@Toshiya:
The flights to and from are real cheap. My ticket round trip was around 200+ and bought it like a month before I left so it should be real cheap if bought early.
Also recommend visiting Little Tokyo as Ho loved it when he was down here. The Con is like right next to it so getting there and back isn't that hard.
Yeah, $250-275 is the best you can get (at the current moment) for a flight from where I live (Houston, TX) to Los Angeles. IMO, that's an excellent rate, as our economy's still in the shitter for the most part.
And yeah, Little Tokyo is love, folks. I actually enjoyed going there more than AX, since my legs aren't necessarily the best pair you could walk with. But that area has literally every Japanese food, tokusatsu merchandise, and hair product I could imagine. Shit, I still need to visit the BAPE store in Los Angeles. Toshiya, we must go post-haste once I make my return there!
To be honest, AX was totally worth going to in 2007, since One Piece was the centerpiece anime that was being promoted at the time. Kinda sucks I wasn't able to go. I just can't justify it as much for myself, since it's too much of hassle (and a half) for me to venture that far out there again and nearly have my legs die out on me. D8
@ Neko: Just save up about $1,000 or so and you should be totally fine. I had to baby Toshiya when he was in Houston, since he was on a Zor-inspired budget when he was going with us to A-Kon.
I was able to manage to pull through in 2008 with about $700 or so if that helps you get a grasp of how much cash you'll need. Trust me, going to LA with be worth it if you're with the crew, and of course, our absent-minded LA hookup, Toshiya. Japan's still outta my league atm.
I honestly can't see myself going there until I'm shitting money from every orafice possible, since I'd be trapped in Akihabara for about a day or three, lol.