Attending a Dollpa

If I wanted to to dolpha go-- is there any suggestion or advice for attending? I think I read a page long ago about it... But I don't know where. Any help?

Edited April 14, 2013 by Guest

You have to buy the Dolpa guidebook to be able to get into the Dolpa. Volks will be selling them on the international web site if you want to be able to buy yours in advance.

 

The Tokyo Dolpa will most likely be at Tokyo Big Sight again, which is in the Odaiba area. When you get to the convention center, there will be a place to draw a number. That's the number in line you get to be for the limited dolls. If you get a number larger than 500, you probably won't get a doll. That's just the unfortunate way it is.

 

If you get a bad doll number, there's 2 other lines you can get in. One is the Tenshi no Sumika line, where you can buy the Volks clothes that they'll have for sale. This line is first come, first served. The other line will be the General Admission line, if you're interested in just checking out the non-Volks dealer tables first. This line is also first come, first served.

Although I didn't know most of this last time, a reasonable strategy based on that experience seems to be:

• Make food for a couple meals, bring snacks, bring drinks.
  
• Set expectations. There's a slim chance you might come home with a DD, but don't depend on it. There is also a slim chance of getting something from some of the more famous dealers because they get lines too. Go for fun, camraderie, doll watching, event playing, or other reasons. Be prepared to do a LOT of waiting around at first.
  
• Get to the event hall around 730am, before anything opens.
  
• Join the limited dolls area and draw a number as soon as they open it up. If it's under 500, congrats, you might get a doll. Stay and wait until they start selling doll pickup tickets at 10am. (you buy a ticket now and pick up your doll later in the day). Hope you brought a book or DS or something.
  
• If your number is 500 or over, leave immediately and join the line for Sumika items or General Admission, whichever interests you more. You're not getting any DDs with your number, so hurry up and get in a first-come first-served line. Once you're there, time to wait. Hope you still brought a book or DS or something.
  
• After making your initial purchases from the line you chose first, you can go to the other areas, browse, wait for events... There's a schedule in your guidebook of what is going on when and where.

 

Last Dolpa I felt a bit out of place, since the official Volks events and dealer items were highly skewed towards Super Dollfie. If you like resins too then that's fine, but if one's interest is in buying DD and cosplay and anime props.. one might find the event a bit.. lacking. Except if you go look at other people's dolls. Lots of DD and cosplay in the attendee show-off areas.

 

I really wonder if last time was a fluke, or if Dolpa is always 85% SD / 15% DD.

The most excellent DOLPA FOR DUMMIES guide written by D.ark.

 

It was extremely helpful when I went to Tokyo Dolpa last May.

Read it - and if you have any other questions, ask ^__~"

The most excellent DOLPA FOR DUMMIES guide written by D.ark.

 

It was extremely helpful when I went to Tokyo Dolpa last May.

Read it - and if you have any other questions, ask ^__~"

 

From the guide:

 

"Getting to Big Sight

This takes FOREVER!

 

Note, this place is in the middle of nowhere!

You have to take several train/metro lines depending on where you are staying.

Of course, if you are staying at a nearby hotel this is not an issue but if you as me decide to stay in say Nakano/ Shinjuku/ Shibuya area, prepare for an hour to an hour and a half on public transport."

 

LOL

 

Yeah, SakuraSylph and I live closer to that side of Tokyo (the western side). And you absolutely will spend about 90 minutes per way minimum. If you come to Tokyo for a Dolpa and don't want to ride on the train for that long, you really need to stay somewhere else. Shortest distance will be somewhere on Odaiba itself, though I have no idea what the hotel situation itself is.

 

And yes, I mean "on" Odaiba, not "in" Odaiba. Odaiba's an artificial island in Tokyo Bay.

what are the prices of a hotelroom in that area. i always figured that hotels in midcity are uber expensive

what are the prices of a hotelroom in that area. i always figured that hotels in midcity are uber expensive

 

No idea. Stayed in a hotel in Tokyo back in 2010 near Tokyo Tower. It was kinda expensive. But that's just the hotel we picked.

 

The problem is Japan has lots of options for places to stay. You can stay in a typical "Western style" hotel, you can stay in a ryokan (traditional Japanese place where you sleep in a futon on the tatami covered floor), a capsule hotel, and several other types. Type + quality of that type + area you choose to stay can make hotel costs vary quite widely.

 

I've known people that have chosen to rent a booth in a manga/internet cafe and just stay there. Those charge by the hour, but it's typically cheaper to do that than stay in a hotel. Of course, you're not getting a bed or anything that way...

 

Japan Guide has more info about the different types. I can't really give anyone price quotes for anything because, like I said, I've only stayed in 1 hotel in Japan ever.

well the dutch have a thing called a caravan. its like a room on wheels. a pain if youre driving behind one but its great to have like parked right in fron of the tokyo building thing. i mean you can get there weeks beforehand and get best spots if necessary while still being in some comfort

I haven't attended a Dolpa, but I did attend an iDoll last summer in Tokyo, as well as the release for Natsuki v.2. The best advice I can give is to watch what other people do, and imitate them. Be quiet, don't be obnoxious. It's not like American conventions where everyone is screaming and running. ASK before taking any pictures. Brings lots of cash; you will be sure to find lots of things that you'll suddenly HAVE to have!

well the dutch have a thing called a caravan. its like a room on wheels. a pain if youre driving behind one but its great to have like parked right in fron of the tokyo building thing. i mean you can get there weeks beforehand and get best spots if necessary while still being in some comfort

 

Is that what Americans call an RV?

 

Wouldn't work here in Japan. You can't park for free in Tokyo. I've got 1 parking spot with my house. If I had more than 1 car, I'd have to rent that spot. I'm totally serious. That's how limited space is here. I also take the train everywhere because it's cheaper to do that than drive between the high gas costs, high tolls, and high parking costs.

I haven't attended a Dolpa, but I did attend an iDoll last summer in Tokyo, as well as the release for Natsuki v.2. The best advice I can give is to watch what other people do, and imitate them. Be quiet, don't be obnoxious. It's not like American conventions where everyone is screaming and running. ASK before taking any pictures. Brings lots of cash; you will be sure to find lots of things that you'll suddenly HAVE to have!

 

I went the iDoll this past fall and can back this up.

We found the building it was going to be in, I walked up and bought two of the program books and all I had to do was show them whenever we changed floors or wanted to go back into the room. What I loved about iDoll is that it was every kind of doll, not just Volks. Each kind of doll had it's own area of vendors. So if you already have a doll, it was the BEST place to pick up clothes/props and all sorts of cute things!

 

But it only lasts for 4 hours!!! O_O (Which was probably a blessing in disguise because I would've gone broke!) I took pictures, but I don't have a ton because at first I was shy & a bit overwhelmed but then I noticed other girls taking pictures so I'd ask at each booth before snapping a pic.

 

We stayed in a business hotel and it was around 60-80 dollars (American with exchange rate) a night. Tiny rooms but they have EVERYTHING! I was just extremely lucky that iDoll was during the two weeks we went to Tokyo.

 

I'm hoping I can go again this next November, the plane ticket is the killer for me.

This post is quite interesting and usefull! I learned a lot of things =o I hope to be able to go to a Dollpa at one point :3