You Spin Me Right Round: J-Pop Summit Festival 2014 and the Week Ahead.

On the stage at the J-Pop Summit Festival

This past weekend was packed with a great deal of things. First of all, it w the last weekend of prep before Comic Con. That means doing all the shopping for what you need. That also meant that fitting anything in became… well, tricky.

Saturday morning, we headed out to the Ferry Buildinng in San Francisco. We were headed there to pick me up some super-tasty gluten-free baguettes from Mariposa Bakery. There is one type of bread that I have missed since I’ve had to go gluten-free and that is sourdough. The flavor and texture… it makes my mouth water. The smell of sourdough bread is enough to make me hungry. Mariposa Barkey’s baguettes are the closest in texture to sourdough. They are super-tasty and worth getting. They also make other wonderful gluten-free foods. I’ve tried their quiche and their cakes. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, I suggest picking some up.

We also went by the Cowgirl Creamery stall and picked up some local cheese. Also very tasty. Both stores were super-busy. Of course, it was also the Farmer’s Market, so that would explain the large influx of people. It was difficult to get around, but it’s worth it for all the tasty artisan and local food stuffs in one location.

One of the sales girl. She was quite cute.

After going to the Ferry Building, we made our way to the J-Pop Summit Festival. Getting there Saturday

was a total nightmare. The garage was packed and people were lined-up on the street waiting to park in the garage. After we saw that line, we decided to go to the festival on Sunday instead. The traffic was just awful.

So we headed home and took care of 90% of the shopping we needed to do. We managed to make the most out of a day. I think we did that with flying colors. We bought all our food provisions and other things we’ve needed for the next week.

We woke up semi-early on Sunday morning to head out to the festival. However, the festival wasn’t just about going to the festival. I still had some things that needed to be taken care of for Comic Con both for home and for the trip.

A cute cosplayer

Getting in to the garage was a bit sluggish when we got there just before the festival was really starting. Once we were parked, it was time to go and check out the rest of the festival. This year the festival wasn’t just about the music. They had sake tasting again this year (they had sake tasting last year). I really enjoyed it last year. I should have done it this year, but I had left my ID at home which meant no drinking for me. They also had a ramen festival this year. I belive this was probably the largest draw.

The music was fun. It’s pop, so of course it was fun. The music was great. It’s always a part of the J-Pop Summit Festival that I’ve enjoyed. The crowds were huge. I don’t think pictures or words can even begin to cover the way the crowd felt this year. It was packed.

The food trucks had a pretty great selection. Of course they were largely Asian food, but there was other food available. The very popular San Francisco food truck/restaurant Bacon Bacon was also there. Onigilly had an upgraded spot this year. Last year they had their food cart. They have great onigiri (stuffed rice balls). They also had these incredibly tasty rice bowls. If you happen to not be able to eat

Naruto cosplay

gluten, they are accomidating and have food that you can eat. They were very knowledgable last year. I would have gotten another one of their bowls, but the line was so long. I missed out on tasty food.

There were some interesting things that you could buy there too. Artists, small clothing companies, artisan food… there were so many things for one to buy. I felt bad because we couldn’t buy as much. Between this being before Comic Con and during a period where we’re prepping for a big trip, it means spending needs to be a little tight. That’s a shame too, because there was so much awesome there.

I was a little sad that I couldn’t volunteer this year. I had a lot of fun volunteering the one year I did. It was something I had enjoyed immensely. It was a great experience. I’m hoping that next year the festival will be at a time where volunteering will definitely be a

The ramen line-up

feasible option.

I had a great time again this year. I enjoy the festival and love that it’s exposing more people to music that they would never otherwise listen to. It’s a great time.

As for the rest of this week…

I’m leaving for Comic Con tomorrow morning, bright and early. Ack!

So, that means this is, unfortunately, my only real post for the week here. Does that mean you can’t see what’s going on or what I’m doing at Comic Con including impromptu pics from my phone? Nope. I have a solution to tie you over until I start my posts about Comic Con this year. I will be live-tweeting and posting pictures to Instagram. If you want to see what’s going on while I’m out and about experiencing San Diego Comic Con, feel free to follow me.

Another cute cosplay.

If you have Twitter and interested in seeing my tweets, you can follow me @ph03n1x13.
If you want to see some pictures prior to my post, follow me on Instagram also at ph03n1x13.

I will have a quickie post the Tuesday after Comic Con. I might try to make it before I leave San Diego on Monday. I’ll let you all know what the plan for that week is.

Until then!