed from SAN JAPAN for not following event rules. Depending on the severity, players may be allowed one (1) warning about their actions, and will be removed upon a second infraction. Players who are removed will be disqualified from all SAN JAPAN tournaments they are entered in and escorted from the venue for the remainder of the event.
Actions that will lead to a player receiving a warning include:
Actions that will lead to a player being removed from the event include:
These rules have largely (mostly) been taken from Evo’s rules. They seem good enough for the most prestigious fighting game tournament, so they’re good enough for San Japan.
Location: The Artist Alley will be at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center within Exhibit Hall 1 from Friday, September 4th, to September 6th, 2026.
Tables and Rates: The Artist Alley Fan Art Table selection will comprise up to 300 6’ x 30″ tables, released to the general public. The sale of these tables will be done using a lottery system. Sign-up will take place on April 27th, 2026. San Japan will use guidelines to determine who will be approved and offered an artist table after the lottery. San Japan reserves the right to change the number of tables for guests, and complimentary tables are given at their discretion. To guarantee a table in the Artist Alley, artists must be selected, approved, and invoiced. There is no waiting list for artists. Tables may be purchased only in full-table increments.
Rates for Artist Alley will be $285 + service fee for a full six ′ table, including ONE (1) Artist Alley convention badge. The Artist Alley badge will have the same access as an attendee. Individual Artists & Groups are limited to one complete table. Artists who wish to share tables should register as a group. Registration for an Artist Alley table includes one convention membership or admission. Any additional Artist Alley badge will be $90 until August 1st, then $100 at the convention only, with a maximum of 3 additional Artist Alley badges per table.
Two chairs will be provided for each table. Additional chairs will be provided based on the number of Artist Alley table badges purchased. San Japan will not offer additional chairs on request beyond the number of Artist Alley badges purchased for a table. Only a maximum of four chairs will be allocated per artist’s table.
Electricity and Wi-Fi services will not be offered to Artists in the Artist Alley section in San Japan. Neither San Japan nor the Convention Center will provide tablecloths. Artists must accommodate the internet and a backup power source at their assigned table.
Artists may share a table with only one additional Artist. All artists at a table must provide validated Texas Sales Tax ID paperwork in person upon check-in. Artists found sharing a table without pre-approval will have their convention badges confiscated and removed from Artist Alley. A written violation will be issued to the purchaser of the Artist table.
Artists who purchase a table from San Japan must be at least 18 years old. If the Artist is a minor, then the table may be purchased by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must always be present with the minor in Artist Alley. The parent or guardian must be the one to check in at Artist Alley. We will no longer allow minors under 18 to check into Artist Alley for their assigned table.
An Artist may purchase only one full six-foot table. Artists cannot buy a table within Artist Alley or a vendor booth within the Dealer’s Room. A circumvention of attempting to buy a second table will result in a refund of the second table and, at the discretion of the San Japan Artist Alley Department, may also forfeit the original table. Circumventing purchasing a second table using a DBA “Does Business As”) will result in a refund and a permanent ban from all future San Japan conventions. Artists who issue a chargeback for a refund will be issued a lifetime ban from San Japan.
Artists or groups who have been issued written notices, delivered in person or by email, not to return to San Japan due to a rules violation but still attempt to purchase a table will be refunded. Circumventing the notice using a DBA and appearing in San Japan will result in a forfeit payment. San Antonio Police will escort it off the premises. Any escorted artist who has been removed from the convention by the San Antonio Police and makes another appearance in San Japan will be arrested for trespassing.
Artists will not be permitted to move tables with another artist to create two-artist tables for selling items. Joint tables will not be allowed, even if the cooperating artists sell their wares on tables they have purchased. The tables must be individually separated. Artists who attempt to circumvent this by requesting a table next to each other and then setting up connecting displays will be removed from Artist Alley at the discretion of San Japan Artist Alley and will be banned from all future San Japan conventions. All displays at a San Japan Artist Alley must be freestanding within their six-foot space and may not connect to any neighboring table. Poles or clips that attach to a neighboring table will not be allowed. Backdrops may not be jointly connected behind two tables. Artists caught with jointly connected backdrops will be asked to take them down, reduce them to one six′ table, or be removed from the convention without refund.
A limited number of tables may be made available for sale on Saturday of the convention weekend at 10:00 AM for any tables that have not been filled or checked in. San Japan can not guarantee the availability of additional tables. These onsite tables cost $180 and do not include an Artist Alley badge. The Artist or Convention badge must be purchased separately. A valid Texas Sales Tax ID will be required to buy these tables onsite. The purchaser at an on-site table will still be required to adhere to and sign the terms set forth in this contract.
Reserving a Table: A notice will be posted on the San Japan website and social networks once tables are available. Tables will be available on the evening of April 27th, 2026. Once all tables have been purchased, a waiting list will not be enacted. Refunded tables will not be put up for sale.
Hours of Operation: Artists may occupy their tables to sell their wares from 11:00 AM on Friday of the convention weekend until 5:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Artist Alley will close at 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday of the current convention. Artists must remove all their material from the Artist Alley by 6:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Anything left behind will be thrown out or become the property of San Japan. San Japan reserves the right to change the hours of operation.
Artist Alley Check-In: Artists must check in with the Artist Alley Coordinator before setting up their tables. Artists may check in at 6:00 pm on Thursday, September 3rd, 2026. Tables will be assigned to artists before their arrival. Artists who fail to check in by 10:00 AM on Saturday of the convention weekend will forfeit their tables. Forfeited tables will not be refunded and may be used at the Artist Alley Coordinator’s discretion.
The Artist Alley Check-In times will be open on Thursday of the convention weekend at 6:00 PM Central. Artists who arrive before then are not allowed to set up at their assigned table until they have been checked in. Artists who attempt to set up before 6:00 PM will be escorted from San Japan to the Convention Center premises. Still, they will not be allowed back until the Artist Alley department properly checks them in.
Artists will be issued their convention badges upon check-in. This badge must be visible at all times. Sharing convention badges is not allowed; if caught, you risk having your badge revoked.
Only the purchaser of the Artist table may check in to an assigned table. If an artist wants a third party to check in, they may do so if they have the original Tax ID paperwork. If a third party checks in, they may only sell the original artist’s artwork and are prohibited from selling it unless they submit a split table with a verified Texas sales tax ID.
Artists who check in must show a government-issued photo ID or Texas ID to receive their badges and assignments. The only acceptable forms of Tax ID are the Actual ID issued by the Texas Comptroller’s office or a photocopy of the issued tax ID.
Artists must use the Exhibit Hall Loading Dock on I-37 Service Road. No exceptions will be made. The artists will be redirected to the proper loading area.
Cancellations: Artists have until July 25th, 2026, to cancel any table reservations or pre-ordered badges to receive a refund. Table cancellations received after July 25th, 2026, will not be refunded under any circumstances, including medical, weather, or catastrophic reasons. This includes the inability to contact San Japan. To cancel a table, a request with the original table purchase confirmation must be submitted to Artist Alley via the San Japan website contact form and approved. We must obtain the original confirmation email containing a notice of cancellation for the table.
Artists Alley Table and Display Regulations: Artists may not move their tables to create two tables for selling items. Artists may not have displayed more than 10 ′ high from the top of the table. Artists may not use convention center property or structures for display or signage. Artists may not rearrange a table to extend their display beyond the six ′ allocated to their table. Table extensions will be strictly forbidden and will be shut down if caught. San Japan will allow pop-ups, back drapes, or signage behind the Artist tables. Back drapes must be within the six ′ assigned tables and may not overlap with an additional artist table. Grid Wall to form a walk-in mini-store or boutique is strictly forbidden. Grid Wall may only be used behind the table. Displays may not extend beyond the allotted table space of 6 feet, even if a neighboring table is vacant or there is an opening to allow artists to enter and exit. Artists cannot use personal table(s) to extend beyond 5 feet of their allocated space.
The area behind the table is approximately five feet. Personal and business belongings must remain in the designated table areas for safety. Belongings must not block entrances to Artist table areas. Artists with items blocking walkways will be asked to move the items. An artist’s belongings may not cross into another assigned space. Failure to comply will result in a written warning of contract violation and require changes. This will be a one-strike policy; if you are caught again, San Japan will permanently ban you.
Artists may not display their work on another artist’s table. All art pieces are limited to the artist’s respective table. The only exceptions are limited to approved table sharing, for which the Artist must fill out a form. Artist table-sharing submissions must be in by August 1st, 2026. Any artist who contacts San Japan after August 1st on table sharing will be denied.
