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A new contender has entered the ring!

http://www.sofamarketsj.com/

(aka we might end up eating here instead).

That's a really good idea. Easy to walk to, plenty of food choices. It's unlikely we'll all be able to eat together (as in around one table) but considering the time of year it's a much better bet to have us eating inside than outside.

Relevant links to those curious:

http://www.sanpedrosquaremarket.com/directions-to-the-market
http://www.sanpedrosquaremarket.com/eat

Maybe some of us can bring a board/card game along and/or we can hit up the game room together post dessert. I really do want to work in a bit more communal activities this time, hopefully mix up our pre-established Touhou friend groupings a bit.

The whole size of last year's was both a blessing and a curse, since Japantown does have a lot of good food options (even if we do have to split up). Maybe for next year we can make it work.

I still want to try and get dessert at Cream post dinner though.

Seija hype!

They'll be yet another Touhou dinner this year, same day as the gathering (more info to come shortly).

As for the gathering, I think 12:00 - 5/28 (Saturday) would make the most sense. Perhaps the hour prior we can make a con sweep for fellow Touhou cosplayers and help direct everyone to the gathering.

(Will be attending and providing bottled water again but not cosplaying).

Well, I think we'll try to eat all in the same place, but separate into different tables when we get there. We did that last year when we went to Tandoori Oven, despite having a turnout of about twelve or so. I fully agree with both your points about quality of conversation and speed of service (brings to mind a terrible experience I had years ago where I ended up getting frustrated enough waiting for my order I walked out and got something else instead). Speaking of getting to know one another, with a more firm restaurant in mind it might be easier to separate some of the core groups and get people to intermingle a bit more, it seemed that ultimately most people ate with mostly people they already knew (certainly was the case for me). In any case, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more prepared and familiar with the various close by food choices the area offers us.

It sounds like you had a really good time! The community is super friendly and I've made really good friends through it, so if you're local, you should check out the local Bayhou gatherings. The more, the merrier.

That was a lot of fun. The size of the dinner caught me off guard, but it was worth going to SJ Japantown none the same, and I'll find something that will sit a large group for next year. Still a great time regardless.

A wise choice, the group meals are always a lot of fun.

Nearly there, getting really excited.

Getting closer and closer...

Excited to try out the Touhou 15 demo in a few weeks, should be interesting.

You'll still be able to make dinner I hope right?

Just got back from another awesome Bayhou gathering, being with fellow fans is truly the best thing. Really excited for Fanime and being part of the best gathering with the best fans!

I see we ended up getting our time slot.

If the gathering just really snowballs in size, as it did in 2010, we can always relocate (across the street to the park, or something of that sort).

Hard to imagine we won't be the biggest gathering happening at 11AM Saturday though either.

More teams, last words, well balanced challenges modes please and for the love of everything do not remove spell practice yet again for no reason ZUN!

I'm seeing at least fiftyish possible attendees on the FB page, not bad at all.

And as much as I might grouse about certain mentalities regarding the games and what not they'll always be my main draw to keeping with the series (and, of course, hanging out with all the great fans). Touhou 15 better not be another one of those (bad) Twinkle Sprites Clones, those are the worst.

I'm not all that aware of who that is, but I should probably devote more time to finding new Touhou music as compared to subjecting myself to streams of people claiming you can't do pacifist runs on difficulties above normal >__>

But I'm (highly likely) going to Touhoucon, so I could always catch the concert and listen to the music in advance as well. The implication that it's violin heavy Touhou remixes already sounds quite promising.

That should be fine. I might even check it out briefly. We shouldn't (hopefully) have any issue getting our 11AM Saturday slot.

With any luck the Touhou photoshoot/gathering I'm planning on doing in April will be somewhat as successful!

Their certainly is a lot of interesting content out on the internet, true, but I'd rather use that time for video games/other leisure time pursuits.

This gathering should remain Touhou only (I really, really don't get Kancolle, it lacks so much of what makes Touhou such an amazing multifaceted experience).

That would explain why the page is occasionally inaccessible. I'm quite glad I have some that someone else (happily) handles the social media arm of the Bayhou gatherings, I'm just an internet recluse in general and would rather not have to put myself out there if I can humanly avoid it.

