Hyper Japan 2016

I was lucky enough to get tickets to this years Hyper Japan 2016. My friend Jenni and I went all the way to London town and just breathed, ate, and lived everything Japanese. I really wanted to go in the summer but I was attending Cardiff Comic Con at the time. Jenni surprised me with tickets which is obviously very sweet of her! I heard about Hyper Japan through a friend who told me it was amazing but to make sure I take a lot of money! So I dipped into my savings and headed straight there!

Hyper Japan is a haven for those of us who love Japanese culture. They had a mixture of traditional Japanese items and trinkets to the very modern. They had many seminars and shops as well as many clothing stalls selling kawaii Harajuku fashion to the traditional kimono as well as super expensive designer pieces. This isn’t the place to go if you’re broke! They had tonnes of anime, manga, and gaming stalls and I did make a few purchases!

One thing I absolutely loved about Hyper Japan is the fact they had areas of learning. For example there was a ‘Kitsune’ mask painting seminar where a professional would teach the tricks of the trade. There was also a seminar on Ikebana which is Japanese flower arrangement.

Of course there were a ton of food stalls including a sake tasting experience! I didn’t indulge. The first time I want to try sake is when I’m actually in Japan. They also had summer Japan foods as well as a Yo! Sushi stall so we headed there and we both had some Chicken Katsu Curry.

They had many impressive guests attending including Wasoukan, Kimono designer. There was also a Mangaku: Exclusive Manga Masterclass held by a team from Nihon Mangajuku, which is one of the best manga training schools, that has managed to produce 40 professional manga artists. I would’ve loved to have attended this but we had too much shopping to do!

One of the biggest specials guests was Hirokatsu Khara who was formerly involved with the production desk at Studio Ghibli. He was involved in the hit anime Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service! How cool is that?!

There were so many Kawaii stalls too and I ended up buying a melon flavoured Kit Kat. I cannot wait to try it. I also bought myself a load of kawaii blind bags! I’ve seen them being unboxed on Youtube so I cannot wait to see what I got!

There is so much information I could tell you about Hyper Japan, but it’s one of those events that you do have to attend to really understand how great it is. The location was amazing and the atmosphere was relaxed and calm. Everyone who cosplayed looked absolutely amazing!

Such an amazing day (though, not on my wallet).