Artists may not sell art by proxy for another artist who was not approved or cannot attend San Japan. All artwork on display or for sale must have been created by the artist t(s) who purchased the artist’s table or jointly split the table. Even if the outside Artist approves the proxy sale, we will not allow it to be sold in San Japan. Collaborations by an outside artist attempting to sell artwork will result in the seller being removed from the convention, with a ban issued, and the agreed-upon collaboration will be banned. Any artist who attempts circumvention will be issued a lifetime ban.
Any table split must provide a valid Texas Sales Tax ID. The table purchaser may send a representative to sell if they cannot appear at San Japan. The representative may check in with a copy of the purchaser’s Sales Tax ID. The representative may only sell the artwork of the original purchaser. The representative is prohibited from selling their artwork at San Japan unless they provide their Texas Sales Tax ID and submit a table split request. Artists caught selling by proxy for multiple artists (2 or more non-approved artists) who are not in attendance will be placed on a lifetime ban list, even if the Artist was permitted to collaborate.
Music at tables is permitted for personal use only and may not be used to attract customers. If San Japan receives a noise complaint that the music is too loud, it reserves the right to turn it off permanently for the rest of the convention. Non-compliance will have further ramifications; failure to comply after more than two warnings will result in removal from Artist Alley and forfeiture of all fees, with no refund.
Artist Sales: Artists caught selling merchandise outside of Artist Alley will have their convention badges confiscated and then be ejected from San Japan without a refund. Artists caught selling their artwork at multiple tables will be issued a lifetime ban.
Artists may be allowed to sell only original fan art or similar art services to the public. Fan art must not be an exact replication of a drawing, sculpture, plushie, etc., from a published anime, drawing, promotional material, digital media, manga, video game, or another form of licensed media. Stickers, buttons, engraved items, and any other tangible items sold with infringing company logos, trademarked symbols, signature poses, or character recreations without evident artist deviation and copyright icons will not be tolerated in the Artist Alley. Due to heavy disregard for tracing, poor modification, and lifting, pearler art, copyright cut-outs, and the splatter art style are barred within San Japan. A replica/duplicate of a character design with Pearler sprite art will be considered tracing, which is not allowed. Artists are prohibited from selling retail and food items. This includes retail items that have been modified by less than 80%. Items may be inspected on-site by the Artist Alley department to ensure they comply with reasonable modifications. Modifications can not include removing, cutting, or reprinting a product directly from copyrighted printed media to place it on tangible, sellable items.
San Japan will have a strict No-AI Rule. AI-generated artwork for which the Artist cannot prove they created the piece using standard artist programs or tools will result in the Artist being evicted without a refund, with no strikes in place. San Japan will be taking a zero-tolerance, zero-excuses policy on AI-generated artwork. San Japan will remove the Artist from the premises for one AI-generated piece, even if the Artist created the rest of the portfolio.
San Japan Artist Alley reasonably expects artists to be the original creators of the items for sale. Booths in which most products for sale at the table in San Japan are directly available without modification on Aliexpress, Temu, or other overseas mass-produced marketplaces will be asked to leave the premises.
Artists may not use copyright, brand names, or trademark names of anime series on the products sold or apply the copyright/trademark names to their merchandise.
Artists must check the IDs of any attendees when selling adult artwork. All adult artwork must be placed discreetly and cannot be visible to the public. Artists are responsible for verifying that the buyer is at least 18 years old by checking their legal government-issued ID. Failure to check for ID will result in removal from Artist Alley. Any artists caught selling adult artwork to attendees under 18 will be immediately expelled, and no refunds will be given.
On-site industry representatives of an anime distribution company may issue a verbal grievance on any item sold in Artist Alley at their own discretion if it is viewed as a potential copyright or trademark violation. San Japan will then issue a written warning notice. The Artist must immediately comply, make any necessary corrections, have it removed from display, end all sales, and have the items in question removed from the premises for the duration of San Japan. Artists who become confrontational on this decision or do not comply will be ejected from San Japan.
Texas considers for-profit raffles a form of gambling (Reference) and, therefore, prohibits them. Only charity raffles may be held, and the Artist must provide the proper 501(c) non-profit and be approved by San Japan before the convention. Non-approved raffles will not be allowed on-site.
Attempting to circumvent additional sales of infringing items after being given a written notice will result in an immediate ejection from the convention.
Volunteers: A limited number of volunteers will be on-site throughout the convention to provide assistance. They will wear a San Japan-issued volunteer badge, and some may wear identifying shirts.
Volunteers act as liaisons of the San Japan Artist Alley and will enforce this Artist Alley contract. Upon notification of a rule violation, volunteers will apply enforcement on behalf of the Artist Alley contract. The severity of the infraction may result in removal from the convention, with no appeal allowed. There is no on-site mediation to counter disputes. All decisions by authorized San Japan officials will be final and upheld by San Japan’s upper management.
Volunteers may watch over an artist’s table during bathroom breaks for up to 10 minutes. If an Artist does not return to their table within 10 minutes, the volunteer will leave and continue with other volunteer-related duties. The artists are responsible for finding someone to look after their table should they need to go for more than the allotted time. San Japan will not be responsible for any shrinkage or loss incurred when the Artist steps away from their table.
Volunteers will not be available to aid the artist’s load-in or load-out. Artists will be responsible for arranging their assistance before arriving in San Japan.
Volunteers will not issue any unopened water bottles upon request. An empty reusable water bottle will be provided upon check-in, which must be filled by the artist at water fountains around the convention.
Promotional Rights: The Artist grants San Japan the right to list the Artist’s name in our advertising, in all publications, and on our website and link to the artist’s website. San Japan grants the Artist the same reciprocal right.
Prints: There is no limit on the number of prints sold in San Japan. A limit may be put in place if a copyright holder deems that the sale of a print has become excessive. Prints must not be replicas or tracings from any manga or anime series.
Notice of Violation and Disciplinary Measures: If an Artist is found to violate the San Japan Artist Alley contract, they will be issued a written warning instructing them to correct the violation, depending on the offense. Artists must correct the violation immediately to comply with the Artist Alley contract. Depending on the violation, the time allotment may be increased. The Artist must comply with the designated time limit in such cases. Failure to correct a breach immediately, within the specified time limit, or a repeat of a previous violation will result in confiscation of the badge(s) and forfeiture of the Artist’s table without a refund.
A zero-tolerance policy will be in place for violations. Suppose an Artist is found to be in violation a second time, regardless of whether they corrected the previous violations. In that case, they will confiscate their badges, and their tables will be forfeited without a refund. Depending on the severity of the violation(s), San Japan reserves the right to ban the Artist from selling in the San Japan Artist Alley and Dealer’s for future San Japan events. The length and permanence of the ban will be determined at the time of issuance.
Security: Artists are responsible for securing their works and materials when not at their tables. San Japan is not responsible for the loss or damage to the materials and works of Artists.
Taxation: At the convention location in downtown San Antonio, the applicable state sales tax rate is 8.25%. Artists are responsible for paying state sales tax and keeping proper records. All artists must have the appropriate paperwork arranged with the Texas Comptroller’s Office when tables go up for sale at San Japan. Upon check-in at San Japan for their Artist Alley table, the Artist must show the appropriate paperwork to obtain a Texas sales tax ID. San Japan will not allow any artist to set up within the convention without showing the proper verification of a Texas Sales Tax ID in person, as per state law.
When applying for an Artist Table, the Texas Sales Tax ID must be a valid and active Texas ID number. The Texas Comptroller’s Office website will verify all sales tax IDs. If the Texas ID number is listed as INACTIVE or INVALID, the Artist’s application will be denied. San Japan will not contact the Artist about their invalid Sales Tax ID. Once a refund has been issued upon request for a table, the Artist will not have another opportunity to purchase another table for the convention year.
Incorporation of Rules and Regulations: Any matters about Artist Alley that are not explicitly covered by the terms and conditions of this contract shall be subject to determination by San Japan in its sole discretion. San Japan may, from time to time, adopt rules or regulations governing such matters and may amend or revoke them at any time, upon reasonable notice to the Artist.
Any such rules and regulations are an integral part of this contract. They are incorporated herein by reference and shall have full force and effect as if such laws and regulations are fully set forth herein. Artists shall observe and abide by additional regulations made by Artist Alley as soon as these additional rules or regulations are communicated to the Artist. This contract states the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter.
Indemnification: The Artist indemnifies and agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless for any damages caused by the Artist or his/her property, agents, representatives, employees, or consultants. The Artist further agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless in case of the Artist’s theft.
