Topic: Bay Area Touhou Gatherings (Read 936 times)

Seven Deadly Sins · « **on:** November 28, 2011, 06:31:19 am »

Bay Area Touhou Gatherings

This is the general thread for the gatherings that are held regularly in the California Bay Area, specifically the San Francisco-San Jose area. We hold these gatherings about every two months, and we encourage as many new people to show up every time.

If you’re a fan of Touhou and you live in or near the California Bay Area, this is the place for you. See, in the summer of 2010, a couple of us back on Pooshlmer had the awesome idea of getting everyone in the Bay Area together for a great big potluck party in San Jose. The event was a hit, and since then, we’ve been arranging gatherings in the Bay on a regular basis.

Every 2 months or so, we pick a spot, usually in the San Jose area, where we meet up at an open, easy to find location and hang out for a while. Most of the time, we do it potluck-style, where everyone brings a dish of some sort so we all get fed. After that, it’s a trip to Cupertino’s Gamba Karaoke, a traditional Japanese-style Karaoke joint with a huge selection of Touhou music, as well as assorted anime themes and plenty of non-Japanese music for those not gifted with a firm grasp of the Japanese language. After that, it’s off to dinner, usually to Ringer Hut, an awesome little Japanese restaurant in the area. You can attend any or all of the day’s festivities, though the full experience is getting it all in. We love to see new faces, and we’re shooting for as many attendees as possible.

You can find more information on our tumblr - http://bayhou.tumblr.com/ - we update it whenever there's more information, so if you're following it you can get any info about the latest stuff. If you're in the area, you should show up, even if you can't show for the entire thing.

CURRENT PLANS

The next gathering is scheduled for the 17th of December. You can read in more detail here:

http://bayhou.tumblr.com/post/13444052714/touhou-gathering-plans-12-17

Basically, we'll be starting the day around noon at Omogari Korean Restaurant, which is located at 154 Jackson Street, San Jose, CA (4th Street & Jackson). After that, it's a day downtown, followed by the standard Gamba -> Ringer Hut evening plans. We've also got some plans to extend the festivities later into the night at the Gamecenter in San Mateo, so hopefully people can stick around for that (and maybe more, if we can keep things rolling).

Arcengal · « **Reply #1 on:** November 29, 2011, 12:42:48 pm »

Aw, and I just got back from vacation in CA too...

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #2 on:** November 29, 2011, 04:26:45 pm »

Sorry to hear that, but we hold them about every 2 months, so hopefully we'll have one while you're in town.

Luna Scarlet · « **Reply #3 on:** November 30, 2011, 03:45:32 am »

ouch, got to travel half way around the world to get there...
LOL

AJS · « **Reply #4 on:** November 30, 2011, 08:11:39 am »

That sounds frickin' awesome....I'd love to go, but San Jose is a bit out of my reach. I live in SoCal, near the LA area (but not during the school year, when I'm at my college alllllllll the way on the East Coast).
_{*cough* Somebody please set up a gathering in that area, pleeeeeease! *cough*}

LukAMRA · « **Reply #5 on:** December 03, 2011, 05:10:14 am »

Just popping in to say that it's super fun going. My promises.

jaxter0987 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 05, 2011, 10:52:33 pm »

Argh I'd love to go, but I wouldn't know the best way to get there from San Francisco.

Is there some sort of bus line that runs from SF to San Jose?

EDIT: I've looked into it a little and it seems I can take the CalTrain all the way down there. Kind of expensive thought, $8.75 for a one-way trip. If there's anyone going there from San Francisco, I'd like to carpool with them if possible.

EDIT2: T.T Looking over the site, I realized I missed the gathering in October that was in San Francisco. =( Just wondering, how many people go to these gatherings?

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #7 on:** December 06, 2011, 12:11:53 am »

Quote from: jaxter0987 on December 05, 2011, 10:52:33 pm

Argh I'd love to go, but I wouldn't know the best way to get there from San Francisco. Is there some sort of bus line that runs from SF to San Jose?

EDIT: I've looked into it a little and it seems I can take the CalTrain all the way down there. Kind of expensive thought, $8.75 for a one-way trip. If there's anyone going there from San Francisco, I'd like to carpool with them if possible.

EDIT2: T.T Looking over the site, I realized I missed the gathering in October that was in San Francisco. =( Just wondering, how many people go to these gatherings?

I "can" drive through SF, since I live in Napa, but I'm not sure about the round trip. I'm usually trying to find someone to stay with in the area, though, since I like to not *have* to drive home. Not sure where other people hail from, but I can check around.

As for numbers, we usually see something like 7-10 people at an average one, and it usually grows as the night goes on. We're on a push to try and increase that- the very first one was a huge event with 20+ people, so we know they're out there, we just need to find them. We've had new people at the last couple gatherings, as well as the same core people that show up, and it's a ton of fun.

Tonalmuff · « **Reply #8 on:** December 06, 2011, 12:45:36 am »

This is the founder of the Bayhou meets.

Feel free to ask questions/offer suggestions/etc. I'll be keeping my eye on the thread.

