Something a little different today, I’m sure a lot of you know I’m a huge fan of Japanese culture & I’m always mentioning it’s the one place I’d love to visit more than anywhere else. We did Hyper Japan a few years ago (here) & had such a great day that when I heard it’d now been moved to the larger Earls Court One I had to go along again & check it out. Ollie is shooting festivals all summer & couldn’t make it, so I took my cousin along (who is probably even more of a Japanophile than I am!) to help me with photos. We had the best day, and honestly I couldn’t recommend going along more now that it’s bigger & better than ever before.
This year they were big on the kawaii theme, dedicating a whole area to it with a separate stage for lolita fashion shows & live performances, plus shops & stalls selling everything from pastel wigs to outfits, accessories & adorable cuddly alpacas. Talking of alpacas, it seemed everyone walking around had one tucked under their arms or in their bags, of course I couldn’t resist either & had to get myself a little one – You didn’t go to Hyper Japan unless you can home with an alpaca! It was nice to see there were a lot more clothing & accessory stalls this year, with a lot of them being independents too. Despite the fact that I would never wear this type of look personally, I still had a great time running around squealing at all the cuteness & admiring the girls walking around wearing their most kawaii ensembles! Underneath all this black, I’m basically a huge 5 year old!
The cosplay is always one of my favourite things about going to events like this, everyone really makes such a huge effort & it’s amazing to see all of these elaborate handmade costumes at every turn, especially when you spot someone dressed as one of your favourite characters! It gives the whole place such a fun, exciting atmosphere & as a designer, I love to see how people have turned these 2D costumes into super accurate 3D replicas. The cosparade showcasing the best of the day is a highlight every year, and this time my favourite had to be the guy who made the Gundam 00 suit, I spent ages afterwards trying to figure out how he’d made it & thinking how long it must have taken!
The live acts were brilliant as always, with a good mixture of modern & more traditional. Siro-A stole the show for me though, I’ve never seen anything like their blend of mime, dance, music, comedy & technology, they were so entertaining to watch. Sadly my rubbish camera skills & the dark lighting meant I didn’t get any photos of these guys, which is a real shame, but you can check out a video from their TED performance here to get an idea. I did manage to get some nice shots of the beautiful costumes from DEN Entertainments ‘The Sake’ performance though, this is something I would love to see again but on a bigger stage as I felt it couldn’t be properly appreciated in it’s shortened, less elaborate form here.
With so much to see we barely sat down all day & came home with bags full, mine mostly a lot of candy & a little alpaca! If you enjoy Japanese culture, whether the food, traditional wares, street style or pop culture & gaming, this is the biggest event of it’s kind in the UK & there is something for everyone’s taste.
Jenny says
I love everything Kawaii, I always find it so playful and fun and different. I am surprised to see nobody holding a Gloomy Bear :’) this is my favourite <3 I really like the costumes and like you mentioned they really do make a huge effort!! The candy looks so good tho! yumm! xx
http://www.krystelcouture.com ♥
FAIIINT says
It was so fun! We did actually see a couple of girls with Gloomy Bears, but sadly didn’t get any photos! You should definitely see if you can go one year if you love kawaii things, it’s like cute overload! :)
heather says
This looks like so much fun!!! The only Japanese show/anime I ever got into was Sailor Moon…and can I just say that I’m really excited about the re-launch of it. I do find Kawaii totally adorable. Anyway..I want to eat all of those pastries.
<3
heather
fashionistanygirl.com
RockLove says
Love this! As much as I adore your fashion, a bit of events and lifestyle is a lovely way to shake up your blog. Beautiful photos… and now I want an alpaca plush. Wish we could see a picture of YOU (all black island amongst a sea of pastel kawaii).
FAIIINT says
Thankyou! Yeah, I think it’s good to have a little different here & there :)
There was so much to see & do that we didn’t even think about taking outfit photos, I wish I had though, I was in full ‘witch’ mode with my fedora & drapey dress… I got quite a few double takes from people who I guess were wondering if I was supposed to be a character or not! Hah.
LauraDaisyChain says
This looks so amazing, everything is so cute (for want of a better word!) x
Jantine says
Love this post, the Japanese culture is truly one of a kind. Never heard of Hyper Japan, but it looks like a super fun day! That pastel purple wig is actually really nice, would love to try one of those on someday.
+ I think you should totally add kawaii black alpaca’s to your FAIIINT line. Just saying ;)
FAIIINT says
The wigs are such nice quality, they’re made from ‘Kanekalon’ which can be heat styled & look pretty realistic, I’ve had a few in the past from eBay for various Halloween costumes! :)
Hehe, aww, I wish they had black ones! I would have had to get a big one if they came in black! :D
Tara says
Waaaah, I definitely want to go next time – it looks like so much fun! Those necklace are soooo cool. I want an Alan…
Maddie says
Wow, so much pink color! I bet it felt interesting to be in an event like that, knowing how much you love black color! :)
Though, I bet it was a super cool experience and I cannot even imagine how much fun and entertaining it must have been! :)
http://www.callmemaddie.com
Josie says
This looks like SO much fun! I so badly want one of those alpacas, too cute x
Josie’s Journal
Miss_sock says
Wow! I found this through Google images (looking for piccies of last year) and can’t believe you have a photo of me! (well my back! – Pink Kimono, red hair)
It was so much fun last year – looking forward to going again next month! Hope you’re got your ticket ;-)
FAIIINT says
Aww! It was a sneaky shot! Haha.
I’m down again on the Sunday this year, I can’t wait, it’s always so much fun! :)