RubyKaigi

0 views
Skip to first unread message

Dylan Egan

unread,
May 25, 2009, 6:54:07 PM5/25/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Hi all,

For anyone interested in attending RubyKaigi, registrations are now
open for gaijin I believe. You can email them at 20...@rubykaigi.org.
I'm not going to bother with a group booking since its only 6000JPY
which is ridiculously cheap. The party on the 17th is 5000JPY and Im
not sure what that includes, but 11000JPY (150AUD~) is still a great
price.

There is usually a fair amount of English speakers and attendees that
makes it worthwhile to attend and I know of about 10~ already planning
on going. Most of those from AU if they're still planning. ;)

Also you can get flights from around 850AUD with Jetstar from Sydney
via GC, 1001AUD with JAL from Sydney (direct) or Qantas (who just
released new prices) for 1035AUD (also direct) to Tokyo.

Accommodation isn't ridiculously expensive unless you want to pay for
something roomy and food is usually cheaper than their
Sydney/Melbourne equivalents.

Cheers,

Dylan.

rgravina

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 9:57:19 PM6/4/09
to Ruby or Rails Oceania


On May 26, 7:54 am, Dylan Egan <dylane...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> For anyone interested in attending RubyKaigi, registrations are now
> open for gaijin I believe.

I'm currently in Japan, so I'd love to go to RubyKaigi. The only
problem is... tickets sold out in exactly 111 minutes once they went
on sale, I believe :). There's some mention on the site about selling
a second round of tickets soon, but no mention of when or a mailing
list/rss etc. (that I can find) for finding out when they are offered.

Robert

Ben Schwarz

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 11:27:48 PM6/4/09
to Ruby or Rails Oceania
Robert,
If you're an international guest you can email 20...@rubykaigi.org to
reserve a ticket.
I'm not sure how many "extra" international places are available
though.

Good luck, see you there (hopefully)

Lyndon Maydwell

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 11:33:08 PM6/4/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
A friend and I did this on Monday and got places. Definitely worth a try.

It blows my mind how quickly regular tickets sold out.

Robert Gravina

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 11:40:19 PM6/4/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
2009/6/5 Ben Schwarz <ben.s...@gmail.com>:

>
> Robert,
> If you're an international guest you can email 20...@rubykaigi.org to
> reserve a ticket.
> I'm not sure how many "extra" international places are available
> though.

Well, I'm working in Japan so I'm not sure if I qualify as an
international guest, but I guess I can ask.

Robert

Robert Gravina

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 11:54:22 PM6/4/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
2009/6/5 Lyndon Maydwell <mayd...@gmail.com>:

>
> A friend and I did this on Monday and got places. Definitely worth a try.
>
> It blows my mind how quickly regular tickets sold out.

Yeah clearly there aren't enough tickets. I say that's crap organising
on their part - missed opportunity for many more developers to attend
*and* for the Ruby Association to make some yen (are they a
non-profit?). It's not like they didn't know it would be popular!

Robert

Torm3nt

unread,
Jun 4, 2009, 11:56:37 PM6/4/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Robert - why is it crap organising that they sold out?


--
Kirk Bushell
http://www.kirkbushell.com
Follow me: http://twitter.com/kirkbushell

Robert Gravina

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 12:01:04 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
2009/6/5 Torm3nt <tor...@gmail.com>:

>
> Robert - why is it crap organising that they sold out?
>

Because clearly they didn't provide anywhere enough tickets to meet
demand. Couldn't they have used a larger venue, given they would have
a rough idea how popular it would be based on previous years (i.e.
steadily increasing)? Or do conferences do this on purpose to limit
their size? I don't really know... If it's necessary to limit size
then I guess too bad! But presentations aren't interactive so I don't
know why you couldn't just fill a lecture hall of people :)

Robert

Pat Allan

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 12:06:06 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
I disagree - there's value in having a small event, even if a lot more
people want to come. Different size conferences have completely
different feels, and if they want something a bit more personal, then
keeping numbers small is a good method of doing so.

It's one of the great things about Rails Camps - you're seeing the
same people for three days solid, so you can get to know a decent
amount of them pretty well.

Don't get me wrong, big events can be awesome too, but there's no
reason to say they should be as big as possible.

