Terms of Participation

Note: The following is translated from the original Japanese document. The original document may supersede any part of the translation below, and may be invoked at any time.

In order to ensure that as many people enjoy the Japan Meeting of Furries (JMoF) convention as possible and to smoothly continue hosting the event in the future, The JMoF Executive Committee (hereafter “we, us, our”) has established terms of participation (hereafter “these terms”).

These terms are broadly divided into the (Rules of Conduct) that we ask you follow when at the JMoF convention, and the (Terms and Conditions) that have rules regarding what we offer. Please read and understand the following rules carefully prior to attending the convention.

Rules of Conduct

General Rules

  • First and foremost, please give proper attention to the state of your health, and act appropriately based on your condition. For JMoF’s sanitary management, regulations regarding countermeasures against the spread of virus have been applied. For more details, please visit the “Regulations Regarding Countermeasures Against the Spread of Virus” page.
  • Inside the convention, please wear your own JMoF con-badge in a place where it can be seen by others easily (including when wearing a fursuit).
  • Unless special permission is given, please do not eat or drink inside the convention.
    • Inside the changing room and the Headless Lounge, you will be able to bring in and drink beverages only in containers that are able to be fully sealed (but eating is still not allowed). Please note that inside the Headless Lounge, there will be a water dispenser installed.
    • For dealers in the Dealer’s Room, you will be able to bring along and drink beverages only while inside your booth, and only in containers that are able to be fully sealed (eating is still not allowed). Please do not drink when outside of your booth. (Regular convention attendees are prohibited from eating and drinking without exception).
    • For those events where partial or full permission is given for eating and/or drinking, please refer to the notices of each respective event.
  • “Policies for Clothing and Changing” applies to every case of changing into or out of any clothes/costume, or when changing accessories. For details, please see the “Policies for Clothing and Changing” page.
  • For the recording and publication of photos/video (live streams included), and the publication of event information (and content), the policies from “Policies for Photo/Video Taking and Information Disclosure” have been applied. For details, please see the “Policies for Photo/Video Taking and Information Disclosure” page.
  • Don’t use any furnishings from the rooms of Loisir Hotel Toyohashi (hereafter “convention hotel”) outside of their intended purposes.
  • In the unlikely case of an emergency, please follow the convention hotel staff’s instructions.
  • JMoF staff will give instructions out if it is deemed that a convention attendee’s actions constitute a hinderance to JMoF operations. If instructions are received by staff, please prompty abide by them.
  • In addition to the above rules, please abide by all rules and regulations set forth by the prefecture, the city, and the hotel.

Use of Convention Hotel Rooms

  • Do not invite those not staying at the convention hotel to the convention hotel guest room floors.
  • Those not staying at the convention hotel may not use a convention hotel room for changing, etc.
  • Remember that there are other guests not attending JMoF who are staying at the hotel. Please keep noise to a minimum at night.

Harassment

  • Harassment is not tolerated by any means at JMoF, no matter if it’s physical, verbal, sexual, or otherwise.
  • Please ask for permission before taking a photo/video of someone, interacting with a fursuiter, etc.
  • Remember that no means no. You must stop any behavior when people tell you to.

Prohibited Items

  • Any model weapons (model guns, swords, mock explosive substances, etc.)
    • As an exception to the above, model weapons that cannot be used to cause injury may be brought into the photo booth only if having your picture taken and performance events only if performing. When bringing these into the convention, please keep them completely concealed and close to your person at all times. It will be the responsibility of the attendee to keep an eye on their personal belongings.
  • Pet/companion animals (with the exception of service animals for any disabled staff or attendees)

Belongings

  • Please keep your personal belongings, garbage, etc. with you at all times. We or the convention hotel will not be responsible for any trouble relating to lost, stolen, or damaged items.
  • If you see an unattended package or bag in the convention space, do not touch it and report it to staff immediately.

Regulations Regarding The Countermeasures Against the Spread of Virus

In order to facilitate smooth operations of JMoF while preventing the spread of infection, regulations and policies regarding countermeasures for infection prevention have been established by us. Please review the items below.

  • When participating in JMoF, please thoroughly practice the infection prevention countermeasures whether before or during the convention period.
  • If you have symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat, loss of taste, and so on, please refrain from coming to or participating in the convention.
  • The wearing of masks is basically left to the discretion of the individuals, whether participants or staff. Please do not force others to wear or not wear masks.
  • Please wash and disinfect your hands appropriately.

Policies for Clothing and Changing

At JMoF, so long as it’s following the rules put forth in the Rules of Conduct and the Policies for Clothing and Changing, fursuits (cosplay and costumes also included) do not need any special permission as to its type and content. Please be aware of the below rules and enjoy the convention.