LukAMRA · « **Reply #9 on:** December 06, 2011, 05:45:28 pm »

If you're already in SF, you can take the Bart down. Unless that's CalTrain. (I'm a newb at this, don't judge me ;_;)

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #10 on:** December 12, 2011, 11:34:03 pm »

Less than a week! Who's ready?

Tonalmuff · « **Reply #11 on:** December 13, 2011, 01:23:39 am »

I AM!

Well, I always am (I'm the head man in charge afterall), but I seriously can't stress how enjoyable these gatherings are.

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #12 on:** December 17, 2011, 04:09:58 am »

Festivities are tomorrow, hoping to see some people there!

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #13 on:** December 19, 2011, 09:04:18 pm »

Gathering went well, saw some new faces, unfortunately no photos. Had a ball, next one's planned for February 26th, hoping to see some new people there. Will post more when we have more details.

LukAMRA · « **Reply #14 on:** December 26, 2011, 07:04:47 am »

Sorry I couldn't show up this time, Seven. Had a bunch of college crap to deal with.

Takamachi Ruroha · « **Reply #15 on:** February 04, 2012, 10:36:15 am »

Bumping because there are more meetings coming up, unlocking by request accordingly.

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #16 on:** February 04, 2012, 10:42:38 am »

NEXT GATHERING DATE: February 26th

This is a potluck picnic/cosplay phootshoot held at the Hakone Gardens (21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA) It will start at 12:00 and will last till 4-5:00. From there we'll be going Gamba for karaoke (19990 Homestead Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014-0556) for a few hours (probably till around 7-7:30, depending on when we get there and how active people). Then we'll eat some delicious Japanese food at Ringer Hut (1072 Saratoga Ave. San Jose, CA 95129). From there we might go to Gamecenter, or something else depending on what people desire (till midnight or beyond). Those that were around for the first one will note that this is the same place that's in the photo in the OP. It's a really nice place, and has a great little picnic outcropping where we can meet up and have festivities. It's impossible to miss.

It's absolutely vital that people RSVP so we have an idea how much food and drink to bring. It's encouraged that you bring some kind of food or drink, and if you choose to do so, please let us know so that we don't get a lot of redundancy and we can fill in any blanks ourselves.

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #17 on:** February 20, 2012, 11:06:41 pm »

Me being on the job hunt and Jared just having had a con, we're skipping this date and moving it forward to what would be the next date, April 14th. Same place, same plans, but a different date. Hopefully this will work for more people, and we can have a more full experience there.

Sorry for anyone looking forward to this weekend, but with any luck, this will lead to a better experience for everyone involved when we get things ready for next time.

Seven Deadly Sins · « **Reply #18 on:** April 07, 2012, 05:59:51 am »

YET ANOTHER UPDATE

http://bayhou.tumblr.com/post/20638214454/spring-gathering-april-21-2012

This is a potluck picnic/cosplay phootshoot held at the Hakone Gardens (21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA) It will start at 12:00 and will last till 4-5:00. From there we’ll be going Gamba for karaoke (19990 Homestead Rd. Cupertino, CA 95014-0556) for a few hours (probably till around 7-7:30, depending on when we get there and how active people). Then we’ll eat some delicious Japanese food at Ringer Hut (1072 Saratoga Ave. San Jose, CA 95129). From there we might go to Gamecenter, or something else depending on what people desire (till midnight or beyond). Those that were around for the first one will note that this is the same place that’s in the photo in the OP. It’s a really nice place, and has a great little picnic outcropping where we can meet up and have festivities. It’s impossible to miss.

It’s absolutely vital that people RSVP so we have an idea how much food and drink to bring. It’s encouraged that you bring some kind of food or drink, and if you choose to do so, please let us know so that we don’t get a lot of redundancy and we can fill in any blanks ourselves. Send an E-mail to willraus@sbcglobal.net to let us know that you're coming and what you're bringing.

Additionally, even if you can't make it due to timing or location, please reblog this if you have a Tumblr account. The more people that see it, the more people that come and the better the event will be.

Hoping to hear from some of you soon!

Tonalmuff · « **Reply #19 on:** April 07, 2012, 06:16:33 am »

Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, whatever form of social media you might use or not, repost and spread where you can in general.

There gatherings are all about having a good time with fellow fans, and it's not all about Touhou, so don't feel intimated if you're not so skilled at the games, or know much about the series, etc.

Random · « **Reply #20 on:** April 07, 2012, 08:27:46 pm »

what
what
what

Quote

21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA

i live 4 miles away from there
I know what I'm doing to start spring break.

Tonalmuff · « **Reply #21 on:** April 13, 2012, 05:13:38 pm »

Hard to imagine a better way to start a vacation (Fanime KING OF CONS/Touhoucon would be one, I guesso).

Honestly though Fanime is why these gatherings were created, due to how much an amazing window into the fandom at whole it is. I began my foray into Touhou from a strictly game based perspective in a quest for finding an honestly challenging game, and didn't really get into the arrange groups and the like till after Fanime 2010.

Looking forward to seeing you at the gathering in about a week.