The UK’s biggest celebration of Japanese culture is officially returning to London this summer

an image of the interior of Olympia London hosting Hyper Japan — (Image credit: Hyper Japan)

It feels like you can barely get into a conversation with a colleague or a group of mates without someone mentioning they’re heading on a jealousy-inducing holiday to Japan.

Luckily, if you can’t afford the plane ticket and the closest you’re currently getting to Japan is ordering okonomiyaki on Deliveroo, fear not, as Hyper Japan festival is officially returning to London.

The festival is the biggest Japanese culture event in the UK, bringing an out-and-out celebration of food, music, film, and so much more. A little slice of Kobe in the Capital, Olympia Park will transform into Osaka Park as over 500 artists and exhibitors will descend, coming together to celebrate all things Japan.

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Hyper Japan will return to Olympia London for three jam-packed days in July, marking the UK’s largest celebration of Japanese culture, without even needing to hop on a flight. Kicking off on 24th July and running until 26th, the festival will showcase the best of Japan, from food and traditional culture to anime, games, music, fashion, and cosplay.

an image of two traditional Japanese musicians performing on stage at Hyper Japan 2024

Obviously, like museum visits and being dragged along to brunch, we’re mainly here for the food, and you won’t be let down at Hyper Japan. Punters can expect plenty of authentic Japanese delicacies with both sweet and savoury favourites on offer. Plus, there will be plenty of workshops all accompanied by some of the most popular Japanese artists who will be taking to the stage across the three-day festival, including QUEEN BEE, avantgardey, The Sixth Lie, Chiaki Kobayashi, Eir Aoi, and UPIKO.

Aside from the music keeping you nicely entertained, there will be plenty of anime to gawk at, manga to geek out about, and even a Japanese fashion show highlighting the most offbeat styles from the land of the rising sun.

The workshops themselves will give amateurs the chance to try their hand at some classic Japanese art, from Shorinji Kempo to Sumi painting. There will be enough activities happening that you’re bound to find something you’re not awful at, putting all primary-school-era papier-mache disasters to rest.

You’ll need to grab a ticket to head to Hyper Japan, with a range of different options depending on how many days you want to attend. A standard three-day pass will set you back £78.75, with single-day tickets between £28 and £41 depending on the day. You can browse the options here.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.