Lets Talk San Japan 2026

Hey there!

Its been a few days since we have been back, but I'm finally sitting down and writing out my San Japan 2026 wrap up post!

This year my friends and I were all struggling with con crunch! 

I was finishing up my Appa cosplay up until right before we left Thursday night! It was a close push but I was able to finish up. I hadn't gotten to do a try on of the whole thing (subtle foreshadowing) but it was already late in the day and we wanted to get up there in time to pick up our badges. I worked in the morning, and had to run some errands before finishing everything up, so I was busy literally all day! Thankfully my super awesome supportive helpful husband got off work a little early and was able to help me with last minute prep. This time he was staying behind, which was a total bummer, but he promised to come with us next time so I guess I'll forgive him :)

I picked up Ordonfae, (who just made a cosplay page! you should go follow her!) we got our stuff all crammed into my car, and off we went. It was a smooth drive up to San Antonio, it only takes us about 2 hours to get there from where we live. No traffic, no bad weather, it was a really easy trip up! 

Xylia, Merluvli and her partner had all gotten there a little before us, so when we arrived we got to go straight up to the hotel room. Fun fact, the hotel we stayed in is actually where my first ever San Japan was held back in 2010! Its crazy to see how much its grown over 16 years. God I feel old.

We settled in and went to pick up our badges around 7pm! 

If you've been to San Japan, you know the venue is quite large. the Henry B Gonzalez convention center is a massive convention center that spans multiple floors and wings. The badge pick up is in what my friends and I lovingly call "old San Japan" (iykyk)

I don't want to start off saying anything negative but man it was HUMID in that area. I don't know how many anime conventions must pass before people attending remember to bathe and put on deodorant. Like how was it already funky in that area and it was Thursday T-T yikes.

Thankfully for us the line was moving quickly, and we weren't subjected to con-funk for too long. 

After we picked up our badges, we went over to a nearby restaurant to have dinner and talk about the upcoming weekend! We were all super excited to debut our heartless cosplay group the next day! This was such a dream group for me, when I originally designed my Heartless dress I thought it would be so cool to have a whole group. Then Merluvli joined as the green, then Xylia as the red, and with Ordonfae as the yellow the dream was realized!!! I made Ordonfae's yellow dress for her, which was super fun and I was so honored to be trusted to make a friend's cosplay :)

We had our dinner and went back to the hotel room to get some rest before the next day. 

Since we picked up our badges the night before, we didn't feel rushed on Friday morning. We got up, got our coffee fix and started getting ready. I was really happy with how I did my makeup, god bless Merluvli for having extra lashes for me to borrow, and Xylia for coming in clutch with extra glitter. One thing I sort of failed at packing was all of my makeup. Learn from me, pack your bags in advanced so you don't forget anything!!

Once we were all ready to go, it was time to go down to the convention. It felt like immediately upon entering the con we were getting stopped for pictures! I absolutely loved it, I felt so cute and our group looked so good. I was happy so many people were excited about taking our picture! We got our bearings and took our annual pictures in front of the San Japan sign!

Take a look at how dang cute we are!!

I am absolutely obsessed with our group. I can see us rewearing these many times in the future! This will be my 3rd time wearing mine since I made it!

Most of the day was spent walking around the Artist Alley, and in the Arcade. Ordonfae and I always have to make a stop to play all the rhythm/dance games! We played Dance Evolution, ParaPara and DDR! We TRIED to play Taiko no Tatsujin but the one we played on was broken so only one drum worked T-T so sad. But at least we got this ridiculous photo out of it xD

lmao, here's some more from the Arcade! I just love how we look in our cosplays we look cute when we do everything!

The rest of the day was pretty simple, we spent a lot of time walking around, taking photos and shopping around the Artist Alley and Dealer's. One exciting thing that happened that night though, was our friend Merluvli got engaged!! We had no idea her partner was planning to propose!! We all love Merluvli so much and are excited for her, and pray for nothing but her happiness in this world!! 

congratulations to them!!! 

Ordonfae and I spent a little more time at the con that night, playing DDR and just enjoying the general splendor of being at the con. But all good days must eventually end, and we went to bed preparing for the next day. 

Saturday was a big cosplay day for all of us!! I was debuting my Appa cosplay, Ordonfae was debuting her new Hornet cosplay, Xylia was debuting her new TwinRova cosplay, and Merluvli her new Nabooru cosplay!! (They actually met at San Japan 10 years ago wearing their first versions of those cosplays!! <3)

Once we were all ready to go, I was really happy with how my cosplay looked. It was the first time I had actually put everything on since finishing everything!! The only thing left were the horns...which were unfortunately an epic fail.

