I think when visiting a foreign country, it is always welcome whenever someone attempts to speak your mother tongue, however rudimentary their understanding of your language.
True enough. This brings to mind one of Mizuki's comics on encountering another Japanese speaker at Anime Boston.
At the very least, my Japanese-speaking friend will likely tag along with me, so I could have her say a few things for me if I struggle to maintain a conversation.
Funny....I remember asking said friend a while back to teach me Japanese some time, in the off-chance that ZUN would come to the U.S. :derp:
I have to find out with the actual con planners, but if the announcement has been made, then clearly things are quite underway. I really don't have much power in the grand scheme of things with this, but I do want to get involved and try to make this go as smoothly as possible, so I'll be staying in contact with whoever I can to get all the information we need.
It's probably a long shot, but could you try to see if you could have ZUN's panel NOT be on the Friday of the con? If my friend and I end up going, we'll likely be flying in on Friday, probably in the evening. But then again, ZUN might be able to stick around afterward and hang with the Touhou fans, sorta like Mizuki did.