T-MODE hosts events for Japanese culture fans to connect and celebrate their interests together.

An Otaku Party
Our namesake event is T-MODE, a “fun size” Anime, Gaming & Japanese Culture Convention based in the Washington, DC metro area. It's intended to be a smaller, more personal celebration of traditional Japanese culture and otaku culture. The 3-day event features anime, cosplay, live music performances, matsuri festival games, panels, arcades, video games, special guests, the Otaku Bazaar, and so much more.

Sharvonique Renee Fortune

Founder & CEO

In 2007, T-MODE was reimagined as an Anime & Gaming Convention. It continued to rebrand as a smaller “fun size” convention in 2010 — 'Small Con, Big Fun' — with a greater emphasis on celebrating otaku culture.

T-MODE T-Meets, our signature series of local meetup gatherings, debuted in 2014. The concept inspired us to expand beyond the convention and to create even more one-of-a-kind Japanese culture events for our community (that’s you!).

T-MODE has changed in many ways over the years, and continues to grow and evolve. Help us write the next chapter.

View our archives to see event history, highlights and photos

Great People. Lots of Laughs. Good Times.

It’s about the people. Fun, interesting and passionate people. We provide a platform for all levels of anime & manga fans, gamers, cosplayers, music lovers, J-fashion admirers, and Japanese culture enthusiasts to gather and connect. There’s a strong sense of community that’s more friendly and personal. You start to learn about the people around you as well as learning about the things (gaming, anime, Japan) you love. There is genuine love and kindness behind everything we do. We respect creativity, diversity and individual choice. Meet people, talk to people and have fun. Just enjoy it.

Friends that Feel Like Family, Fandom, and Fun

We create a vibrant community where people interact with each other and make lifelong friends. We offer opportunities to meet and work alongside people whom share a common interest in fandom. T-MODE is a place where people feel accepted. A place where people can relax, be themselves and meet others like them. Even though people may start off as strangers, they end up becoming good friends. It’s great to see people develop bonds over time and become part of our growing family.

We Serve and Support Our Local Community

Community outreach is our heart. Headquartered in the region of the nation’s capital, we’re committed to being the pulse of Japanese culture in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia areas in which we serve. We celebrate, nurture and promote local artists, musicians, cosplayers, game designers, and other great talent. We host and participate in various events throughout the year. We also give back to the community by supporting local organizations, clubs and charities.

A Unique Convention Experience

We strive to be creative and bring a uniqueness to the convention scene. We’re an unlocked achievement. A great fit. An opportunity. Offering elements of a larger convention experience on a smaller scale gives people time to enjoy what they want and feel as if they are VIPs. We’re a break from the masses while remaining true to the anime/gaming convention format. Our tone is go at your own pace — people are not rushing from place to place and waiting in lines for eternity. They get to have an actual experience in fandom and take the time to enjoy it while it’s happening. There’s something for everyone with diverse content, an impressive guest line-up, and fun, engaging events.

Small in Size, Big in Quality

We’re “fun size” on purpose to make sure that we can provide a quality, more personal convention experience. We offer an intimate, non-intimidating atmosphere for people to enjoy themselves, explore their interests, form bonds, and easily network with others. Our events are small enough that by the end, people know each other by sight if not by name. We are the answer to those who don’t want to feel like they are drowning in an overwhelming amount of people and information. Through our quality of service, quality of goods and the quality of everything we do, we’re building an organization in which high standards permeate all aspects of our brand.