JLGC again put out a stall at HYPER JAPAN 2014, held on Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July at Earls Court, to provide information about Japan’s regions and hand out tourism brochures and advice on travel, as well as making an appearance at the annual Japan Matsuri in September. With fashion shows, manga drawing workshops, anime film screenings and authentic Japanese food, Hyper Japan has become a must attend event for fans of Japanese culture.
Over 62,000 people attended the event. Throughout the weekend, HYPER JAPAN 2014 was the place to discover the real essence of traditional and modern Japan. Made up with three new major areas: the HYPER Game and Anime Park, the HYPER KAWAii!! Zone, the HYPER FRINGE Market, alongside the enduringly popular Eat-Japan food area, and featuring a total of 216 exhibitors, the event was hugely scaled up from last year to fill the new bigger venue of Earls Court One. JLGC staff and volunteers from Japan’s local government on research visits to the UK represented their local areas with officers from Tokushima, Shizuoka, Wakayama, Ishikawa, Gifu and Aichi prefectures amongst others, giving advice on the sights and attractions of Japan’s regions, explaining where best to go for traditional gardens, authentic regional cuisine and the great outdoors to see the beautiful autumn leaves as well as winter sports destinations.
The much-loved Japan Matsuri also returned this year to Trafalgar Square on the 25 September, bringing people together to enjoy Japanese food, music, dance, family activities and much more. Japan Matsuri is organised by Japan Matsuri Ltd., comprising the Japan Association in the UK, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in the UK, the Japan Society and the Nippon Club and supported by the Embassy of Japan. The event this year was attended by an estimated 60,000 people to see the huge variety of displays, and also included a ‘yurukyara (mascot) parade’ which JLGC had a big role in helping organising. The yurukyara parade featured mascot characters of various cities and regions from throughout Japan, including mascot superstar Kumamon from Kumamoto.
This was the first time that the characters had taken part in the festival which is becoming a regular fixture in the calendar every year in London’s Trafalgar Square. Recent years have seen an growing trend in Japan for ‘Yurukyara’ (literally ‘laid–back characters’), which are cute mascots to aid in the PR of major towns and cities. This year’s Japan Matsuri, one of the biggest Japanese culture event in the UK, hosted the most popular Yurukyara mascots, as voted by the citizens of Japan. They were Sanomaru from Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, Kumamon from Kumamoto Prefecture, Gunma-chan from Gunma Prefecture, Ieyasu-kun from Shizuoka Prefecture and Tagatan from Tagawa City in Fukuoka City. Kumamon was the star Mascot attraction for the day, currently riding a massive wave of popularity in Japan. Sanomaru was number one, withGunma-chan and Ieyasu-kun as top finalists of the “Yurukyara Grand Prix” 2013, the most famous mascot competition in Japan. Tagatan has been working hard to promote the city for the UNESCO Memory of the World register.
The organisers hoped that the event event would not only be beneficial to the Japanese local governments in raising the profile of the regions, but also help to strengthen the ties between Japan and the UK.