General Rules

  • Attendees may not dress in any clothing, costumes or fursuits that are overly revealing or inappropriate for the atmosphere of the convention.
  • Please make sure anything you wear or carry does not bring harm to other attendees, other guests staying at the convention hotel, or otherwise to the convention venue.

Note: There may be instances where use of the convention hotel’s 1st and 2nd floors will be restricted. In these cases, please promptly follow any instructions given. For more details, please see the (“Floor and Local Map”).

Terms and Conditions of the Convention Hotel

  • Refrain from fursuiting on the 1st floor from 23:00 to 7:00.
  • Refrain from fursuiting on the 1st and 2nd floor during the following days and hours: before 15:00 on Friday (Jan 10), and all day Monday (Jan 13)
  • Please don’t block the way by taking photos or chatting near the Hotel Lobby or the Entrance during the following hours:
    • 12th (Sun.) 17:00–18:00, 20:00–21:00

General Rules for Fursuiters

  • Be sure to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids so you’re in your best condition while attending the convention. Please use the Headless Lounge at your leisure for taking a break as well.

Note: For details regarding the terms and conditions of the Headless Lounge, please visit the “Headless Lounge” page.

  • If you start to feel unwell while suiting, please unsuit as quickly as possible until you start feeling better again.
  • If you intend to go outside of the hotel, please be accompanied by at least one non-suiting convention attendee at all times.

Changing into Your Fursuit/Costume at JMoF

  • Do not change inside the restrooms of the convention hotel or surrounding area, or on the streets, etc.
  • Please change in the following areas written below. Please note that in regards to moving from a changing area to the convention hotel, you are able to pass through the convention hotel’s 1st and 2nd floors while wearing a fursuit.

Guest Rooms of the Convention Hotel (Loisir Hotel Toyohashi)

  • If you are staying at the convention hotel, please change inside your hotel room.
    • You will be able to use the hotel’s elevators for access between the convention area and guest rooms.
    • Before checkin or after checkout, please change in areas listed below (such as the changing room).
  • Those who do not have a room at the convention hotel are prohibited from entering the guest room floors. It is not possible to use a guest room for the purposes of changing, etc. if not staying at the convention hotel.

Changing Room

  • For those who have registered themselves to use the changing room, they will be able to use the changing room set up inside the convention area.

Note: For details regarding the regulations for the changing room, please visit the “Changing Room” page.

  • For those who did not register to use the changing room, there are no plans to prepare other changing facilities located inside the convention area.

Other Areas

  • For those not changing in the convention hotel rooms or changing rooms, please prepare a place to change by yourself, such as changing in your car parked in a nearby parking lot. Please be aware of your surroundings when doing so.

Policies for Photo/Video Taking and Information Disclosure

Rules

  • You may not under any circumstances take photos, film, or otherwise record inside the Headless Lounge, the changing rooms, or the restrooms.
  • Both inside and outside the convention area, there are those who prefer not to be captured on film or photo. If you are taking any photos or video, or making public any information (live streams included), please be careful not to infrige on others’ rights.
  • If you are a part of any performance/talk show event, or a dealer in the Dealer’s Room, you are allowed to take photos/videos of yourself and your activities and share them (just be careful of any others who might accidentally be captured in the photos/videos when doing so).
  • Otherwise, the possibility of taking photos/video or of those photos/videos able to become public (live streams included), or of information and content of events becoming public are all different based on the event. Please refer to the notices of each respective event, and obey the instructions given by the event coordinators in each event.

Liability Waiver

  • Inside and outside of the convention area, various photos and videos will be taken. Please be aware that there may be cases where you are unintentionally captured in these photos or videos.
  • We are not responsible for any trouble that may arise from any photographs, videos, or event contents that are publicized.
  • Inside the convention and at all events, staff may take photos or record video for documentation purposes.
  • The photos and videos taken by staff (including the photo booth) may be released publicly as promotional pictures or other materials.
  • The personnel of the convention hotel may perform photographing/filming (including using a drone) and publish the photos/movies. Please note that using a drone is prohibited for those who are not convention hotel employees.
  • Authorized journalists and media photographers may use photographs/video footage for media publication on TV, newspapers, etc.

Terms and Conditions

Regarding Us

  • Except for liabilities put forth by Japanese law, we and our staff will not be responsible for any damage done by or to attendees.
  • In no event shall we be liable for damages occurring outside the convention’s premises.
  • The above also applies to the convention hotel and its employees.

Note: For more information on us, please see the (JMoF Executive Committee) page.

