‘Tis The Season For……Hyper Priced Japan?

Alex Carrara hikes into Hyper Japan’s Christmas Market and thinks twice about some of the inflated prices.

Held in East London’s Tobacco Dock, this year’s Hyper Japan’s Christmas Market seemed to be a roaring success. It was filled to the brim with cosplayers, nerds, and general shoppers alike. However, as I looked over the many quirky gift and food stalls, I could not help but feel that everything was tad overpriced.

Upon entering the historic East London location, shoppers were greeted by a wonderfully confusing maze of stalls and shops tucked away behind every corner, all offering a plethora of colourful and eye catching Japanese sweets, games, toys and clothes. Cosplayers were peppered all around the event, dressed in a variety of wacky costumes and taking every opportunity to pose for photos. Although there was a lot to take in—and it certainly took me a while to get my head around Tobacco Dock’s confusing layout—it was immediately clear that the event had lots to offer by way of insight into Japanese culture and tradition.

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For example, there were martial arts demonstrations with professionals showing off their moves to an attentive crowd; and a retro video game section which was set up for adults—young and old—who wanted to sit down, relax and relive their childhood.

The sheer number of people that attended the event suggests that a wider public is now taking an interest in all things Japanese, in addition to regular visitors who have been ‘turning Japanese’ for decades.

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The delicious smell of traditional Japanese fried food really helped to affirm the oriental atmosphere. At times it seemed like the whole venue was consumed with people queuing  for a taste of the extensive cuisine on offer. Some food stalls were offering free tastings, but it looked as if Western palates are already enamoured of Japanese food.

But the wondrous textures and flavours were going to cost you an inordinate amount of your hard earned money; and it wasn’t just the food that seemed expensive. Other stallholders were equally well aware that collectors will spend huge amounts of money on items that, to the untrained eye, may look like fancy pieces of plastic.

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So was it worth it? There isn’t a simple yes or no answer, as die-hard fans more often than not will buy the pop culture item they are after and will enjoy their purchase regardless of how much it sets them back.

Looking forward to next year’s Hyper Christmas, I recommend that you choose what you buy wisely, since nerd culture certainly is not cheap, and if you are not careful you are going to find yourself travelling home with an empty wallet.

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