Contacts: Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Artist Alley Coordinator using the contact form or sent to artist@san-japan.org.
San Japan Indie Artist Contract 2026
Location: The Artist Alley will be at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center within Exhibit Hall 3 from Friday, September 4th, to September 6th, 2026.
Booth and Rates: The Artist Alley Indie Artist selection will comprise up to 12 10’x10′ booths, released to the general public. The sale of these booths will be done using a jury system. Sign-up will take place on April 16th, 2026. San Japan will use guidelines to determine who will be approved and offered an artist booth after the lottery. San Japan reserves the right to change the number of booths for guests, and complimentary booths are given at their discretion. To guarantee a booth in the Artist Alley, artists must be selected, approved, and invoiced. There is no waiting list for artists. Booths may be purchased only in full-booth increments.
Rates for Artist Alley will be $485 + service fee for a full 10’x10′, including THREE (3) Artist Alley convention badges and ONE 8’x30″ booth. The Artist Alley badge will have the same access as an attendee. Individual Artists & Groups are limited to one complete booth. No splits are allowed in the Indie Artist section. Registration for an Artist Alley booth includes three convention memberships or admission. Additional badges will not be issued to Indie Artists.
Three chairs will be provided for each booth. Additional chairs will be provided based on the number of Artist Alley booth badges purchased. San Japan will not offer additional chairs on request beyond the number of Artist Alley badges purchased for a booth. Only a maximum of four chairs will be allocated per artist’s booth.
Electricity and Wi-Fi services will not be offered to Artists in the Artist Alley section at San Japan. Neither San Japan nor the Convention Center will provide tablecloths. Artists must provide internet access and a backup power source at their assigned booth.
All artists at a booth must provide validated Texas Sales Tax ID paperwork in person upon check-in. Artists found sharing a booth will have their convention badges confiscated and removed from Artist Alley. A written violation will be issued to the purchaser of the Artist booth.
Artists who purchase a booth from San Japan must be at least 18 years old. If the Artist is a minor, then the booth may be purchased by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must always be present with the minor in Artist Alley. The parent or guardian must check in at Artist Alley. We will no longer allow minors under 18 to check into Artist Alley for their assigned booth.
An Artist may purchase only one full eight-foot table. Artists cannot buy a table within Artist Alley or a vendor booth within the Dealer’s Room. A circumvention of attempting to buy a second table will result in a refund of the second table and, at the discretion of the San Japan Artist Alley Department, may also forfeit the original table. Circumventing the purchase of a second table by using a DBA (“Does Business As”) will result in a refund and a permanent ban from all future San Japan conventions. Artists who issue a chargeback for a refund will be issued a lifetime ban from San Japan.
Artists or groups who have been issued written notices, delivered in person or by email, not to return to San Japan due to a rules violation but still attempt to purchase a booth will be refunded. Circumventing the notice using a DBA and appearing in San Japan will result in a forfeit payment. San Antonio Police will escort it off the premises. Any escorted artist who has been removed from the convention by the San Antonio Police and makes another appearance in San Japan will be arrested for trespassing.
A limited number of tables may be made available for sale on Saturday of the convention weekend at 10:00 AM for any tables that have not been filled or checked in. San Japan can not guarantee the availability of additional tables. These on-site booths cost $325 and do not include an Artist Alley badge. The Artist or Convention badge must be purchased separately. A valid Texas Sales Tax ID will be required to buy these tables onsite. The purchaser at an on-site table will still be required to adhere to and sign the terms set forth in this contract.
Reserving a booth: A notice will be posted on the San Japan website and social networks once tables are available. Booth will be available on the evening of April 16th, 2026. Once all booth have been purchased, a waiting list will not be enacted. The refunded booth will not be put up for sale.
Hours of Operation: Artists may occupy their booth to sell their wares from 11:00 AM on Friday of the convention weekend until 5:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Artist Alley will close at 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday of the current convention. Artists must remove all their material from the Artist Alley by 6:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Anything left behind will be thrown out or become the property of San Japan. San Japan reserves the right to change the hours of operation.
Artist Alley Check-In: Artists must check in with the Artist Alley Coordinator before setting up their tables. Artists may check in at 6:00 pm on Thursday, September 3rd, 2026. Tables will be assigned to artists before their arrival. Artists who fail to check in by 10:00 AM on Saturday of the convention weekend will forfeit their tables. Forfeited tables will not be refunded and may be used at the Artist Alley Coordinator’s discretion.
The Artist Alley Check-In times will be open on Thursday of the convention weekend at 6:00 PM Central. Artists who arrive before then are not allowed to set up at their assigned table until they have been checked in. Artists who attempt to set up before 6:00 PM will be escorted from San Japan to the Convention Center premises. Still, they will not be allowed back until the Artist Alley department properly checks them in.
Artists will be issued their convention badges upon check-in. This badge must be visible at all times. Sharing convention badges is not allowed; if caught, you risk having your badge revoked.
Only the purchaser of the Artist table may check in to an assigned table. If an artist wants a third party to check in, they may do so if they have the original Tax ID paperwork. If a third party checks in, they may only sell the original artist’s artwork and are prohibited from selling it unless they submit a split table with a verified Texas sales tax ID.
Artists who check in must show a government-issued photo ID or Texas ID to receive their badges and assignments. The only acceptable forms of Tax ID are the Actual ID issued by the Texas Comptroller’s office or a photocopy of the issued tax ID.
Artists must use the Exhibit Hall Loading Dock on I-37 Service Road. No exceptions will be made. The artists will be redirected to the proper loading area.
Cancellations: Artists have until July 25th, 2026, to cancel any booth reservations or pre-ordered badges to receive a refund. Booth cancellations received after July 25th, 2026, will not be refunded under any circumstances, including medical, weather, or catastrophic reasons. This includes the inability to contact San Japan. To cancel a booth, a request, along with the original booth purchase confirmation, must be submitted to Artist Alley via the San Japan website contact form and approved. We must obtain the original confirmation email containing the booth cancellation notice.
Artists Alley Booth and Display Regulations: Artists may not display more than 10′ high from the top of the table. Artists may not use convention center property or structures for display or signage. Table extensions will be strictly forbidden and will be shut down if caught. San Japan will allow pop-ups, back drapes, or signage behind the Artist tables. Back drapes must be within the six ′ assigned tables and may not overlap with an additional artist table. Grid Wall to form a walk-in mini-store or boutique is strictly forbidden. Grid Wall may only be used behind the table. Displays may not extend beyond the allotted table space of 6 feet, even if a neighboring table is vacant or there is an opening to allow artists to enter and exit. Artists cannot use personal table(s) to extend beyond 5 feet of their allocated space.
Personal and business belongings must remain in the designated booth areas for safety. Belongings must not block entrances to the Artist booth areas. Artists with items blocking walkways will be asked to move the items. An artist’s belongings may not cross into another assigned space. Failure to comply will result in a written warning of contract violation and require changes. This will be a one-strike policy; if you are caught again, San Japan will permanently ban you.
Artists may not display their work on another artist’s booth. All art pieces are limited to the artist’s respective booth.
Artists may not sell art by proxy for another artist who was not approved or cannot attend San Japan. All artwork on display or for sale must have been created by the artist t(s) who purchased the artist’s booth or jointly split the booth. Even if the outside Artist approves the proxy sale, we will not allow it to be sold in San Japan. Collaborations by an outside artist attempting to sell artwork will result in the seller being removed from the convention, with a ban issued, and the agreed-upon collaboration will be banned. Any artist who attempts circumvention will be issued a lifetime ban.
Artists caught selling by proxy for multiple artists (2 or more non-approved artists) who are not in attendance will be placed on a lifetime ban list, even if the Artist was permitted to collaborate.
Music at booth is permitted for personal use only and may not be used to attract customers. If San Japan receives a noise complaint that the music is too loud, it reserves the right to turn it off permanently for the rest of the convention. Non-compliance will have further ramifications; failure to comply after more than two warnings will result in removal from Artist Alley and forfeiture of all fees, with no refund.
Artist Sales: Artists caught selling merchandise outside of Artist Alley will have their convention badges confiscated and then be ejected from San Japan without a refund. Artists caught selling their artwork at multiple booths will be issued a lifetime ban.
Artists may be allowed to sell only original art or similar art services to the public. All products must have been created by the artist.