--
Pat

Robert Gravina

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 12:11:36 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
2009/6/5 Pat Allan <p...@freelancing-gods.com>:

> Different size conferences have completely
> different feels, and if they want something a bit more personal, then
> keeping numbers small is a good method of doing so.
>
> It's one of the great things about Rails Camps - you're seeing the
> same people for three days solid, so you can get to know a decent
> amount of them pretty well.
>
> Don't get me wrong, big events can be awesome too, but there's no
> reason to say they should be as big as possible.

Yeah I see your point. I haven't attended many events/conferences, so
I guess I'm not familiar with this. The Rails Camps sound awesome, I'd
like to attend one day if I get the chance.

Anyway, thanks for the info regarding emaling Ben... I just send them
a mail so with luck I'll be able to attend,

Robert

Torm3nt

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 12:38:28 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
To build on your point also Robert - they may be intentionally small
so that they can enforce higher ticket prices - this is a fairly valid
and very powerful tool to increase revenues without increasing costs.
Supply vs demand 101! Or, maybe they just couldn't get a larger venue
=P

Robert Gravina

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 12:45:19 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
2009/6/5 Torm3nt <tor...@gmail.com>:

>
> To build on your point also Robert - they may be intentionally small
> so that they can enforce higher ticket prices - this is a fairly valid
> and very powerful tool to increase revenues without increasing costs.

Although at ¥6,000 (A$77) for a 3-day pass, I don't think they'll be
making much :)

> Supply vs demand 101! Or, maybe they just couldn't get a larger venue
> =P

It is Tokyo after all... maybe they could use the Tokyo International
Forum :) Tickets might be a little more expensive though!
http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/english/

Robert

Dylan Egan

unread,
Jun 5, 2009, 11:44:37 AM6/5/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Also 5000JPY for the pre-conference party.

Regarding the size, maybe they didn't expect such a spike? Im not sure
as to what it's been like previously, but I definitely know there is a
fair amount of interest this year than previously from people outside
of Japan. Also small conferences are much cooler and usually better
than larger ones (RailsConf).

Cheers,

Dylan.

Hugh Evans

unread,
Jun 6, 2009, 8:45:06 AM6/6/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Shoaib, TIm and myself from Canberra are all going now too, so it seems there will be quite an Australian contingent there. I guess Leonard Chin's pimping at RORO Sydney really paid off!

Colin Campbell-McPherson

unread,
Jun 6, 2009, 8:53:04 AM6/6/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Lyndon (who posted earlier) and I are heading over. Then heading down to an island near okinawa for a festival. Will be great to see some of you peeps.

Hugh Evans

unread,
Jun 19, 2009, 10:24:42 AM6/19/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
This is a public service announcement. By an amazing stroke of luck there is a cafe that sells "real Melbourne coffee" at the closest metro station to the conference. This is good because although the food is amazing in Japan, the coffee is very ordinary.

Cameron Barrie

unread,
Jun 19, 2009, 7:57:47 PM6/19/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
I also found a few places in Gion but it's a bit of a mission if you based around shinjuku. However I do agree that once cans of coffee loose there novalty, things can get a little desperate

Dylan Egan

unread,
Jul 2, 2009, 1:08:03 AM7/2/09
to rails-...@googlegroups.com
Allo,

If you're getting in on the 15th Im planning a dinner at
http://www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo/dining/molecular/. It's for
20:30 and so far there are 2-4 seats left (of 7 [pre-reserved for some
people]). If you're wondering how long it might take to get from
Narita to Tokyo, put it at somewhere between 1.5 to 2 hours, depending
if you opt for a shuttle or train and how customs is (if you've got
weapons, drugs, etc).

Fear not though, I'm also planning a foreigners meetup on the 16th at
the Popeye Beer Club (since we're Australian and foreign and love
beer) as they have the largest selection of Japanese microbrews (even
on tap!).

If you haven't booked a flight yet, you can still get some pretty good
deals through Qantas, Jetstar and JAL.

I'm flying on QF21 on the 14th and arrive at 0650~ on the 15th.
Leaving Tokyo on the 24th on QF22.

Looking forward to RubyKaigi and meeting some more Ruby folks.

Cheers,

Dylan.

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages