hyper japan ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
- ！KAT (￣^￣)
- Sep 14, 2024
- 5 min read
my fav JAPANESE culture event in LONDON !
hyper japan is one of my top events in the uk, including all gaming festivals, conventions and exhibitions. since attending for my 5th time this year, i've decided to share some of my thoughts about it and let you know what goes on inside.
EXHIBITORS
upon entering the festival building, you are immediately faced with so many interesting stalls. the amount of booths on the ground floor was never ending and it didn't stop there... they even made it up to the second floor
downstairs was so perfectly filled. there were exhibitors from brands such as bushiroad, tofu cute and dreamy bows. bushiroad's stall was amazing to see. their display figures were so cute that i just had to get an oshi no ko blindbox for myself. luckily, i got ai hoshino - she's the one i wanted!! (✧ω✧) so excited for the liella nonfiction minifigures too... like at other events, tofu cute and dreamy bows had a combined stall with so many cutesy things.
the tofu cute side contained mainly japanese snacks and treats, such as sakeru, pocky, hi-chew and sanrio wafers.
on the dreamy bows side, there were wishlist-worthy clothing items and accessories from japanese brands including 6% dokidoki, acdc rag and listen flavor. it makes me feel like i need a whooole new wardrobe every time i look! the mix of kawaii, decora and j-punk fashion reaches all areas of styles that i could possibly want. the lashes from this stall are my favourite too.
ARTISTS
i was so pleased to see the amount of artists at hyper japan this year, especially as some of the other events prioritise big names, unrelated to their audience these days. hyper japan was packed with artists on the second floor, and a few downstairs as well. the artists works ranged from prints, keychains, handmade items and japanese crafts. i made note of the stalls i liked best and wanted to come back to. even if i had already made a purchase from them. here are a few...
kek's vocaloid keychains are some of the cutest i've seen. especially the teto!
love live art! a rare sighting.... as much as i'm obsessed
with love live, it was still such a difficult decsion to
make a purchase at their stall because i wanted it all!!
FOOD AND DRINK
like previous years, there were many stalls with varieties of tempting foods. this was great, considering food was not allowed to be brought in from outside. the 'all japan curry manufacturers association' even had a timetable of demonstrations and tasting.
despite the range of onigiri, sushi & sashimi and asian baked goods, i spent the most amount of time at the unisnacks area trying different samples of treats. my sweet tooth is too strong!! but now i can tell you for sure that chocorooms are super yummy.. heheheh
i was surprised to see the amount of drink stalls on the event floor, all offering samples to taste too. most of them were different sake. they were all so good! mio sparkling sake and suntory's '-196' stuck out the most to me.
if you're looking for both food and drink AND fun - maids of england had a cute pop-up cafe. they had both maids and butlers following the customs of japanese maid cafes, such as, sauce art and idol entertainment! everyone was adooorrbz and the cakes looked so delicious (/▽＼*)｡o○♡
PERFORMERS
another incredible element of hyper japan is their performers. as a big j-pop fan, seeing new artists and groups on the stage is a wonderful experience. this year, i really enjoyed watching sacred fleramo. the idol group is a great mix of cool and cute, especially with their gorgeous costumes! their singing and dancing was so admirable ヽ(o´∀`)ﾉ♪♬ it was such an amazing opportunity.
alongside typical singing and dancing idols, there were classical and jazz music and dance performances. some instruments i had never seen nor heard before, like the tsugaru shamisen which sounded so unique and beautiful!!
FASHION AND COSPLAY
hyper japan's 2024 festival was the most cosplayer-filled event of theirs i have seen so far! as a cosplayer myself, this a great opportunity to meet many other people with the same passions. on top of that, the increase in different j-fashion styles i've seen there is amazing.
for the first half of the hyper fashion show, i was watching from the back, but that didn't take anything away from the outifts made solely from either cute pastels or bright neons. the many adorable lolita co-ords and decora outfits, the cool visual kei fans and unique gyaru sub styles were all so cool! i think i need to head back to dreamy bows for more clothes~~ among the iconic styles which have been popularized and worn for decades, the rise of jirai kei has definitely made it's mark on lots of j-fashion enthusiasts (including myself). i was so happy to see lots of people dressed in super cute jirai set-ups!
the cosplay masquerade was just as impressive as last year. while this time i didn't participate - due to my mistakes causing costume failure... (￣ ￣|||) - i thoroughly enjoyed watching not just the other cosmakers, but also my friends, showcase their cosplays up on the stage. a few of the participants even prepared short skits for their stage time which were really entertaining.
MY THOUGHTS
i had an amazing time this year at hyper japan and would 100 % reccomend it to anyone interested in japanese culture, cosplay, j-fashion or anime. once it was over i felt so sad because i had never had such an enjoyable, yet so calm and chilled time at an event like this, even in the boiling summer (—⸝⸝⸝ᯅ⸝⸝⸝ᗜ;) the whole weekend felt so organised and all the staff were so friendly, especially those with costume and play. a lot of my friends attended as well, making it eeeven more fun !!!
i'll definitely be returning in 2025 for the next hyper japan festival - may buy a ticket for one of the workshops too, i haven't attended one before... lots to look forward to! if you're thinking of going next year as well, let me know in a comment! we can all have fun together ~ヾ(・ω・)
my haul heheheh...
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