Two dollars and it's only five minutes away. Would expand out options, especially if we wanted to go for Japanese food (I love the Korean restaurant but there's no way without knowing more in advance how many people were coming to reserve the space we'd need, since it's pretty small). Though doing a rough head count immediately after the gathering might not be a bad idea anyway, perhaps if we had something more in mind prior we could make sure we don't have to wait for a table.

Yay, that's great! The community is my favorite aspect of the series, and it's always great to have a fun time with fellow fans (and trust me, Bayhou gatherings are all about fun times and great food). The more, the merrier.

Oh I noticed you added the link to the FB side as well, very nice.

I'll see.

Japantown is a quick hop away via light rail, might be something worth considering for food options as well.

I'd be interested in carpooling down to Touhoucon as well if possible, it's cheaper than flying (and a bit more personal/a good chance to talk with fellow fans than busing would be). The summer Bayhou gathering will be 8/1, so if you're around Norcal than as well it would be great if you could possibly stop by! The more, the merrier.

Let's aim for 11 AM then. I've never actually visited the Maid Café, but maybe I'll swing by this year.

For fooding, let's meet up somewhere at 8:00 (perhaps the lobby of one of the hotels such as the Fairmont), and give fifteen/thirty minutes for people to join up, which at that point we can agree on a place to eat and head out from there.

I'm tentatively working out plans to go to Touhoucon next year, for sure! I have a feeling there is a guest announcement that I'm really going to dig, and I always enjoy hanging out with the community (12/13 Bayhou was a ton of fun, etc).

11AM seemed to work fairly well in 2012. Early, but not too early, and probably/hopefully shouldn't interfere too much with other possible plans the various attendee's might have.

It's not so much changing the photography order and more mixing in more ideas for the photos in general. This can be tailored to an extent at the gathering as well, since we'll know how many of each character is being cosplayed and adjust according, with an eye towards inclusive of lesser known/featured characters, such as possible Rinnosuke/Renko/Maribel cosplayers, etc.

Well, San Jose is full of good cheap food, especially close to the convention center. The after gathering doesn't have to be directly after either, we could always convene again at a later time the same day. So, if the gathering was 11:00 - 12:30, for example, and then we'd meet up again between 7:00-7:15, decide on where to eat, and head out from there. Recently, though this would only apply to those over twenty one, a cocktail bar named Paper Plane has opened up close by the convention center (which I can't personally vouce for yet, though that will change this weekend). Might be a nice place to hit up for those eligible and interested after we eat dinner.

I felt pretty foolish I didn't at least fetch you a bottle of water <___< Hopefully the weather will be decent this year, though it's more likely to be hot than not considering the dates. I wonder if pushing the cosplay gathering towards being an evening one wouldn't be such a bad idea, all things considered. Perhaps an hour or so once the concert ends? Might be able to catch some people who skip the after gathering for it that way as well, though with a later gathering it might be better to eat first? I doubt that the time will be shifting at all though, but just something I've considered might work. At the very least, it might be a good idea to get that area in the corner between the Marriot and the convention center, since it naturally has a lot more shade at the time we've been doing the gatherings the past couple of years.

On a more realistic level, the photos ought to be not a straight shot through the games. One of the major issues here is that some of the cosplayers are doing characters that aren't going to simply be in most photos, and they're probably more bound to just skip out than stick around for just a few photos.

I'd be fine with most anything, as long as it can fit our party of (I assume based on the past few years) 12-18 people comfortably. Price info and the like would be great to know beforehand as well, so everyone has a full picture before we head out to one of those locations (since the ultimate decision will be made on scene).

I'm going to try and go this coming year, everything was a bit too last minute last time so I didn't feel comfortable making the plunge, but now is set in stone I can plan to join in on the fun. Meanwhile, the local bay area Touhou gatherings (Bayhou) are still happening, with the next to hopefully be 12/13 (if the information is actually up... which I don't know if it is since I don't do the social media stuff). Lots of great fun to be had with the community here in California, whether it be Norcal, Socal, no matter the time of year.