Nan Desu Kan

[Katacus]

This will be my first con outside of the pacific northwest. It's gonna be around a 20 hour car ride from Corvallis, Or. Anyone else been or going? How was it? Need a ride?

[Tsukinya]

Funny that I'm just now seeing this post 

Nan Desu Kan was my very first con.. my sister took me.  We had a blast, though I had no idea what to expect, and I hadn't planned out which panels to attend, etc.  I'd be very curious to return and see how I'd like it now that I'm an *experienced* con-goer. 

Did you have a fun time in Denver?

[Katacus]

It's not until the fourteenth :3 but I'm glad you had fun. It's supposed to be pretty huge. I'm anxious for the schedule to come out!

[Washougal_Otaku]

...you're gonna drive to Denver? ...have fun with that. 

[Woodrat]

This will be my first con outside of the pacific northwest. It's gonna be around a 20 hour car ride from Corvallis, Or. Anyone else been or going? How was it? Need a ride?

Oi, it's a 16 to 17 hour straight trip from my place in Northeast Oregon to Denver. I've made a trip to Denver afore, about… three or so years back now. I'd recommend getting a good friend or someone to tag along on the trip. That way one of you can drive when the other one is tired, and simply so you'll have someone to talk to as the miles and hours roll by. Don't attempt to do the entire trip in one stretch by yourself; you'll be drained beyond belief.

I'm going to guess you'll be taking the freeway most if not all of the way there. Good luck with the trip, the long stretch of I-80 across Wyoming can drive one insane with the lack of anything ‘sides windmills and "Little America" signs.

As for the con itself, I've never been to it. I do have a couple friends that live in the Denver area, and I believe one is going to be in the Artist Alley for Nan Desu Kan. If you have any questions about the con, Denver, or anything else, I could get a hold of them 'n ask.

[AllyKat]

Man, I wish I'd seen this earlier... I'd almost take you up on that carpool idea...

The Director of Publicity there has become a bit of a friend and wants me to be there, I just don't know if I'll be able to spare the time away from work...

Ah well, have fun and if you see any staff, let'em know that Kumoricon is thinking of them!

-Ally

[Tsukinya]

Nan Desu Kan was a lot of fun... slightly bigger than Kumo is.  Looking at their site, they claim 21k, but I know they can't fit that many people into a hotel.  I'm fairly certain they're triple-counting weekend attendees and that their unique person/badge count is closer to 7k.

I remember doing more Japanese culture panels (tea ceremony, Japanese food (yes, they actually fed you), etc).  My sister also attended a cell painting panel which was pretty cool.  Their opening ceremonies featured taiko drumming, though I've enjoyed K-con's opening and closing ceremonies better.  Also, the AMV contest was slightly lackluster, but NDK doesn't have Guy - he really makes AMVs something spectacular (could be different now since we went in 2007).

I love the building, and I wish we had something like it for Kumo..  It reminds me of the layout of most Embassy Suites, with all the hotel rooms around the outside of the building and open to a huge indoor courtyard all the way to the ground level.  VERY cool to come out of your room and look down on the Artists Alley.  Everyone also uses the balconies to hang their cloth wallscrolls.  Even when you go back to your room, you're still right in the action

We've done the drive from PDX to C. Springs many times, and it's a solid 20 hours or so.  The Little America signs in WY do get obnoxious after a while, but we're always so glad at that point to be close to Colorado.  Truly, I hate driving through Idaho.  We've broken down in that accursed state every third trip to CO.. no joke.  Bring some good music, and if you have a buddy, it goes by faster.  Lots of pocky

They must have changed the date... I thought I remembered it being in late August.  Have fun!  I'll be curious to see how you like it!

[Katacus]

For anyone curious, it was okay. I probably wouldn't go again. We went this time because my friend just moved to Denver so it was a free place to stay, but more like an excuse to go. I wasn't terribly impressed. I was expecting it to be a bit like Sakuracon since it's fairly large, but I didn't like it as much.  The vendors were unimpressive and there were only three or four skits total with nearly 60 walk-ons O.O There were also a lot of weird rules that just blew my mind sometimes.

There were a lot of guests though. Patrick Seitz was the highlight. There was also a qualifying round for the World Cosplay Summit which was very exciting and inspiring.

Since everyone seemed to be so worried about the drive, it was fine. I can drive. So can my boyfriend. We sat on our butts for two days. It wasn't hard.