Fan art is strictly not allowed. It cannot be an exact replication of a drawing, sculpture, plushie, etc., from a published anime, drawing, promotional material, digital media, manga, video game, or any other form of licensed media. Stickers, buttons, engraved items, and any other tangible items are sold. Fan art is strictly not allowed. All characters and poses must be 100% original content, and not a modified version of another artist or company’s IP. Modifications can not include removing, cutting, or reprinting a product directly from copyrighted printed media to place it on tangible, sellable items.
San Japan will have a strict No-AI Rule. AI-generated artwork for which the Artist cannot prove they created the piece using standard artist programs or tools will result in the Artist being evicted without a refund, with no strikes in place. San Japan will be taking a zero-tolerance, zero-excuses policy on AI-generated artwork. San Japan will remove the Artist from the premises for one AI-generated piece, even if the Artist created the rest of the portfolio.
San Japan Artist Alley reasonably expects artists to be the original creators of the items for sale. Booths in which most products for sale at the table in San Japan are directly available without modification on Aliexpress, Temu, or other overseas mass-produced marketplaces will be asked to leave the premises.
Artists may not use copyright, brand names, or trademark names of anime series on the products sold or apply the copyright/trademark names to their merchandise.
Artists must check the IDs of any attendees when selling adult artwork. All adult artwork must be placed discreetly and cannot be visible to the public. Artists are responsible for verifying that the buyer is at least 18 years old by checking their legal government-issued ID. Failure to check for ID will result in removal from Artist Alley. Any artists caught selling adult artwork to attendees under 18 will be immediately expelled, and no refunds will be given.
On-site industry representatives of an anime distribution company may issue a verbal grievance on any item sold in Artist Alley at their own discretion if it is viewed as a potential copyright or trademark violation. San Japan will then issue a written warning notice. The Artist must immediately comply, make any necessary corrections, have it removed from display, end all sales, and have the items in question removed from the premises for the duration of San Japan. Artists who become confrontational on this decision or do not comply will be ejected from San Japan.
Texas considers for-profit raffles a form of gambling (Reference) and, therefore, prohibits them. Only charity raffles may be held, and the Artist must provide the proper 501(c) non-profit and be approved by San Japan before the convention. Non-approved raffles will not be allowed on-site.
Attempting to circumvent additional sales of infringing items after being given a written notice will result in an immediate ejection from the convention.
Volunteers: A limited number of volunteers will be on-site throughout the convention to provide assistance. They will wear a San Japan-issued volunteer badge, and some may wear identifying shirts.
Volunteers act as liaisons of the San Japan Artist Alley and will enforce this Artist Alley contract. Upon notification of a rule violation, volunteers will apply enforcement on behalf of the Artist Alley contract. The severity of the infraction may result in removal from the convention, with no appeal allowed. There is no on-site mediation to counter disputes. All decisions by authorized San Japan officials will be final and upheld by San Japan’s upper management.
Volunteers may watch over an artist’s table during bathroom breaks for up to 10 minutes. If an Artist does not return to their table within 10 minutes, the volunteer will leave and continue with other volunteer-related duties. The artists are responsible for finding someone to look after their table if they need to go beyond the allotted time. San Japan will not be responsible for any shrinkage or loss incurred when the Artist steps away from their table.
Volunteers will not be available to aid the artist’s load-in or load-out. Artists will be responsible for arranging their assistance before arriving in San Japan.
Volunteers will not issue any unopened water bottles upon request. An empty reusable water bottle will be provided at check-in and must be filled by the artist at water fountains throughout the convention.
Promotional Rights: The Artist grants San Japan the right to list the Artist’s name in our advertising, in all publications, and on our website, and to link to the Artist’s website. San Japan grants the Artist the same reciprocal right.
Prints: There is no limit on the number of prints sold in San Japan. A limit may be put in place if a copyright holder deems that the sale of a print has become excessive. Prints must not be replicas or tracings from any manga or anime series.
Notice of Violation and Disciplinary Measures: If an Artist is found to violate the San Japan Artist Alley contract, they will be issued a written warning instructing them to correct the violation, depending on the offense. Artists must correct the violation immediately to comply with the Artist Alley contract. Depending on the violation, the time allotment may be increased. The Artist must comply with the designated time limit in such cases. Failure to correct a breach immediately, within the specified time limit, or a repeat of a previous violation will result in confiscation of the badge(s) and forfeiture of the Artist’s table without a refund.
A zero-tolerance policy will be in place for violations. Suppose an Artist is found to be in violation a second time, regardless of whether they corrected the previous violations. In that case, they will confiscate their badges, and their tables will be forfeited without a refund. Depending on the severity of the violation(s), San Japan reserves the right to ban the Artist from selling in the San Japan Artist Alley and Dealer’s for future San Japan events. The length and permanence of the ban will be determined at the time of issuance.
Security: Artists are responsible for securing their works and materials when not at their tables. San Japan is not responsible for the loss or damage to the materials and works of Artists.
Taxation: At the convention location in downtown San Antonio, the applicable state sales tax rate is 8.25%. Artists are responsible for paying state sales tax and keeping proper records. All artists must have the appropriate paperwork arranged with the Texas Comptroller’s Office when tables go up for sale at San Japan. Upon check-in at San Japan for their Artist Alley table, the Artist must show the appropriate paperwork to obtain a Texas sales tax ID. San Japan will not allow any artist to set up at the convention without showing proper verification of a Texas Sales Tax ID in person, as required by state law.
When applying for an Artist Table, the Texas Sales Tax ID must be a valid and active Texas ID number. The Texas Comptroller’s Office website will verify all sales tax IDs. If the Texas ID number is listed as INACTIVE or INVALID, the Artist’s application will be denied. San Japan will not contact the Artist about their invalid Sales Tax ID. Once a refund has been issued upon request for a table, the Artist will not have another opportunity to purchase another table for the convention year.
Incorporation of Rules and Regulations: Any matters about Artist Alley that are not explicitly covered by the terms and conditions of this contract shall be subject to determination by San Japan in its sole discretion. San Japan may, from time to time, adopt rules or regulations governing such matters and may amend or revoke them at any time, upon reasonable notice to the Artist.
Any such rules and regulations are an integral part of this contract. They are incorporated herein by reference and shall have full force and effect as if such laws and regulations are fully set forth herein. Artists shall observe and abide by additional regulations made by Artist Alley as soon as these additional rules or regulations are communicated to the Artist. This contract states the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter.
Indemnification: The Artist indemnifies and agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless for any damages caused by the Artist or his/her property, agents, representatives, employees, or consultants. The Artist further agrees to hold San Japan and any of its members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless in the event of the Artist’s theft.
Contacts: Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Artist Alley Coordinator via the contact form or at artist@san-japan.org.
San Japan Unlimited
ARTIST ALLEY RULES AND REGULATIONS 2026 EDITION
Location: The Artist Alley will be at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center within Exhibit Hall 1 from Friday, September 4th, to September 6th, 2026.
Tables and Rates: The Artist Alley Unlimited Tables selection will comprise up to 25 THREE (3) 18’ x 30″ tables sections, released to the general public. The sale of these tables will be done using a lottery system. Sign-up will take place on April 6th, 2026. San Japan will use guidelines to determine who will be approved and offered an artist table after the lottery. San Japan reserves the right to change the number of tables for guests, and complimentary tables are given at their discretion. To guarantee a table in the Artist Alley, artists must be selected, approved, and invoiced. There is no waiting list for artists. Tables may be purchased only in full-table increments.
Rates for Artist Alley will be $1085 + service fee for THREE (3) full six-foot tables, including FOUR (4) Artist Alley convention badges. The Artist Alley badge will have the same access as an attendee. Individual Artists & Groups are limited to one complete table. Artists who wish to share tables should register as a group. Registration for an Artist Alley table includes one convention membership or admission. Any additional Artist Alley badge will be $90 until August 1st, then $100 at the convention only, with a maximum of 3 per table.
Two chairs will be provided for each table. Additional chairs will be provided based on the number of Artist Alley table badges purchased. San Japan will not offer additional chairs on request beyond the number of Artist Alley badges purchased for a table. Only a maximum of four chairs will be allocated per artist’s table.
Electricity and Wi-Fi services will not be offered to Artists in the Artist Alley section in San Japan. Neither San Japan nor the Convention Center will provide tablecloths. Artists must provide internet access and a backup power source at their assigned table.
Artists may share a table with only two additional Artists. All artists at a table must provide validated Texas Sales Tax ID paperwork in person upon check-in. Artists found sharing a table without pre-approval will have their convention badges confiscated and removed from Artist Alley. A written violation will be issued to the purchaser of the Artist table.
