Hyper Japan Manchester 2025

Written by Ross Locksley on 21 Nov 2025

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Hyper Japan event in Manchester, alongside James and Sophie who have a similar interest in Japanese culture. Having visited more pop-culture focused events in the past, I was interested in seeing just what aspects of Japanese culture would be available to enjoy at the event held at Manchester's Convention Centre. Despite the wet and cold weather, we were greeted at the entrance with some cars resplendent with anime graphics to bring a smile before we even entered.

The event filled about 1/3 of the event space, with lots of stalls, food stands, exhibitions and a stage featuring live performances. We were lucky to get into the hall a little early to  get our bearings and see what was on offer. 

Stalls

Alongside a large number of artists selling some excellent prints, keychains and pins (I was on the lookout for Sonic and Kpop Demon Hunters merch for Thea) there were some great stands covering all sorts of niche Japanese items. Here are some of the highlights:

Instax Cameras

The Instax cameras are a popular way to take photos in Japan, with the ability to print instantly like polaroid, but smaller and with themed frames for extra fun. There was a booth selling both cameras and film, the latter of which Sophie indulged in to restock for hers.

Choya 

James and I shared a morning tasting of a number of excellent plum wines from Choya, which I must say started having an effect after we got into the aged barrels about 6 thimbles in. Needless to say the taiko drumming was not helping. It was delicious though and I picked up a bottle for my collection.

Mahiro Maeda Special Exhibition

Following up from the London exhibition but without the artist in attendance, this was still a beautiful gallery of artwork from the talented artist, with rare pieces covering several series from Evangelion to Blue Submarine No.8, there were some truly beautiful pieces that played with shape and form. The attached store had some exclusive merchandise from the exhibition and even some Hyper Japan crossover t-shirts. I spent a good half hour looking at the walls and reading the associated explanatory cards. 

Bandai Namco Store

Fans of Gunpla had plenty to get their teeth into (James certainly splashed out) with some event exclusives on sale as well as a wonderful display of the full range of Gundam-related merchandise , from model kits to pre-built figures in the Metal Robot Spirits and Metal Build lines. While Gquuuuuux had plenty of representation, it was good to see many older series such as Wing and Z-Gundam represented too. Special mention to the wandering Zaku cosplay that was exceptionally well put together - the poor sod looked very hot by the end of the day!

Super Bold G-Style Ramen

With the G standing for garlic, this is a particularly bold and flavoursome dish. A Jiro-style ramen which originates from teh Ramen Jiro shop in Mita, Tokyo. Famous for portion size a, thick noodles and the rich garlicky taste. No wonder there's a Sumo on the label! Samples were available throughout the day and secured them a sales of a 2-person meal kit that currently resides in my fridge. At least until Saturday...

Artists stalls

I was quite surprised at how many artists had turned up, even more so by the amount of merchandise that was available. It's clear a lot of the stands have their keychains made by Vograce as I recognised the straps and finishes used, but at least that meant I could trust the quality (we had our own UKA keychains made for the staff and they're amazing!). I picked up a mix of Gundam pins alongside Sonic and Kpop Demon Hunter keychains for my daughter Thea's collection. We picked up some lovely pieces from Purus' Counterattack and Raluca Farcas.

For the rest of the day we enjoyed the hall, got to meet and interview voice actress/singer Aya Hirano (Haruhi herself - the interview will be posted soon) and investigate the v-tuber virtual idol suite.

In all, we had what I believe is referred to as a "grand day out", with plenty of Japanese food, drink and artisan goods. If the event returns to Manchester next year, I can highly recommend a visit. Sophie even got to meet her hero...

Sophie makes a friend!