This weekend we went along to Hyper Japan, a three day long event dedicated to Japanese culture. Unfortunately we only got to do the Saturday & missed out on a few things I would have liked to have seen on the other days, but next year we’ll be going for the whole thing! Anyone who knows me will know I’m a huge nerd & also that I’m a little bit of a Japanophile! I adore anime, manga & video games & have always found their unique take on street fashion massively inspiring, so this was like heaven for someone like me!
The best part was undoubtedly seeing all of the amazing cosplay costumes & also lots of adorable lolitas running around. The level of detail in the costumes & the amount of time these guys spend making them & getting ready always inspires me, I didn’t see one half-hearted or rushed costume whilst we were there, everyone had made so much effort & that was so lovely to see.
The other highlight for me was getting to watch samurai sword artists Kamui. These are the guys who choreographed the huge bar fight scene between The Bride & The Crazy 88’s in Kill Bill Volume 1 & they put on an amazing performance. Split into a few different ‘scenes’ we got the typical all-out-action sword fighting that was seriously impressive to watch but also, a more intense duel between just two members of the group & even a little comedy too! I think I was grinning through the whole thing, it was so much fun to watch!
There was so much to buy too, luckily I didn’t take much cash with me, otherwise I’d have brought the entire place! Although I dress all black & quite serious, I’m a sucker for cute things, my trunk in my room (that was supposed to be for sitting on) is overcrowded with stuffed toys, I seem to pick one up from wherever I go, especially holidays & I really wanted one of those fluffy alpacas you can see in the first photo! I ended up just buying a heap of DVD’s as they were so cheap & lots of yummy food!
Laura says
All of a sudden I wanna dress as Sailor Moon.
xXx
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FAIIINT says
Hahah! Me too! Next year I am so going to go in costume! :D
Marlene says
A friend of mine went to Hyper Japan as well. I’ll have to ask her about the event. I love the cute kawaii make up on the young girls’ faces. I think I’d flip if I was there seeing all the cute little things and food.
Jenny says
I saw your tweets about this, it looks like such an awesome event! I love all of the crazy pastels and huge eyes everywhere. I’m not surprised you bought loads of food, your photos make it all look amazing! Hope you had a great time. :) xo
http://www.jenventure.blogspot.co.uk
Josie says
This looks like such a fun event! Everyone looks so amazing, I know some people think things like this are nerdy but I think it’s great that people are so passionate about something. I also want one of those fluffy alpacas, they’re too cute! xxx
FAIIINT says
I totally agree! I used to be so ashamed of how much of a nerd I was, but now I love it! It’s great to see such passion & how happy it makes them. I love that these guys really couldn’t care less what other people think too, it’s a real inspiration!
I knew I should have brought an alpaca! Ollie wouldn’t let me though, he didn’t want to end up carrying it! Hah!
steph says
great photos steph! we have a similar event here as well, always amazes me the lengths people go for cosplay. it gets better every year!
Amreen Dhurue says
Wow! Everything’s so colorful and beautiful. Great pictures!
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Macie says
can’t get over how fun this looks! wish i could’ve gone.
amen fashion, xo
Robyn says
Ah this is so cool! I love the guy dressed as Ash from pokemon!!! and I love the cuteness of lots of this :) also (not Japanese I know!) but my housemate is from Hong Kong and he brings back the most insane foods ever! Some of the sweets are really good, but so different to our food here!
xx
FAIIINT says
Some of the sweets are just soo yummy aren’t they?! I wish they weren’t so expensive to buy though!
I loved the guy as Ash too! He sewed the costume himself to make sure it was totally accurate, that’s dedication! The little Pikachu on his shoulder was a brilliant touch too!
thehautecookie says
those korean snacks and sweets look sooo familiar and YUMMY! craving them now! love all ur photos and u look beautiful! xO!
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Maria says
Wow, there is just so much going on here, it looks like a lot of fun!
Maria xxx
Heather says
I think the Japanese pop culture is so interesting. It’s filled with such bright happy colors. I remember a kid watching Sailor Moon (of course the american version) and when I watched the actual real anime version I was a bit taken back by it since there was a lot more….sexual…lol
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FAIIINT says
Yeah, totally agree! I used to watch it too & remember thinking when I watched a few a couple of years ago that it was a bit more ‘adult’ than I remembered! Hah!
Saying that though, Ren & Stimpy was one of my favourite cartoons as a child & I still love it now, but watching it as an adult I can’t believe how much adult humor there was in it! I’m surprised my mum let me watch it! Ha!
jamie-lee says
Um, I think I have found my fashion soul mate. You will be surprised to learn that while at college I used to read and watch manga and anime, I adored it, I also cosplayed at our comic conventions maybe three times? And I still play video games – just received Rune Factory for PS3 in the mail today and cannot wait to play it.
The photo’s are just gorgeous, I love all the costumes, it looks like everyone who dressed up went to a lot of effort!
xx
FAIIINT says
Oh wow! It’s always so nice to find other that are really into stuff like this too! :)
I’ve been obsessed with manga & anime since I was around 12, unfortunately I don’t really have the time to watch/read the (many!) series anymore, but I still love the movies & catching old episodes of ones I used to watch. I still love video games too, I tend to prefer more horror/shooters these days though, but I still love the RPG’s too like Final Fantasy & puzzle/action games like Zelda! Have you ever played Okami? That was easily one of my favourites of the last couple of years! :)
Style Hostess says
cute as photos! Japan is one of the best when it comes down to cosplay, anime and all.
so many people are so passionate in dressing up as their favourite character =)
I bet your week’s been super lovely, well with this last weekend!
x
Cat.
Jenette says
I like the Japanese culture a lot! Especially gothic Lolita wish they do something like that where I live! :)