We got up later this morning than yesterday, about 8:00 am. I dressed in my new t-shirt. Lyra wore her Japanese yukata with wooden cat earrings and a new calico cat hair clip that she picked up from the dealer room yesterday. We braved the enduring hazy sunshine, with warmer and more humid air than yesterday.
Saturday seems to be the single busiest day for Otakuthon. As we waited for 10:00 am and the official start of the day’s programming, I took a panoramic photo series of all the people waiting to pick up their badges. The first two photos below show the convention staff in the booths under the blue signs. They’re checking attendees in. The last two pictures below show the extent of the line.
While Lyra drank morning caffeine at Van Houtte, I took some pictures of Pine, trying to capture the wonderful expressiveness of her sleeping faceplate and the faceup. She really likes her purse and wanted to show it off. I, on the other hand, really like how she poses realistically and even crosses her legs. She got bored and wanted to use Lyra’s phone.
As soon as the doors open, we took another trip through the artists’ section of the dealer room. We walked more leisurely, enjoying a comparative lack of hordes so early in the day. I thought I was done buying art, but I was not. When I saw Cylaela’s booth and particularly the art of original characters, I purchased a print with a striking black background and dramatic palette of neon green, neon pink, royal purple, and white.
We ate an early lunch at a new restaurant called Hoshi on 14 Rue de la Gauchetiere Est. We sat right in the window, and I could see one of the Chinatown gates from my seat. Hoshi specializes in Japanese cuisine like lunch bowls, curry, and sandwiches. We both had rosu katsu curry: breaded and deep-fried pork loin over rice with a sweet, mild yellow curry sauce. Cream of mushroom soup preceded the main course, and miso soup accompanied it. I found the cream of mushroom soup unexceptional, the pork loin slightly tough and dry, and the curry tasty but not remarkable. The miso soup, both sweet and savory, was the best part of the meal. I am glad I sampled the food, but the tastes, textures, and presentation were not novel or interesting enough to rate going again. Lyra told me all about katsu as served in Japan, but I don’t remember what she said because I was inattentive due to sleepiness.
After lunch we repaired to the cool quietude of our air conditioned hotel room. I worked on photos and tried to take a nap, but I didn’t fall asleep.
Around 3:00 pm, we moseyed toward the Lolita fashion swap. We spent an hour in a serpentine line waiting to get in, but the time passed quickly. I got photos of many cool outfits, and Lyra told our neighbors in line all about her adventures teaching in Japan.
After that, Lyra got bubble tea and I got red bean paste buns at Coco. I also got a bunch of other pastries, including a spicy beef pastie, a coconut cream bun, a custard cream swirl bun, a pleasingly stretchy and gelatinous mochi with custard filling. I also got two spicy salmon onigiri, which were not particularly spicy. No photos because I was hungry, so I ate them.
Lyra picked up some things from the IGA. Pine posed with Miss Vickie’s ketchup potato chips, ketchup being a popular Canadian flavor that does not translate across the US border. I really like these ketchup chips, full of a sweet, robust, chili-tinged tomato flavor. I had to take photos of Pine with the chips because the design on her dress includes ketchup.
