{"id":362871,"date":"2025-08-21T19:58:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362871\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:58:20","slug":"a-free-japanese-food-and-culture-festival-lands-in-london-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/362871\/","title":{"rendered":"A Free Japanese Food And Culture Festival Lands In London Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Kyokiranbu-1-1024x586.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"dancers onstage in trafalgar square at the JAPAN MATSURI festival\" width=\"1024\" height=\"586\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: JAPAN MATSURI<\/p>\n<p>Japan is a country that\u2019s steeped in tradition; renowned for its <strong>incredible food, art, and culture<\/strong>. But, in case you hadn\u2019t noticed, it\u2019s also a country that\u2019s rather far away from <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-things-to-do-london\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-things-to-do-london\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_0\" data-category=\"click_internal\">London<\/a>. So, if you (like me) have a bank balance and an annual leave allowance that doesn\u2019t currently allow for you to hop on a long-haul flight, but are still pretty keen to immerse yourself the <strong>sights, sounds, tastes, and traditions of Japan<\/strong>; you\u2019re going to want to hear this.<\/p>\n<p>On <strong>September 21<\/strong>, the UK\u2019s biggest annual celebration of <strong>Japanese food and culture<\/strong> will be returning to London, ready to showcase the very best of what Japan has to offer. The festival comes courtesy of Japan Matsuri, who have attracted a rather sizeable fanbase here in London over the years, and are ready for another year of filling <strong>Trafalgar Square<\/strong> to the brim with deliciously authentic <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/japanese-restaurants-in-london\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/japanese-restaurants-in-london\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_1\" data-category=\"click_internal\">Japanese street food<\/a> and traditional Japanese entertainment.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-224619 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Japan-Matsuri-Festival-Trafalgar-Square-1.jpg\" alt=\"Trafalgar Square filled with people attending the Japan Matsuri festival\" width=\"1200\" height=\"778\"  \/><\/p>\n<p> Inside the Japan Matsuri festival <\/p>\n<p>The 2025 Japan Matsuri programme is yet to be announced. But based on previous years, visitors can certainly expect an <strong>entertainment schedule<\/strong> that\u2019s bursting at the seams. The event kicks off at 10am, and visitors are usually spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing what to see and do. An abundance of both <strong>traditional and more contemporary performances<\/strong> tend to take place throughout the day, from both firm festival favourites and newcomers alike.<\/p>\n<p>Entertainment offerings range from<strong> music and martial arts to comedy and cosplay<\/strong>, so there\u2019s sure to be something for everyone. Last year\u2019s visitors got to feast their eyes on the likes of Nihon Buyo (traditional Japanese dance), taiko drumming, Japanese Tango, Japanese music, and even a Kendo demonstration. Previous events have also involved colourful costume catwalks and impressive collections of <strong>contemporary Japanese artwork<\/strong> exhibited.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-192945 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Joji-Hirota-and-the-London-Taiko-Drummers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"  \/>Credit: Japan Matsuri <\/p>\n<p><strong>Japan Matsuri<\/strong> isn\u2019t just a feast for the eyes and ears, though. Festival-goers can also prepare to stuff their faces with<strong> authentic Japanese cuisine<\/strong>. I\u2019d be here all day if I were to attempt to name each and every delicacy that\u2019s previously been up for grabs at the festival, but from <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-sushi-london\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-sushi-london\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_2\" data-category=\"click_internal\">sushi<\/a> and steamed buns to <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-ramen-restaurants-in-london\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/best-ramen-restaurants-in-london\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_3\" data-category=\"click_internal\">ramen<\/a> and rice wine; everything is sure to maki your mouth water.<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of stalls and traders will also be dotted around the square, so you can get your hands on some <strong>gorgeous keepsakes<\/strong> to take home with you. And the cherry (blossom) on top of this already rather delicious cake, I hear you ask? <strong>Japan Matsuri<\/strong> is <a href=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/free-things-to-do-london\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_self\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/secretldn.com\/free-things-to-do-london\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_4\" data-category=\"click_internal\">completely free to attend<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-192946 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1300_DSCF7600-2-e1695910406918.jpg\" alt=\"Some steaming Japanese street food being served\" width=\"1080\" height=\"804\"  \/>Credit: Japan Matsuri <\/p>\n<p>So, mark<strong> September 21<\/strong> in your calendars, folks \u2013 and allow your sense to be transported to the streets of Tokyo, whilst you only need to travel to <strong>Trafalgar Square<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Japan Matsuri 2025 will take place on September 21 from 10am-8pm in Trafalgar Square. Find out more, keep an eye out for when the programme is announced, and plan your visit <a href=\"https:\/\/japanmatsuri.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/japanmatsuri.com\/\" data-action=\"text_cta_5\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: JAPAN MATSURI Japan is a country that\u2019s steeped in tradition; renowned for its incredible food, art, and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,6968,4884,98636,17009,257,46126,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-362871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-exhibition","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-japanese-food","13":"tag-local-trip","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-tasting-festival","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115068528628234323","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}