Registration

JMoF can be attended by anyone as long as they have an interest in furries/kemono. In order to attend JMoF, you are required to register.

  • There are two types of registration methods: pre-registration and on-site registration. There are also different types of participation tiers, which differ in terms of participation fees and benefits.
  • Registration for the Changing Room, Dealer’s Room, and Dead Dog Party, and reservations for the convention hotel are not included in this registration. Please also note that the fees for each of these is not included in the participation fee.
  • Minors (under 18 years old) are welcome to participate in JMoF. However, in addition to the JMoF rules and regulations, you must abide by all laws and regulations that apply to youth (under 18) and minors. In particular, please pay attention to the following:
    • Please get permission from your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) to attend JMoF.
    • When registering for JMoF, please provide emergency contact information (phone number) of your parent or guardian.
    • Children 13 years old or younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order to attend. The parent or guardian must be the one to register for the convention.
  • Because alcohol will be served at the Dead Dog Party, those 19 years of age or younger are strictly prohibited from participating in this event or entering the hall. For more details, please see the (Dead Dog Party) page.

Note: For details on registration, please see the (Registration) page.

Registration Payment/Refund/Cancellation

  • The “Registration Payment/Refund/Cancellation” polices are determined by the (Information Complying with the Japanese Specified Commercial Transactions Act). For details, please see the “Registration Payment/Refund/Cancellation” page.
  • For cancellation of an event application, please contact each respective event coordinator, or contact us through the “Contact Us” page.

Room Reservations

Hotel reservations (including those at the convention hotel) are separate from JMoF registration, and can optionally be carried out by convention attendees. For those wishing to stay overnight at a hotel, please see the “Room Reservation” page.

Liability Waiver

In General

  • Attendees and others involved must immediately pay, whether it was intentional or accidental, for any damages caused to the venue, surrounding buildings, and their facilities.
  • We or the convention hotel will not be responsible for any trouble relating to lost, stolen, or damaged items.
  • For the liability waiver associated with recording and publication of photos/video (live streams included), and the publication of event information (and content), please refer to the “Policies for Photo/Video Taking and Information Disclosure” page.

Dealer’s Room

  • Under no circumstances shall we be responsible for any physical injuries or property damage incurred by dealers or associated individuals.
  • We do not take any responsibility for disputes between dealers and their customers over merchandise or services provided by the dealers. Dealers must pay for the costs and take responsibility for such disputes without involving us.

Note: For more details on the Dealer’s Room, please see the “Dealer’s Room” page.

Artist Lounge and Art Competition

We will not take any responsibility for the process or outcome of any sales transaction of a product or service between the dealer (creator) and the buyer (with the sole exception of providing a means of contact for each).

*Note: For details regarding the Artist Lounge, please see the (Artist Lounge) page. For details regarding the Art Competition, please see the “Art Competition” page.

Other

Outside of those events written above, there are cases where liability waivers are established individually. For more details, please check the liability waivers of each respective event.

Privacy Policy

A “Privacy Policy” has been established. For details, please see the (Privacy Policy) page.

Penalties against Violations

If we discover any attendee or actions of an attendee that may bring about harm to us, our staff, other attendees, the convention hotel and/or its employees, or to the general public, we reserve the right to employ the measures written below to minimize the impact to the greatest extent possible.

  • If there is a possibility that an attendee has violated these terms, we may investigate and take action against the violation.
  • We will take the following actions against any attendee who has violated these terms and has either brought about or is liable to bring about substantial damages to JMoF operations (hereafter “violator”):
    • Violators will have their convention participation eligibility revoked immediately.
      • Violators shall return their con-badges and related items (convention goods excluded) to us.
      • Violators will lose their right to claim a refund on any registration fees, etc.
      • If present at the convention, once the above actions have been taken, violators will leave the premises immediately.
    • Violators will not be permitted to participate in any events hosted by us for a certain period of time.
  • Only in cases where we determine it is for the good of the public interest, we may disclose the details of actions taken against violators. Note that this will not extend beyond what is defined in the Privacy Policy. For details, please see the (Privacy Policy) page.

Other Terms

Besides what is written above, there may be detailed regulations in place for what we offer. For more details, please check each respective notice section.

Additional Provisions

  • If there is a change in the requests or guidelines from the government and local entities, there is a possibility these regulations will be revised without prior notice. Registered attendees of JMoF will be considered to have agreed to the revised regulations by maintaining their registration status.
  • Attendees have the responsibility to periodically check, sufficiently understand, and comply with these terms and policies defined here. Please register only after agreeing to the terms written above.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

(As of September 7th, 2024)