Turning Japanese

A couple of weeks back, The Boy and I wrapped up warm and headed out for our usual Sunday walk in West London. I'd treated us to some tickets to Hyper Japan so after a wander around we headed over to Earls Court to swot up on Japanese culture.

Hyper Japan is the UK's biggest J-Culture event which draws fans of all things Japanese from far and wide and showcases Japanese food, traditional and modern arts, anime and videogames - and it's an event that I've always wanted to go to.

Ever since my trip to Tokyo in 2009 I've been dying to go back and explore the country more, you can guarantee that I'll always get sucked into a documentary/book/novel on Japanese culture. 

The Boy loves a graphic novel and the pair of us are on the cusp of becoming collectors of Japanese figurines - I long for the day when we have a place of our own and I can have a cupboard in which to showcase our collection of trinkets. This event really is perfect for us.

As a teenage girl, I loved wearing bright colours, faux candy jewellery and at one point I even had pink and green hair - basically I could still now very easily slip into full-blown cos play attire on a daily basis. I mean, you all saw my Halloween costume and that's only one night a year.

I particularly loved watching the Kawaii Fashion Show - the girls outfits were all so creative and right up my street. I could so easily have bought many a kimono, tutu or wig, but I'm not sure they're work appropriate, well not in my office anyway.

Earls Court is such an iconic venue but I must admit although outside it looks vintage, inside it just looks tired so maybe the regeneration of the area is a good idea, as much as I hate the idea of the sites being demolished.

The event was very busy which was a bit frustrating at times (not helped by the fact we chose to go smack bang in the middle of the day) but I'd definitely go again - next time I need my fix of all things Japanese.