Long story short, my magnets weren't strong enough to hold through the hood of my cloak. This was SO frustrating for me, because I literally tried this out at home first and it was fine!!! But Murphy's Law spares no one, and unfortunately by the time it was time to wear my cosplay at the con, my magnets just decided to be weak and sad. On top of that, my belt was shifting all kinds of crazy every time I took a step, and just wouldn't stay in place properly. I was so frustrated, but thankfully Xylia is forever my cosplay big sister and helped me keep my cool. We went to the cosplay repair station, and we found a way to make it work. Since the magnets would hold find when the horns were directly on the wig, what we ended up doing was just pinning the hood sort of around the horns. it wasn't my original vision, but it worked and it still looked ok. I safety pinned my belt into place, which worked for the day. 

Fun fact about me, I absolutely love competing in cosplay contests. It's my bread and butter. I'm by no means a professional/master level competitor, but over my 15+ years in attending conventions, my favorite thing to do is always to enter the cosplay contest. Its my life long dream to win a big award for my work. 

Since I had misunderstood how signing up for the main contest worked for this year, I had decided to maybe do the Hall contest. For those of you who don't know, the Hall contest is a craftsmanship only contest that doesn't require you to go on stage. 

I was really back and forth on if I should still enter the Hall cosplay contest. I was truly back and forth on it for weeks, and now the day was here. Either enter, or don't. After we were done at the cosplay repair, I decided if the sign ups were still open, it wouldn't hurt just to enter.

We made our way to the Hall contest sign ups and...

they were already closed.

Which honestly, I was kind of relieved. After all the turmoil I had gone through with getting this cosplay together that day, I just felt like it wasn't ready for a contest. I want to enter my work when I feel like it's ready. There are still so many things I want to do to this cosplay anyways, and I just knew in my heart it wasn't the right time. And sure enough, the entry being closed already when we got there was just a sign that the universe didn't thing it was the right time either. '

Xylia and I laughed it off, and went back to the con to find our friends. I found a couple other Avatar cosplayers in the Artist Alley and got some pics on the digital camera with them!! I wish I had gotten their info, they were both so nice. Me and the Painted Lady had a great conversation about loving Avatar and working on our cosplays!

The rest of the day was pretty straight forward too, lots of walking, shopping, and taking photos. I was able to get some great photos of all of us on my digital camera just for funsies!! Bask in our splendor and amazingness!

We also met up with our friend Monica and she and her photographer friend took some professional photos of us!!! I felt so honored and absolutely love the photos they took. I only have one to share for now, but you best believe when I have the others I will be posting them.

I feel like these pictures really capture the essence of Appa and Airbending I was trying to communicate with my cosplay. I'm so excited they came out so good!!!

After photos, we all split off and did our own things for a while. Ordonfae and I decided to attend the cosplay contest, and I of course was cheering super loud for all the contestants!!

Everyone who competed did such a great job, there were so many amazing skits and walk-ons this year!! Some highlights were the Kasane Teto skit, and the Date Everything skit! They did such a great job, I was dancing and singing along the whole time. 

The winners were so deserving of their awards, it was so inspiring and just made me want to be a part of the cosplay contest soooo bad in the future. It gave me such a second wind in motivation, we are already talking about our next big cosplay group!

We ended up being so tired we skipped the rave. The Night Market was already at capacity when we wanted to go, so we ended up calling it a night and cleaned up and went to bed. 

The next day was a pretty simple day for us, Merluvli was the only one with energy left to cosplay, and she debuted her Deltarune cosplay! Super cute. The rest of us went casual, and spent the day doing our real shopping. 

There was a little Pokemon themed photo booth too, and we got some pics! So freakin' cute, I was so excited to hold Meowth. He's one of my favorite Pokemon just on vibes alone.

We finished up our shopping, and were able to attend the Cosplay Contests 101 panel! Very informative and useful information, especially for those with an interest in competing. I was able to figure out exactly how to sign up for next year's contest, and I am just so motivated to get back up on the stage!

And after that, it was time to part ways and go back home. We had such a fun weekend, it was truly unforgettable. After missing San Japan 2025, I had been looking forward to this con for 2 years!! It felt so good to be back, and to wear so many fun cosplays and meet new people. I am excited to say our group is already planning cosplays for next year, and we are planning on competing in the cosplay contest.

If anyone is curious as to what we're planning...know that we are cooking.

That's all for now!! Thank you to San Japan and everyone that made this weekend special. You're the real ones!!!

-Fish