A Message from Japan Habba

Discover how a shared passion for Japanese culture has created a thriving community in Bengaluru, culminating in the expansive Japan Habba festival

For its 20th anniversary, Japan Habba celebrates "Everything Japan"! Japan Habba is home to 6 stages, 40+ events and experiences produced in-house, and 100+ stalls and experience zones that bring the sights, sounds and tastes of Japan to Namma Bengaluru. The staff of Japan Happa spoke to the New Indian Express and answered some questions about this year's event.

Q: What would you say is the main impetus behind Japan Habba?

Nivi: Japan Habba began as a modest cultural festival organized by Mr. Satoshi Hata, a Japanese teacher at Bangalore University. The event started as a small gathering at the BU Jnana Jyothi Auditorium with around 300 attendees, in collaboration with the Bangalore Japanese Teachers Association. Over time, it grew in scale and ambition to 7000+ attendees.

In 2018, when it first moved to the Indian Institute of Science, the expo component and Tech Fair were added, bringing universities and industry into Japan Habba on an unprecedented scale. In 2019, the anime quiz and cosplay content were first introduced, bringing anime and manga into Japan Habba. When we moved online in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, events were introduced. When we moved back to in-person events in 2023, the gaming events Pokémon GO and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were introduced to Japan Habba. Japan Habba as an event has grown to be more diverse alongside its set of organizers and their varied interests. The event is reflective of the diverse range of interests that people have in Japan today. All of these additions continue to feature at Japan Habba in some form, making Japan Habba an absolutely massive event with 6 stages and a massive expo - featuring traditional culture, language, food, anime and manga, video games, higher education, and more - that is completely unmatched in scale, and honestly a little difficult for us to explain to first-time attendees.

For the 20th year, the event celebrates “everything Japan”, erasing the unspoken rules and lines in the sand separating “tradition” and “popular culture”, bringing together the entire community in Bengaluru that shares their interests in cultures and subcultures originating in the land of the rising sun, mirroring the organizers’ own diverse range of interests in Japan.

Honestly speaking, this mirrors my own interests in Japan, which started with me becoming a fan of the Pokémon series back in the year 2004, to wanting to learn more about Japan and Japanese culture, which caused me to independently pursue interests in the realm of Japanese language and culture (studying Japanese to an N2 level, participating in several cultural exchanges and being a part of a number of clubs and associations related to Japanese culture), anime and manga (being introduced to contemporary Japanese popular culture in the process, to becoming an admin of the Bengaluru Anime Club), and video games (which have remained a longtime hobby since I very first played Pokémon Blue for the GameBoy system).

I am not alone in saying this - I have many friends whose lives have been shaped and reformed entirely by their interests in Japan. We would love for Japan Habba to be a window into this wonderful world, especially to casual visitors who are just starting to get their feet wet.

Q: I understand that The Versus Festival: Habba Edition is a first this year. Could you tell me a bit about that?

Nivi: As mentioned above, the gaming events Pokémon GO and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were introduced to Japan Habba in the previous 2023 edition. This year, it is massively expanded to a full esports tournament in the form of “The Versus Festival: Habba Edition”. The event features 3 fighting game tournaments in the form of Street Fighter 6, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the “anime fighter” UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II: Sys-Celes.

The event is mind-boggling in scale, with international competitors from Japan and beyond gracing the gaming stage. Tokido - the Michael Phelps of fighting games - is a truly legendary figure in the fighting game community, known for achieving 29 EVO Tournament Top 8 placings (an unprecedented feat). He is one of the “five Japanese FGC gods”. He is joined at Versus by US-based gaming athlete Mike Ross of “Cross Counter TV” and “Versus Vortex” fame. These Street Fighter legends are joined by Smash Bros. pros Gackt, Takera and Neo. This is to say nothing of additional competitors who will be joining from the rest of the Indian subcontinent or southeast Asia.

“UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II: Sys-Celes”, with its gorgeous anime-style artwork is intended to be a gateway video game for fans of anime and manga, of which there are thousands at Japan Habba.

In addition, Pokémon GO Bengaluru is back to organize the games Pokémon GO and Pokémon TCG Pocket. For the first time in India, we are also having a tournament featuring the mainline turn-based series of Pokémon video games (Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet), which is a truly unique esport that does not demand the fast reflexes that are usually required for fighting games and other competitive esports. The combination of these three makes it the largest such community-run Pokémon event in the country for fans of the series (and fulfilling a little childhood dream of mine)!

Even the Versus festival does not limit itself to just gamers who would find themselves glued to the screen for hours on end - there will be experiential arcade machines, a gorgeous Sakura tree installation and experiential activities like “Find that Pokémon!” inside the versus area itself, that allows people new to the world of video games to immerse themselves in a new hobby.

Q: I also read that this year’s Japan Habba would have a new venue experience, highlighting the regions of Japan. Could you elaborate a bit on the experience and how you are trying to bring it to life?

Nivi: Japan Habba’s expo this year has been divided into segments based on the regions (“chihou”) of Japan, in a manner that blends together our exhibitors with the sights and sounds of Japan:

Each zone of the expo will thus feature decor that harkens back to the corresponding region of Japan. For instance, the Shibuya Scramble Crossing is a particular feature of Kanto, along with neon signages that line each booth. The booths here typically align with popular culture, referencing the “cool Japan” image of Tokyo and its surroundings and contains the AnimeTimes experience zone as well.

On the other hand, the Kansai region has relatively muted decor with a zen garden, deer cutouts referencing the famous deer of Nara park, while housing stalls that carry antiques or language schools, and so on. It contains the Kyoto Yuzen experience zone for saris dyed using the traditional Japanese cloth dying techniques. The venue will also feature Japanese regional mascots such as Yukidaruman, Kyabezo and Wanko Kyoudai. There will also be a stamp rally much like the experience to be had at Japanese railway stations. Each attendee gets a Japan Habba passport on which they can collect stamps at each region and for each activity.

Q: Will Japan Habba 2025 have a healthy mix of offerings for all age groups? How do you think people will respond to the various aspects of Japanese Culture?

Nivi: By its very nature, Japan Habba truly caters to absolutely “Everything Japan”! As such, everyone of all ages and with a diverse range of interests will find something to look forward to at Japan Habba.

1. Are you interested in the language? There are talks by experts from Japan Foundation for you! Alternatively, drop in casually for Minna Shuugou to put your language to use and meet fellow enthusiasts!
2. For those interested in the culture, there are innumerable options: Yukata trials, origami, ikebana, bonsai, Japanese calligraphy, Sadou (the traditional Japanese tea ceremony) are possible at a unique scale at Japan Habba thanks to the efforts of dozens of Japanese volunteers, and the support of the Japanese community in Bangalore.
3. For those looking for food and drink, a massive food court with 20+ offerings is at their disposal, being grander in scale than the annual Japanese Food Festival organized in Bengaluru. There are innumerable retail spaces to buy Japanese and anime goods and services.
4. The stage is going to be packed with performances, starring Special Performer “Ryoma” who embodies the fusion of traditional and popular culture in the same way as Japan Habba 2025 as a whole. They are joined by idol group “Nanometer,” who will also be organizing the first idol handshake event in India. The stage is packed with performances throughout the day, featuring veteran performers from the Japanese resident community in Bengaluru. We are saving one last big surprise featuring household name Gurukiran for the grand finale of the event! Please stay tuned!
5. For young kids, there is Hello Kitty, making an appearance for the first time in Bengaluru! They can also participate in the stamp rally and have fun with the venue experiences!
6. For high school and university students, we have universities exhibiting at Japan Habba, as well 40+ events - workshops, seminars, contests not unlike what you would find at a school or college fest, but with a Japan twist.
7. Anime and Manga fans can look forward to Japan Habba as the largest anime event in the country, with over 12 events and participation by big names such as AnimeTimes and Muse.
1. For the first time in Bengaluru, there will be licensed IP demonstrations at the event on a grand scale, introducing official photo spots for beloved series like Dan da Dan, One Punch Man, Hunter x Hunter, Re:Zero and more!
2. In addition, events cater to everyone from the casual fan that has watched only a handful of anime to seasoned veterans.
3. Japan Habba has the largest artists alley in the country, with 30+ artists having their work at Japan Habba. We also strictly ensure this is done in strict conformance with the international expectations of IP rightsholders, being one of the only conventions in India to do so.
8. As previously mentioned, The Versus Festival - Habba Edition - has already set the stage for India’s largest FGC event. The FGC community is extremely Japan-centric, and has found themselves a new home in Japan Habba.

Q: How do you see Bangalore’s compatibility as a host for Japan Habba?

Nivi: Bangalore has a diverse range of interest groups relating to Japan that uniquely enable the event:

1. Interest groups like Minna Shuugou! Cubbon Park (a monthly Japanese meet a la Cubbon Reads), Bengaluru Anime Club, Super Smash Bros. India and Pokémon GO Bengaluru are all massive Bengaluru-based communities, whose admins and key members are involved extensively in Japan Habba.
2. The Consulate-General of Japan in Bengaluru, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bangalore Japanese Association all throw their weight behind the event, bringing industry to the event in a way that provides the necessary financial support to sustain a non-profit event on such a massive scale.
3. The large Japanese community of Bengaluru, being the second-highest in the country, and who is actively engaged in local events that interface with their Indian counterparts.
4. The veteran members of the Bengaluru Anime Club, who have been entrenched in the media of anime, manga, light novels, visual novels, etc. for more than a decade - well before the current boom of popular anime series in the country.
5. Finally, the Japan Habba Organizing Committee is an absolutely eccentric collective of people united by their varied interests (cutting across the lines of language, culture, popular culture) in Japan and willing to go to any extent to enable an event of this scale to be planned and executed.

I have personally been involved with a number of other Japanese communities across the country, and to the best of my knowledge - Bengaluru is uniquely placed in this regard. Further, the symbiotic relationship between these communities enables the exchange of thoughts and ideas that allow Japan Habba to uniquely blossom and grow like the pink trumpets of Bengaluru.

Nivi Pal is the chairperson of the Japan Habba 2025 organizing committee, and a member of the core committee looking after brand relations this year.

All content on this website is protected by copyright and may not be copied, distributed, or reproduced in any form without the express written consent from team@bac.moe.