Event

Friday’s HYPER JAPAN started the way we’ll go on, with an amazing array of J-culture, food, and entertainment!

Our hand-picked team of volunteers was ready bright and early!

Our Main Stage was lit up by DEN Entertainment’s show THE SAKE from the first, while our HYPER KAWAii!! stage hosted the premiere screening of Kyary Pamyu Pamu’s Japanese stage show.

Favourite mascot characters were out in force! Several of our major exhibitors had cuddly critters to show off:

There were celebrations of video games both old and new:

Our world-class selections of sushi and sake were enjoyed by a huge number of our visitors:

We ended the day with a live performance from returning HJ favourites, the Kimo-Cos duo YANAKIKU!

And much, much more!
We can’t wait ’til tomorrow, and hope to see you here too!

A possibly lesser-known fact about Japan is that there has been a very active professional wrestling circuit there for many decades. The Japanese pro wrestling scene is so exciting that many foreign wrestlers go there to make their name, and it’s arguably the birthplace of what has become modern MMA.

Dragon Gate has exploded in popularity, growing from its Japanese roots to become a worldwide brand, including an active UK presence! Their stable of larger-than-life wrestlers includes multiple time world champion CIMA, current World Heavyweight Champion “Battleship” Yamato!, the master of the Double Moonsault Ricochet and the Masked High Flyer Lion Kid.

Dragon Gate have an action-packed two days of events running on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th of July. Don’t worry, they start in the evening so there’s plenty of time to enjoy HYPER JAPAN before heading out to see the best in Japanese Wrestling!