Artists who purchase a table from San Japan must be at least 18 years old. If the Artist is a minor, then the table may be purchased by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must always be present with the minor in Artist Alley. The parent or guardian must check in at Artist Alley. We will no longer allow minors under 18 to check into Artist Alley for their assigned table.
An Artist may purchase only one section of six-foot tables. Artists cannot buy a table within Artist Alley or a vendor booth within the Dealer’s Room. An attempt to buy a second booth will result in a refund, at the discretion of the San Japan Artist Alley Department, and may also result in forfeiture of the original table. Circumventing the purchase of a second table by using a DBA (“Does Business As”) will result in a refund and a permanent ban from all future San Japan conventions. Artists who issue a chargeback for a refund will be issued a lifetime ban from San Japan.
Artists or groups who have been issued written notices, delivered in person or by email, not to return to San Japan due to a rules violation but still attempt to purchase a table will be refunded. Circumventing the notice using a DBA and appearing in San Japan will result in a forfeit payment. San Antonio Police will escort it off the premises. Any escorted artist who has been removed from the convention by the San Antonio Police and makes another appearance in San Japan will be arrested for trespassing.
Artists will not be permitted to move tables with another artist to create two-artist tables for selling items. Joint tables will not be allowed, even if the cooperating artists sell their wares on tables they have purchased. The tables must be individually separated. Artists who attempt to circumvent this by requesting a table next to each other and then setting up connecting displays will be removed from Artist Alley at the discretion of San Japan Artist Alley and will be banned from all future San Japan conventions. All displays at a San Japan Artist Alley must be freestanding within their six-foot space and may not connect to any neighboring table. Poles or clips that attach to a neighboring table will not be allowed. Backdrops may not be jointly connected behind two tables. Artists caught with jointly connected backdrops will be asked to take them down, reduce them to one six’ table, or be removed from the convention without refund.
A limited number of booths may be made available for sale on Saturday of the convention weekend at 10:00 AM for any tables that have not been filled or checked in. San Japan can not guarantee the availability of additional tables. These onsite tables cost $800 and do not include an Artist Alley badge. The Artist or Convention badge must be purchased separately. A valid Texas Sales Tax ID will be required to buy these tables onsite. The purchaser at an on-site table will still be required to adhere to and sign the terms set forth in this contract.
Reserving a Table: A notice will be posted on the San Japan website and social networks once tables are available. Tables will be available on the evening of April 6th, 2026. Once all tables have been purchased, a waiting list will not be enacted. Refunded tables will not be put up for sale.
Hours of Operation: Artists may occupy their tables to sell their wares from 11:00 AM on Friday of the convention weekend until 5:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Artist Alley will close at 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday of the current convention. Artists must remove all their material from the Artist Alley by 6:00 PM on Sunday of the convention weekend. Anything left behind will be thrown out or become the property of San Japan. San Japan reserves the right to change the hours of operation.
Artist Alley Check-In: Artists must check in with the Artist Alley Coordinator before setting up their tables. Artists may check in at 6:00 pm on Thursday, September 3rd, 2026. Tables will be assigned to artists before their arrival. Artists who fail to check in by 10:00 AM on Saturday of the convention weekend will forfeit their tables. Forfeited tables will not be refunded and may be used at the Artist Alley Coordinator’s discretion.
The Artist Alley Check-In times will be open on Thursday of the convention weekend at 6:00 PM Central. Artists who arrive before then are not allowed to set up at their assigned table until they have been checked in. Artists who attempt to set up before 6:00 PM will be escorted from San Japan to the Convention Center premises. Still, they will not be allowed back until the Artist Alley department properly checks them in.
Artists will be issued their convention badges upon check-in. This badge must be visible at all times. Sharing convention badges is not allowed; if caught, you risk having your badge revoked.
Only the purchaser of the Artist table may check in to an assigned table. If an artist wants a third party to check in, they may do so if they have the original Tax ID paperwork. If a third party checks in, they may only sell the original artist’s artwork and are prohibited from selling it unless they submit a split table with a verified Texas sales tax ID.
Artists who check in must show a government-issued photo ID or Texas ID to receive their badges and assignments. The only acceptable forms of Tax ID are the Actual ID issued by the Texas Comptroller’s office or a photocopy of the issued tax ID.
Artists must use the Exhibit Hall Loading Dock on I-37 Service Road. No exceptions will be made. The artists will be redirected to the proper loading area.
Cancellations: Artists have until July 25th, 2026, to cancel any table reservations or pre-ordered badges to receive a refund. Table cancellations received after July 25th, 2026, will not be refunded under any circumstances, including medical, weather, or catastrophic reasons. This includes the inability to contact San Japan. To cancel a table, a request with the original table purchase confirmation must be submitted to Artist Alley via the San Japan website contact form and approved. We must obtain the original confirmation email containing a notice of cancellation for the table.
Artists Alley Table and Display Regulations: Artists may not move their tables to create two tables for selling items. Artists may not have displayed more than 10 ‘ high from the top of the table. Artists may not use convention center property or structures for display or signage. Artists may not rearrange a table to extend their display beyond the six ‘ allocated to their table. Table extensions will be strictly forbidden and will be shut down if caught. San Japan will allow pop-ups, back drapes, or signage behind the Artist tables. Back drapes must be within the six ‘ assigned tables and may not overlap with an additional artist table. Grid Wall to form a walk-in mini-store or boutique is strictly forbidden. Grid Wall may only be used behind the table. Displays may not extend beyond the allotted table space of 6 feet, even if a neighboring table is vacant or there is an opening to allow artists to enter and exit. Artists cannot use personal table(s) to extend beyond 5 feet of their allocated space.
The area behind the table is approximately five feet. Personal and business belongings must remain in the designated table areas for safety. Belongings must not block entrances to Artist table areas. Artists with items blocking walkways will be asked to move the items. An artist’s belongings may not cross into another assigned space. Failure to comply will result in a written warning of contract violation and require changes. This will be a one-strike policy; if you are caught again, San Japan will permanently ban you.
Artists may not display their work on another artist’s table. All art pieces are limited to the artist’s respective table. The only exceptions are limited to approved table sharing, for which the Artist must fill out a form. Artist table-sharing submissions must be in by August 1st, 2026. Any artist who contacts San Japan after August 1st on table sharing will be denied.
Artists may not sell art by proxy for another artist who was not approved or cannot attend San Japan. All artwork on display or for sale must have been created by the artist t(s) who purchased the artist’s table or jointly split the table. Even if the outside Artist approves the proxy sale, we will not allow it to be sold in San Japan. Collaborations by an outside artist attempting to sell artwork will result in the seller being removed from the convention, with a ban issued, and the agreed-upon collaboration will be banned. Any artist who attempts circumvention will be issued a lifetime ban.
Any table split must provide a valid Texas Sales Tax ID. The table purchaser may send a representative to sell if they cannot appear at San Japan. The representative may check in with a copy of the purchaser’s Sales Tax ID. The representative may only sell the artwork of the original purchaser. The representative is prohibited from selling their artwork at San Japan unless they provide their Texas Sales Tax ID and submit a table split request. Artists caught selling by proxy for multiple artists (2 or more non-approved artists) who are not in attendance will be placed on a lifetime ban list, even if the Artist was permitted to collaborate.
Music at tables is permitted for personal use only and may not be used to attract customers. If San Japan receives a noise complaint that the music is too loud, it reserves the right to turn it off permanently for the rest of the convention. Non-compliance will have further ramifications; failure to comply after more than two warnings will result in removal from Artist Alley and forfeiture of all fees, with no refund.
Artist Sales: Artists caught selling merchandise outside of Artist Alley will have their convention badges confiscated and then be ejected from San Japan without a refund. Artists caught selling their artwork at multiple tables will be issued a lifetime ban.
Artists may be allowed to sell only original fan art or similar art services to the public. Fan art must not be an exact replication of a drawing, sculpture, plushie, etc., from a published anime, drawing, promotional material, digital media, manga, video game, or another form of licensed media. Stickers, buttons, engraved items, and any other tangible items sold with infringing company logos, trademarked symbols, signature poses, or character recreations without evident artist deviation and copyright icons will not be tolerated in the Artist Alley. Due to heavy disregard for tracing, poor modification, and lifting, pearler art, copyright cut-outs, and the splatter art style are barred within San Japan. A replica/duplicate of a character design with Pearler sprite art will be considered tracing, which is not allowed. Artists are prohibited from selling retail and food items. This includes retail items that have been modified by less than 80%. Items may be inspected on-site by the Artist Alley department to ensure they comply with reasonable modifications. Modifications can not include removing, cutting, or reprinting a product directly from copyrighted printed media to place it on tangible, sellable items.
