Where to Relax and Unwind at Otakon 2018. Plus, find the Secret Pillow Room!

/ Washington Convention Center/

Written by Young Jeohn

A person can only take so much video gaming, cosplaying and general frenzy of a convention. So aside from heading back to your hotel room (that can be a terribly long hike in the 90+ degree heat in your hot, sweaty cosplay), most people won't find many options to relax and just chill out.

Bearing this in mind, we took the initiative to see if we couldn't find some places where you could do just that - take a break or relieve stress. Interestingly enough, there are some under-utilized places that deserve notice, and we're not talking about the convention food hall.


MANGA LIBRARY

Sponsored by Anime Next, this area is a quiet oasis offering you a chance to catch up on your favorite manga. It sort of functions like a library - they have shelves of material that you can select and read from in the quiet, air conditioned room. Plenty of tables, chairs and open areas of the floor.

And if I understand correctly, they accept manga donations too. You can help grow their library for others to read and enjoy!


OTA CAFE

They don't serve coffee, but they do serve up karaoke! If your way of destressing is to belt out a couple of songs, head to the cafe and sing your heart out!

There's a stage area with several mics - choose to sing solo or do the group thing with friends. You have a bookload of songs to choose from, either in English or Japanese. 

Don't see what you want? They can also play songs on your phone or music player too. If you're disappointed by the lack of coffee, don't despair. There's a snack stand not 20 feet away that does have it!


LOLITA GARDEN

This is a specialty area for lolitas when there aren't (lolita focused) panels and programs going on, like the clothing exchange. But in general, it's a friendly place for Lolis to hang out, chat and enjoy the community.


SECRET PILLOW ROOM

I like exploring the areas that don't have a lot of foot traffic, so completely by luck, I happened to look into this room where I saw people relaxing on pillows on the ground. Someone welcomed me in to join, but it looked was so peaceful in there that I didn't want to disturb them. Nor take pictures.

So imagine a big room with body pillows all around, lights dimmed. Several cosplayers had kicked off their high heels and were enjoying the relief to their feet while others were quietly napping.

It's a great place to rejuvenate yourself and even take a nap if you want. But you have to find it first.
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Otakon 2018 - https://www.otakon.com
Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC