In late November a four-day festival of music, food, fashion, and culture will be held, and anyone with a foreign passport will get some VIP treatment.
The Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival 2016 will be held from 24 to 27 November and will feature booths, workshops, and performances from various veins of Japanese pop-culture. Having drawn 15,000 and 25,000 attendees in the previous two years, the festival has now expanded into two separate events.
First, on Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th, will be the first annual Moshi Moshi Nippon Symposium. This will be a large gathering of businesses, artists, and celebrities holding talks and networking to generate opportunities for the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
However, on the following two days, Saturday and Sunday, the proper Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival will take place. This will feature booths from various Japanese companies as well as a fashion show featuring some of Japan’s top models.
There will also be a food area where you can sample from a selection of Japanese cuisine. In addition, workshops offering experiences of more traditional Japanese culture will be held, along with performances by taiko drummer Taishi Yamabe and Japanese traditional multi-instrumentalist Shogo Yoshi.
▼ Shogo Yoshi is the man on the left
Details about participating booths and foods have yet to be determined, but the two main concerts are already lined up. On Saturday, Harajuku’s all-girl band Silent Siren will perform, along with model/songstress Natsume Mito.
Then on Sunday, the headliners are scheduled to be electro-pop duo Capsule and the first lady of quirky-bordering-on-creepy kawaii pop, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
On both days, the opening acts will be funky teen idol group Tempura Kidz and Atarashi Gakko No Leaders (Leaders of the New School), who are kind of like the Monkees…if the Monkees were a bunch of Japanese high school girls.
If these acts tickle your fancy and you also happen to have a nationality other than Japanese, then we have great news: Anyone who shows proof of their alien status will be allowed into an exclusive section right in front of the stage!
Still not special enough for you? Well, how about if you don’t have to pay a single yen to enter? Yes, foreigners can avoid the 2,990 yen entrance fee simply by registering through the Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival website and then showing either a photo ID such as a passport or alien registration card at the event.
Not only do you get a free jam-packed show, but also the chance to partake in everything else Moshi Moshi Festival Japan has to offer, from food to arts & crafts to technology to fashion. But you’d better hurry because, while single-day tickets are still available, the two-day tickets have already filled up as of this writing.
No matter who you are, it will be worth infinitely more than the price of admission!
Event information
Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival 2016 / もしもしにっぽんフェスティバル2016
Address: Tokyo Metropolitan Stadium (Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Sendagaya 1-17-1)
東京体育館（東京都渋谷区千駄ヶ谷1-17-1）
26, 27 November, 2016
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Admission: 2,990 yen / day (foreigners can get in free by registering here)
Website (English/Japanese)
Moshi Moshi Nippon Symposium 2016 / もしもしにっぽんシンポジウム2016
Address: Tokyo Metropolitan Stadium (Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Sendagaya 1-17-1)
東京体育館（東京都渋谷区千駄ヶ谷1-17-1）
24, 25 November, 2016
Admission: General – 30,000 yen, Students – 5,000 yen
Website (Japanese)
Source, images: Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival 2016 (English/Japanese)