San Japan will have a strict No-AI Rule. AI-generated artwork for which the Artist cannot prove they created the piece using standard artist programs or tools will result in the Artist being evicted without a refund, with no strikes in place. San Japan will be taking a zero-tolerance, zero-excuses policy on AI-generated artwork. San Japan will remove the Artist from the premises for one AI-generated piece, even if the Artist created the rest of the portfolio.
San Japan Artist Alley reasonably expects artists to be the original creators of the items for sale. Booths in which most products for sale at the table in San Japan are directly available without modification on Aliexpress, Temu, or other overseas mass-produced marketplaces will be asked to leave the premises.
Artists may not use copyright, brand names, or trademark names of anime series on the products sold or apply the copyright/trademark names to their merchandise.
Artists must check the IDs of any attendees when selling adult artwork. All adult artwork must be placed discreetly and cannot be visible to the public. Artists are responsible for verifying that the buyer is at least 18 years old by checking their legal government-issued ID. Failure to check for ID will result in removal from Artist Alley. Any artists caught selling adult artwork to attendees under 18 will be immediately expelled, and no refunds will be given.
On-site industry representatives of an anime distribution company may issue a verbal grievance on any item sold in Artist Alley at their own discretion if it is viewed as a potential copyright or trademark violation. San Japan will then issue a written warning notice. The Artist must immediately comply, make any necessary corrections, have it removed from display, end all sales, and have the items in question removed from the premises for the duration of San Japan. Artists who become confrontational on this decision or do not comply will be ejected from San Japan.
Texas considers for-profit raffles a form of gambling (Reference) and, therefore, prohibits them. Only charity raffles may be held, and the Artist must provide the proper 501(c) non-profit and be approved by San Japan before the convention. Non-approved raffles will not be allowed on-site.
Attempting to circumvent additional sales of infringing items after being given a written notice will result in an immediate ejection from the convention.
Volunteers: A limited number of volunteers will be on-site throughout the convention to provide assistance. They will wear a San Japan-issued volunteer badge, and some may wear identifying shirts.
Volunteers act as liaisons of the San Japan Artist Alley and will enforce this Artist Alley contract. Upon notification of a rule violation, volunteers will apply enforcement on behalf of the Artist Alley contract. The severity of the infraction may result in removal from the convention, with no appeal allowed. There is no on-site mediation to counter disputes. All decisions by authorized San Japan officials will be final and upheld by San Japan’s upper management.
Volunteers may watch over an artist’s table during bathroom breaks for up to 10 minutes. If an Artist does not return to their table within 10 minutes, the volunteer will leave and continue with other volunteer-related duties. The artists are responsible for finding someone to look after their table should they need to go for more than the allotted time. San Japan will not be responsible for any shrinkage or loss incurred when the Artist steps away from their table.
Volunteers will not be available to aid the artist’s load-in or load-out. Artists will be responsible for arranging their assistance before arriving in San Japan.
Volunteers will not issue any unopened water bottles upon request. An empty reusable water bottle will be provided upon check-in, which must be filled by the artist at water fountains around the convention.
Promotional Rights: The Artist grants San Japan the right to list the Artist’s name in our advertising, in all publications, and on our website and link to the artist’s website. San Japan grants the Artist the same reciprocal right.
Prints: There is no limit on the number of prints sold in San Japan. A limit may be put in place if a copyright holder deems that the sale of a print has become excessive. Prints must not be replicas or tracings from any manga or anime series.
Notice of Violation and Disciplinary Measures: If an Artist is found to violate the San Japan Artist Alley contract, they will be issued a written warning instructing them to correct the violation, depending on the offense. Artists must correct the violation immediately to comply with the Artist Alley contract. Depending on the violation, the time allotment may be increased. The Artist must comply with the designated time limit in such cases. Failure to correct a breach immediately, within the specified time limit, or a repeat of a previous violation will result in confiscation of the badge(s) and forfeiture of the Artist’s table without a refund.
A zero-tolerance policy will be in place for violations. Suppose an Artist is found to be in violation a second time, regardless of whether they corrected the previous violations. In that case, they will confiscate their badges, and their tables will be forfeited without a refund. Depending on the severity of the violation(s), San Japan reserves the right to ban the Artist from selling in the San Japan Artist Alley and Dealer’s for future San Japan events. The length and permanence of the ban will be determined at the time of issuance.
Security: Artists are responsible for securing their works and materials when not at their tables. San Japan is not responsible for the loss or damage to the materials and works of Artists.
Taxation: At the convention location in downtown San Antonio, the applicable state sales tax rate is 8.25%. Artists are responsible for paying state sales tax and keeping proper records. All artists must have the appropriate paperwork arranged with the Texas Comptroller’s Office when tables go up for sale at San Japan. Upon check-in at San Japan for their Artist Alley table, the Artist must show the appropriate paperwork to obtain a Texas sales tax ID. San Japan will not allow any artist to set up within the convention without showing the proper verification of a Texas Sales Tax ID in person, as per state law.
When applying for an Artist Table, the Texas Sales Tax ID must be a valid and active Texas ID number. The Texas Comptroller’s Office website will verify all sales tax IDs. If the Texas ID number is listed as INACTIVE or INVALID, the Artist’s application will be denied. San Japan will not contact the Artist about their invalid Sales Tax ID. Once a refund has been issued upon request for a table, the Artist will not have another opportunity to purchase another table for the convention year.
Incorporation of Rules and Regulations: Any matters about Artist Alley that are not explicitly covered by the terms and conditions of this contract shall be subject to determination by San Japan in its sole discretion. San Japan may, from time to time, adopt rules or regulations governing such matters and may amend or revoke them at any time, upon reasonable notice to the Artist.
Any such rules and regulations are an integral part of this contract. They are incorporated herein by reference and shall have full force and effect as if such laws and regulations are fully set forth herein. Artists shall observe and abide by additional regulations made by Artist Alley as soon as these additional rules or regulations are communicated to the Artist. This contract states the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter.
Indemnification: The Artist indemnifies and agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless for any damages caused by the Artist or his/her property, agents, representatives, employees, or consultants. The Artist further agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and employees blameless in case of the Artist’s theft.
Contacts: Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Artist Alley Coordinator using the contact form or sent to artist@san-japan.org.
San Japan monitors official Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization COVID-19 safety protocols. Following the recommendations outlined by these groups and considering the current state of COVID-19 vaccinations and hospitalizations in our area, San Japan has adjusted its COVID-19 policy for future conventions.
San Japan will NOT require attendees to wear masks inside our function space and vendor halls, though they are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Attendees will not need to provide proof of vaccination to attend the convention, though we do recommend that attendees who can be vaccinated do so before attending San Japan.
For the safety of all of our attendees, vendors, and staff, we ask that you consider staying home if you are not feeling well or have had any form of illness in the week preceding the convention. We want the convention to remain a fun and safe environment. We are asking for your assistance in this matter for the sake of all of our attendees.
San Japan reserves the right to update these policies if the recommendation from County, State, or National governing bodies or health organizations deem that the risk of exposure to current or new strains of the Coronavirus has risen. Any adjustment made to our final policy will come at least 30 days before the closing of our refund policy and will be posted on our social media channels and website and sent to current ticket holders at the time of our announcement.
Location: The Artist Alley will be located at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center within Exhibit Hall 1 taking place from Friday, September 1st, 2023 to Sunday, September 3rd, 2023.
Tables and Rates: The Artist Alley Indie Booth section will consist of upward of 15 10’ x 10’ booths with 1 8’x30″ table released to the general public. The sale of these tables will be done by a jury system. Sign-up will take up place on May 15th, 2023 and San Japan will use guidelines to determine who will be approved and offered an artist table after the jury process. San Japan reserves the right to change the number of tables for guests and complimentary booths given at the discretion of the convention. To guarantee a table in the Artist Alley, artists must be selected, approved, and invoiced a table. There is no waiting list for artists. Tables may only be purchased by full-table increments.
Rates for Artist Alley Indie Artist Section will be $400 10’x10′ setup with a full 8′ table and will include THREE (3) Artist Alley convention badge. The Artist Alley badge will have the same access as an attendee. Individual Artists & Groups are limited to one full table. Artists who wish to share tables should register as a group. Registration for an Artist Alley table does include one membership in the convention or admission to it. Any additional badge Artist Alley badge will be available at the convention for $95 at-con rate. A maximum of 3 extra Artist Alley badges will be sold to all groups at each table.
