My housemates left early in the day. Tom and I were still too sleepy to go anywhere. We decided that we were just going to drive to Japan Town. I didn't know what kind of reaction we would get wearing military uniforms on public transportation considering that San Francisco had a bill to ban military recruiters. Anyways, we wore Riza and Roy for Sunday. I got new boots for the costume. Unfortunately, the stars on the shoulder area kept falling out. We're gonna replace this soon.

We arrived in Japan Town shortly before the Masquerade was under way. We stopped by Char and Yaya's guide to cosplay panel. Most of the time, Tom was setting up framing for Masquerade. I was reading through the handouts they gave out. While I knew most of background concerning cosplay, the handout had a very positive vibe. Great read for anyone who is curious about our crazy hobby. (Will this be posted on the Cosplay.com site soon? It should be!)

The Masquerade was starting up. I'm very glad for the improved set up for JTAF cosplay events. The first JTAF had a lackluster setup with poor judging guidelines, or worse, no judging guidelines. And the MC looked like he was out for lunch as well as out for dinner and out for breakfast while hosting. "Keith Richards with a head injury and a root canal would have been more coherent." -Tom

This year, JTAF had seasoned costumers judging and a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) host that delivered.

Taiko Drums got their revenge. The Tone Deaf Ninjas performed excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan. Gaara's gourd was too big. A robot danced the robot. And much more.

The winners were annouced shortly after the costume contest was over. The winners gathered for photo ops afterwards. However, everyone got something in the end - Full Metal Alchemist figures. No one left home empty handed.

We decided to go to lunch with Rico and Charie. The two suggested Mifune Don. Tom was cool with it as long as it was not On the Bridge. The food was really tasty. I wouldn't mind doing it again. Oni came by and gave us Con X Treme promotionals. While I already knew about Con X Treme, I didn't want paper to go to waste, so while waiting for food, I made paper airplanes. Charie made paper cranes. When the food finally came, Tom was wondering if the onmyaki was still alive.

Tom and I just wandered through Japan Town. I bought a cheongsam for Eponine from Pikmin Link. For the most part, we were just chilling at the Kinokuniya building having crepes. Yup, having Sophie's Crepes at San Francisco Japan Town is a must.

Pictures are copyright by Victoria Erica. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. If you want me to remove something, kindly email me. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Simpsons.