Now if you have been following this blog for a while, you will know that I love anything to do Asia/Far East – the eastern side of the world. My heart belongs to that part of the world and my absolute dream to travel all across it. From Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and of course, Japan; I want to see it all.
But airfare cost a bomb, and I have more chance of going to the moon then visiting all the countries that are permanently on my bucket list.
So to get my Asian fix and to indulge in all thing Japanese I went to Hyper Japan 2019. A festival based in Olympia London celebrating all things Japanese.
I have gone to this in previous years and have covered it on here. Here are links to all my previous Hyper Japan posts.
Hyper Japan 2014 | Hyper Japan 2015 | Hyper Japan 2016 | Hyper Japan 2017
You will notice that 2018 is missing – yeah I couldn’t go last year as I already had plans on the weekend it was on. But I made up for it by going to Hyper Japan 2019.
If you love all thing Kawaii (cute in Japanese) and love all things Japanese as much as me – then this is the place to be. It has everything you could ever want or need to have full Japanese experiences.
You can dress up as your favourite Anime character or perhaps try on a kimono. If you fancy trying out Japanese dishes, then there a whole area designed for Japanese foods. There is also a Japanese game area where you can play exclusive Japanese games that isn’t available over here yet.
After 2017 disaster where they hosted the festival at the Tobacco Docks which I found to be a nightmare as it made the whole event so unorganized, I was pleased they brought it back to Olympia and to central London.
Be warned if you are going next year; then you will need to queue before going in. When I visited, I queued for an hour and a half. Also another warning, it does get busy around the popular area. So be prepared that you might not get to see or do everything as soon as you get in.
This year I felt the festival was a little smaller than previous years as there was a lot of empty spaces within the hall. I also thought they should have made the stage a lot bigger and to make it more of a feature within the festival. The stage was sort of in the back, and it was a lot smaller than previous years. The way it was laid out certain stands made it feel more like a jumble sale than a place to celebrate all things Japanese.
That was my only criticism for Hyper Japan 2019 was that they should have used the space better and not makes certain popular stands so cramp as it was difficult to see everything.
While I was there, I looked at all the pretty items on sale, brought a few Japanese sweeties to try out (which I will be reviewing on here next week!) and sat down to watch a Japanese singer performed. On the day I visited it was hot – too hot for my liking and there was no air conditioning so I didn’t spend too long while there (especially as I have already queued for an hour and a half) or I might melt down from the heat. But it was enough to see everything and to get full Japanese experiences.
I probably will go next year as it still a fun event and like I said before, my heart belongs to all things far east. If you are in London around July and want to try out all things Japanese, then this festival is for you.
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