Four chairs will be provided for each table. Additional chairs will only be provided based on the number of Artist Alley badges purchased for the table. San Japan will not be providing additional chairs on request beyond the number of Artist Alley badges purchased for a table. Only a maximum of 4 chairs total will be allocated per artist table
Electricity and Wi-Fi services will not be offered at San Japan to Artists located in the Artist Alley section. San Japan nor the Convention Center will provide tablecloths. Artists must make their own accommodations for internet and backup power source at their assigned table.
Artists may only share a table with one additional artist. All artists at a table provide validated Texas Sales Tax ID paperwork in person upon check-in. Artists found sharing a table without pre-approval will have their convention badges confiscated and removed from Artist Alley. A written violation will be issued to the purchaser of the Artist table.
Artists who purchase a table from San Japan must be at least 18 years old or older to purchase a table. If the Artist is a minor then the table may be purchased by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must be present at all times with the minor in Artist Alley. The parent or guardian must be the one who checks into Artist Alley. We will no longer allow minors under 18 to check into Artist Alley for their assigned table.
An Artist may only purchase one full increment 8′ table. Artists will not be allowed to purchase a table within Artist Alley and a vendor booth within the Dealer’s Room. A circumvention of attempting to purchase a second table will result in a refund of the second table and at the discretion of the San Japan Artist Alley Department may also forfeit the original table. Circumventing in purchasing a second table by using a DBA (“Does Business As“) will result in a refund along with a permanent ban from all future San Japan conventions.
Artists or Groups who have been issued notices that were written in person or by e-mail to not return to San Japan due to rules violation but still attempt to purchase a table will be refunded. Circumventing the notice by using a DBA then appearing at San Japan will result in a forfeit of payment and will be escorted off the premises by San Antonio Police. Any escorted artist that has been removed from the convention by the San Antonio Police that makes another appearance at San Japan will be arrested.
Artists will not be permitted to move the tables with another artist to create two artist tables to sell items. Joint tables will not be allowed even if the cooperating artists sell their wares on their own purchased tables. The tables must be individually separated. Artists who attempt to circumvent this by asking for a table request to be next to each then setup connecting displays will be removed from Artist Alley with the discretion of San Japan Artist Alley to be banned from all future San Japan conventions. All displays at a San Japan Artist Alley must be freestanding within its six-foot space and may not connect to any neighbor table. Poles or clips that attach to a neighboring table will not be allowed. Backdrops may not be jointly connected behind two tables. Artists who are caught with jointly connected backdrops will be asked to take it down, reduce to one 6′ table or the artist will be removed from the convention without refund.
Reserving a Table: A notice will be posted on the San Japan website and social networks (Facebook) upon the availability of tables. Tables are to be made available on the evening of May 15th, 2023. A waiting list will not be enacted once all tables have been purchased. Refunded tables will not be put up for sale.
Canceling a Table: Indie artist booths will be not be able to cancel and get a refund. There are no refunds for any reason whatsoever.
Hours of Operation: Artists may occupy their tables to sell their wares starting at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 1st, 2023 until 5:00 PM on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023. Artist Alley will close by no later than 9:30 PM on Friday and Saturday of the current convention. Artists must remove all their material from the Artist Alley by 6:00 PM Sunday, September 3rd, 2023. Anything left behind will be thrown out or become the property of San Japan. San Japan reserves the right to change the hours of operation.
Artist Alley Check-In: Artists must check in with the Artist Alley Coordinator prior to occupying their tables in the Artist Alley. Artists may check in at 6:00 pm Thursday, August 31st, 2023. Tables will be assigned to artists prior to arrival. Artists who fail to check in by Saturday, September 2nd, 2023 after 10:00 AM, of the convention will forfeit their booth. Forfeited tables will not be refunded and may be used as the Artist Alley Coordinator sees fit.
The Artist Alley Check-In times will be open on Thursday, August 31st, 2023 at 6:00 PM Central. Artists who arrive in San Japan prior to this time will not be allowed to set up at their assigned table until they have been checked in. Artists who attempt to set up before 6:00 PM will be escorted from San Japan along with the Convention Center premises at which they will not be allowed back until they have been properly checked in by the Artist Alley department.
Artists will be issued their convention badges upon check-in. This badge must be visible at all times. Sharing convention badges is not allowed and if caught will risk having your badge revoked.
Only the purchaser of the Artist table may check in to an assigned table. If an artist wants to have a 3rd party check may do so if they have the original Tax ID paperwork. If a 3rd party checks in they may only sell the original artist artwork and are forbidden to sell their own unless they submit a split table with a verified Texas sales tax ID.
Artists who check in must show a government-issued photo ID and Texas Sales Tax ID in order to receive their badges and assignment. The only acceptable forms of Tax ID will be the Actual ID issued by the Texas Comptrollers’ office or a photocopy of the issued tax ID.
Artists will be able only to be able to load in and out through Exhibit Hall 3 Entrance and Exit. Artists are barred from using the Exhibit Hall Loading Dock located on I37 Service Road. There will not be any exceptions given for any artists for any reason to use the I37 service road loading dock. Artists attempting to use the loading dock will be denied entrance and redirected to the proper loading area.
Artists’ Alley Table and Display Regulations: Artists will not be permitted to move their tables with another table to create two tables to sell items. Artists may not have displays over 10′ high from the top of the table. Artists may not use convention center property or structures for display or signage. Artists may not rearrange a table for the purpose to extend their display beyond the 6′ allocated to their table. Table extensions will be strictly forbidden and will be shutdown if caught. San Japan will allow pop-ups, back drapes, or signage behind the Artist tables. Back drapes must be within the 6′ assigned table and may not overlap with an additional artist table. Grid Wall to form a walk-in mini-store or boutique is strictly forbidden. Grid Wall may only be used behind the table. Displays may not extend beyond the allotted table space of 6 feet even if a neighboring table is vacant or there is an opening to allow artists to enter and exit. Artists will not be allowed to use personal table(s) to extend beyond 6 feet of their allocated assigned space.
The area behind the table is approximately five feet. For safety purposes, personal and business belongings must remain in the designated table area. Belongings must not block entrances to Artist table areas. Artists with items blocking walkways will be asked to move the items Artists’ belongings may not cross into another artist’s space. Failure to comply will result in a written warning of contract violation and will be required to make changes. This will be a one-strike policy as caught once again will be a permanent ban from San Japan.
Artists may not display their work on another artist’s table. All art pieces are limited to the artist’s respective table. The only exceptions are limited to approved table sharing which the Artist will need to fill out a form. Any artist who contacts San Japan after August 1st on table sharing will be denied.
Artists may not sell art by proxy for another artist who was not approved or is unable to attend San Japan. All artist work on display or for sale must have been created by the artist(s) who has purchased the Artist’s table or jointly split the table. Any table split must provide a valid Texas Sales Tax ID. The purchaser of the table may send a representative to sell on their behalf if they are unable to appear in San Japan. The representative may check in with a copy of the purchaser’s Sales Tax ID. The representative may only sell the artwork of the original purchaser. The representative is forbidden to sell their own artwork within San Japan if they do not provide their own Texas Sales Tax ID and submit a table split request. Artists who are caught selling by proxy for multiple artists who are not in attendance will be placed on a lifetime ban from San Japan.
Music at tables is permitted for personal use only and may not be used with the intent of attracting customers. If San Japan receives a noise complaint that the music was too loud then San Japan reserves the right to turn it off which will be permanent for the rest of the convention. Non-compliance will have further ramifications; failure to comply with more than two warnings will result in the removal from Artist Alley along with the forfeiture of all fees with no refund.
Artist Sales: Artists caught selling merchandise outside of Artist Alley will have their badges confiscated and then ejected from San Japan without a refund. Artists who are caught selling their own artwork at multiple tables will be issued a lifetime ban.
Artists may only be allowed to sell original artwork from their creation. Fan art may not be for sale nor can it be a drawing, sculpture, plushie, etc. from a published anime, drawing, promotional material, digital media, manga, video game, or other form of licensed media. Stickers, buttons, engraved items, and any other tangible item sold with infringing company logos, trademarked symbols, signature pose, or character recreation without evident artist deviation, and copyright icons will not be tolerated in the Artist Alley. Due to heavy disregard for tracing, poor modification, and lifting, pearler art, and the splatter art style are barred within San Japan. Replica/duplicate of character design with Pearler sprite art will be considered tracing which is not be allowed. Artists are prohibited from selling retail and food items. This includes retail items that have been modified by less than 50%. Items may be inspected on-site by the Artist Alley department to ensure they are compliant with having a reasonable amount of modifications.
To adhere to convention distributor requests, Artists may no longer use copyright, brand names, or trademark names of anime series names on the products which are sold or apply the copyright/trademark names to their merchandise.
Artists must check the IDs of any attendee when selling any adult artwork. All artwork of an adult nature must be placed discretely and cannot be visible to the public. Artists will be responsible to check the buyer is at least 18 years old by checking for their legal government-issued ID. The failure to check for ID will be removed from the Artist Alley. Any artists caught selling adult artwork to attendees under the age of 18 will result an immediate expulsion with no refunds given.
On-site industry representatives of an anime distribution company may issue a verbal grievance on any item sold in Artist Alley at their own decision if it is viewed as a potential copyright or trademark violation. San Japan will then issue a written warning notice. The Artist must immediately comply, make necessary corrections, have it taken down from display and end all sales then have the items in question removed from the premise during the duration of San Japan. Artists who become confrontational on this decision or do not comply risk ejection from San Japan.
Raffles of any type that are for-profit are considered as a form of gambling by the state of Texas (Reference) and are therefore not permitted. Only charity raffles may be held and the Artist must provide the proper 501(c) non-profit papers and must be approved by San Japan prior to the convention. Non-approved raffles will not be allowed on-site.
Attempting to circumvent with additional sales of infringing items after being given a written notice will be an immediate ejection from the convention.
Volunteers: A limited number of Volunteers will be onsite throughout the duration of the convention, providing water and assistance. They will be wearing a San Japan-issued volunteer badge and some may be wearing identifying shirts.
Volunteers act as liaisons of the San Japan Artist Alley and will enforce this Artist Alley contract. Upon notification or spot of a rule violation volunteers will issue a written violation warning on behalf of the Artist Alley contract.
Volunteers may watch over an Artist’s table for situations such as bathroom breaks for no longer than 10 minutes. If an Artist does not arrive back at their table within 10 minutes, the volunteer will leave the table and continue with other volunteer-related duties. It is the responsibility of the Artist to find someone to look after their table should they need to leave for more than the allotted time. San Japan will not be responsible for any shrink or loss incurred during the times the Artist has stepped away from their table.
Volunteers will not be available to aid in the Artist load in or load out for any reason at all. Artists will be responsible to arrange their own assistance prior to arriving in San Japan.
Exceptions Fee: Any artist who asks for an exception after missing a posted deadline and giving multiple sufficient updates on cut-off dates who ask for an ‘exception’ will be charged a $100 fee. This rate is non-negotiable. The fee must be paid prior to executing an exception.
COVID-19, Masking & Vaccine: By signing up to San Japan you agreed to all posted notices on the San Japan website pertaining COVID-19 policy. All artists, helpers, and volunteers will be required to wear a mask while at their table. All artists must show their vaccine status upon check-in to be approved.
Promotional Rights: The artist grants San Japan the right to list Artist’s name in our advertising, all publications, and on our website and link to the Artist’s website. San Japan grants the same reciprocal right to the Artist.
Prints: There is currently no limit on the number of prints that may be sold in San Japan. A limit may be put in place if a copyright holder deems that the sale of a print has become excessive. Prints must not be replicas or tracings from any manga or anime series.
Notice of Contract Violation(s) and Disciplinary Measures: If an Artist is found to be in violation of the San Japan Artist Alley contract they will be issued a written warning instructing them to correct the violation depending on the offense. Artists must correct the violation immediately to become compliant with the Artist Alley contract. Depending on the violation the time allotment may be increased. In such cases, the Artist must become compliant within the designated time limit. Failure to correct a violation immediately, within the designated time limit, or a repeat of a previous violation, will result in having badge(s) confiscated and forfeiting the Artist table without a refund.
A “2 strikes and you’re out” policy will be in place for minor violations. If an Artist is found to be in violation a second time, regardless if they corrected the previous violations, will have their badges confiscated and their tables will become forfeited without a refund. Depending on the severity of the violation(s), San Japan reserves the right to ban the Artist from selling in the San Japan Artist Alley and/or Dealer’s Room for future San Japan events. The length and permanence of the ban will be determined at the time of the issuance.
Security: Artists are responsible for securing their own works and material when not present at their tables. San Japan is not responsible for the loss or damage to the material and works of Artists.
Taxation: At the convention location, in downtown San Antonio, the applicable state sales tax rate is 8.25%. Artists are responsible for paying state sales tax and keeping proper records of such. All artists must have the proper paperwork already arranged with the Texas Comptroller’s Office when tables go up for sale at San Japan. The artist must show the proper paperwork in obtaining a Texas Sales Tax ID upon check-in at San Japan for their Artist Alley table. San Japan will not allow any artist to set up within the convention without showing the proper verification of a Texas Sales Tax ID in person as per state law.
When applying for an Artist Table the Texas Sales Tax ID must be a valid active Texas ID number. All Sales Tax IDs will be verified by the Texas Comptrollers Office website. If the Texas ID number is listed as INACTIVE or INVALID then the Artist will have their application denied. San Japan will not contact the artist about their invalid Sales Tax ID. Once a refund has been issued upon request on a table the artist will not receive another opportunity to purchase another table for the convention year.
Incorporation of Rules and Regulations: Any and all matters pertaining to Artist Alley and not specifically covered by the terms and conditions of this contract shall be subject to determination by San Japan in its sole discretion. San Japan may adopt rules or regulations from time to time governing such matters and may amend or revoke them at any time, upon reasonable notice to the Artist.
Any such rules and regulations are an integral part of this contract and are incorporated herein by reference and shall have the full force and effect as if such rules and regulations are fully set forth herein. Artists shall observe and abide by additional regulations made by Artist Alley as soon as these additional rules or regulations are communicated to the Artist. This contract states the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Indemnification: The artist indemnifies and agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and/or employees thereof blameless for any and all damages caused by the Artist or his/her property, agents, representatives, employees, or consultants. The artist further agrees to hold San Japan and any members, officers, directors, staff, and/or employees thereof blameless in case of theft of the Artist’s property.
Contacts: Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Artist Alley Coordinator using the contact form.
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.
To answer questions about cosplay in general at San Japan like props and dress code, please read the convention San Japan Cosplay Convention Rules first.
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.
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 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:
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:
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
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
| Child Passes are only sold at the San Japan convention at the registration area which will be located in the HBG Convention Center BRIDGE HALL (near Hall 4B). They are not sold online. We have no plans to sell them online. We will only be selling general attendee badges for those 13 and up online. We do this to comply with COPPA laws. We also require a visual verification to ensure that a child pass is issued to a child that is 12 or under and not to someone who is trying to get a lower cost badge. All adults who are purchasing child passes must also purchase or have already purchased a regular adult pass too and must be with the child at all times to ensure the safety and well-being of the child. Children age 0-5 are issued FREE passes at the convention only. To answer another frequent question which we are receiving: Child passes will be available on Thursday evening for credit card purchase only. They will be available on Friday of the convention date for cash and credit card purchase. If you do pre-register online, we will not force you to go back in line to purchase a child pass. We will redirect you to the front of the on-site pass purchase line. |
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):
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.
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.
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.
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, you do not have to reserve a hotel room in order to attend nor do you have to be in a costume. Cosplaying is completely optional and it is not required at all. All you have to do is show up at the convention as yourself. We do encourage attendees to reserve a room at the Grand Hyatt or Marriott which is quite beneficial for San Japan since we are required to fulfill a large room block in order to hold the convention at the hotel (only $154-$161/night) Go to our Hotel Information page for info and hotel reservation links. However, you are not required at all to reserve a room at the convention in order to pre-register or attend the convention. |
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
| YES, all volunteers need to be seventeen (17) or older at the time of the convention. HOWEVER, in order to receive crash space you must be at least 18 years old. We are not taking anyone under the age of 17 anymore for legal liability. We are not allowing parents to give us the authorization to let their child who is under 18 to have crash space for San Japan. If you are 16 now but you will be the 17 at the beginning of San Japan then you may apply to be a volunteer.The only exception will be if you’ve been personally recruited by one of our staff heads which in that case that staff member will be your responsibility and not under the responsibility of the volunteer department.We will be requiring general volunteers to show proof of being 17 at the start of San Japan due to prior volunteer applicants who have not been honest about their age. |
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:
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:
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.