Kyoto SF Festival (京都SFフェスティバル)
"Kyoto SF Festival" is a SF Convention held in Kyoto every autumn since 1982.
Its abbreviation is 'KYOFES.'
Though it is officially hosted by Kyoto SF Festival Jikko Iinkai (literally, the executive committee of Kyoto SF Festival), it is actually managed by Kyoto Daigaku SF Kenkyu-kai (literally, a SF study group of Kyoto University). It has a long history as a convention of so-called SERCON (serious and constructive convention) along with SF Seminar of the East (from 1980).
Usually, it consists of two sessions, one being a scheme of plenary session in the daytime where mainly writers and critics are invited to deliver lectures or join conversations or interviews, and another being a scheme of lodging session held in the evening at ryokan (a Japanese style hotel). Depending on the year, a lodging session is held after a plenary session, or a lodging session comes before a plenary session to be held from the morning on the following day. The scheme of lodging session is held in each hotel room performing various events associated with SF (or self-proclaimed to be associated with SF).
History
In 1982, the first convention was held by Nozomi OMORI and other fellows who were then members of SF Kenkyukai (a study group of SF) at Kyoto University. Since then, the convention has been held every autumn in Kyoto City.