Just when you think you might know what to except from a day out at Hyper Japan, you get served a cat carved into your cappuccino. The craft of "3D Latte Art" was being demonstrated for visitors to appreciate how a "dog in a bath" is moulded with precision individual dollops of foam for each detail. Incredible! It's just one of the live arts on the timetable for the 3 day event on this weekend catering for those interested in all aspects of modern Japanese culture. There's a concourse of food stalls serving up octopus donuts to a gaming arcade for the latest consoles and DDR dance revolution stages. I love all the stalls of little ridiculous accessories like jewelled phone cases and cat ear headbands. I discovered an irresistible Unicorn shaped phone charger and spent an unusually long time in the cooking utensil section with the heart shaped toasty templates. I was also assured that this is officially the cheapest place to get an alpaca this weekend with both Black Friday and Christmas discounts. Reassuring news for all the girls dressed as shepherdesses holding hooks and the soft toy lamas nestling in the crook of their arm. This is my favourite thing - all the costumes and the time that they have gone to in constructing them. Even the boys have fox tails hanging out of the back of their jeans.
If you're fed up of Itsu on the high street, head down to Tabacco Dock this weekend for Panda face rice balls, grilled sushi burgers and sparkling sake cocktails.
