The 2014 J-POP Summit Festival, San Francisco’s premiere celebration of Japanese pop culture, music, fashion, games, art, food and film, broke all previous attendance records during its recent 6th annual weekend-long event. More than 120,000 people attended the two-day festival that took place across the city’s Japantown on July 19th and 20th.
Several top Japanese artists made their U.S. debut including pop stars Tomomi Itano, May’n, Una and the teen idol group, Tokyo Girls’ Style. Crowd favorites Kimono Cosplay pop singing duo, Yanakiku, Japanese-American pop singer Kylee, and beat box phenomenon, DAICHI also performed. In addition to Japantown appearances by all of these artists, fans were treated to some J-flavored punk and alternative music from the Akabane Vulgars on Strong Bypass and Pinky Doodle Poodle, who were notably introduced on-stage by Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls.
Kawaii-themed fashion programming featured appearances by Harajuku models Misa Kimura, Akira, Una and Ayumi Seto, who launched her new, “Aymmy in the batty girls” apparel line. Fans also were introduced to the sexy pop color explosion of the girls of Black Diamond from Shibuya and an array of other on-stage dance and fashion contests.
Launched in 2009, J-POP Summit Festival is an annual street fair held in San Francisco, California, that celebrates Japanese popular culture. By introducing the latest in Japanese music, film, art, fashion, gaming, anime, food, as well as niche subcultures, the festival has become a prominent platform to showcase the latest pop trends and creative innovations from Japan.
Meet New People in San Francisco’s Japantown: