I've always enjoyed Japanese cartoons, or 'anime' to give it its proper name. But Gordon & Liam have taken that interest to the next level, and are truly into all things Japanese -- they love anime & manga (Japanese comics), and have an impressive collection of both; they pick up Japanese phrases quite easily; they're interested in the culture; have a good knowledge of samurai history ...

For Gordon's 18th birthday (my baby's all growed up! ... well, not really ...), my lovely friend, Jennifer, treated him to tickets to the biggest Japanese event in London, Hyper Japan. She very generously got tickets for Liam & me as well! That, plus birthday money from the equally lovely Hatty, meant the boys were all set!

Its a 3-day event, and as it was our first time, we decided to go on Friday, instead of the weekend when, apparently, its heaving!! Doors opened at 2pm, we got there about 1:30, and people were already queuing. By the time the doors opened, the end of the queue was nowhere in sight!!! And there were all ages there -- young families, babies, toddlers, young teens, older teens, retired folk ... all sorts.

For me, one of the best things now that the boys are older -- I don't have to have them with me all the time :D After we checked our phones, not quite synchronising them *lol*, we parted company, as they had their own agenda, and I just wanted to have a good look around.

my lunch being prepared

There was live music ... this was the main act that we caught, a fairly young duo, called 'Vaniru'. Not one we'd heard before, but enjoyed. The singer, the guy in black, had the most gorgeous head of hair!!

And there were so many people in 'cosplay', which stands for 'costume play', where people dress up in costumes & accessories to portray a particular character.