{"id":26618,"date":"2012-08-13T22:54:44","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T02:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=26618"},"modified":"2012-08-13T23:04:55","modified_gmt":"2012-08-14T03:04:55","slug":"jq-magazine-san-francisco-hosts-fourth-annual-j-pop-summit-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2012\/08\/13\/jq-magazine-san-francisco-hosts-fourth-annual-j-pop-summit-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"JQ Magazine: San Francisco Hosts Fourth Annual J-Pop Summit Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 2012 J-Pop Summit Festival will be held in San Francisco\u2019s Japantown August 25-26. (NEW PEOPLE, 2011)<\/p><\/div>\n

d<\/span><\/p>\n

By <\/em><\/strong>Lindsay Martell<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (<\/em><\/strong>Saitama-ken<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, 1995-1997) for <\/em><\/strong>JQ magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Lindsay is a freelance writer and a voice-over actor in Oakland, California.<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>Visit her website <\/em><\/strong>here<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you have a penchant for hunky Lelouch Lamperouge (the hunky antihero of the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion<\/em>) or a serious hankering for Lolita fashion, the pop-y, edgy, dynamic stuff you love is busting at the seams with this year\u2019s J-Pop Summit Festival<\/a> in San Francisco\u2019s Japantown August 25-26.<\/p>\n

With its campy theme of \u201cCyberpop Overload,\u201d the second annual gathering is a Japanophile\u2019s dream come true\u2014noshing on chicken teriyaki bento<\/em> or pork katsu<\/em> curry from a JapaCurry food truck as you bop along to the scores of bands busting out tunes\u2014this mecca of all things related to Japanese pop culture has something for everyone: fashion, film, anime, video games, technology and thumping music. And for JET alums who are feeling particularly natsukash<\/em>i<\/em>i<\/em>? Ki<\/em>t<\/em>e-kudasai!<\/em><\/p>\n

Personally, I can\u2019t wait. Not a day goes by when I don\u2019t miss Japan. I haven\u2019t lived there since the mid-\u201990s, when I was an ALT in Saitama, and yet, I can still feel the humid summer air, tatami beneath my feet, and the salty perfection of roasted senbei<\/em> crunching in my mouth. At that time, I couldn\u2019t get enough of the hypnotic pop scene. Most of it was a mere 1.5 hours away in Shibuya\u2014a deliriously crazed hub of all things punk and pop.<\/p>\n

And while I am now thousands of miles away from that edgy scene, J-Pop is an easy trip\u2014a place brimming with kawaii<\/em>-ness around every corner. More than 55,000 people got their pop on at the festival in 2011, and even more are expected to join in the fun this year.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe J-Pop Summit offers activities and programming that reflects trends that are hip in Japan now\u2026from music, film, fashion, gaming and general pop culture.\u201d says Erik Jansen, publicist for NEW PEOPLE<\/a>, the cutting edge Japanese pop culture venue in San Francisco that mounts the festival every year. \u201cFor expats from Japan and those who have travelled extensively there, the J-Pop Summit is a hip reminder of home.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the hub of the event, PEOPLE houses a state-of-the-art theater (home of the San Francisco Film Society),\u00a0Blue Bottle Coffee, a smattering of gourmet Japanese and non-Japanese eateries, funky punk clothing stores such as h. Naoto and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright.<\/p>\n

Since opening in 2009, NEW PEOPLE has become a unique must-see attraction of San Francisco\u2019s cultural landscape. The 20,000 square foot contemporary venue features the latest examples Japanese popular culture expressed though film, art, fashion, and a variety of specialty boutiques and ongoing monthly events. Those who have wistful memories of nibbling takoyaki<\/em> and sipping milk tea as they stroll by the pachinko parlors will feel as if they\u2019ve been transported back to their time in Japan, helped by a vibe that is pure pop-ified fun.<\/p>\n

The festival\u2019s centerpiece this year is the U.S. premiere of the Evangelion Pop-Up Museum, a two-day only special exhibit that will be a destination spot for fans of the insanely popular Neon Genesis Evangelion<\/em> anime series. The museum will offer an extensive collection of original concept and production art, drawings and killer artifacts from the famed Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone<\/em> and Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance<\/em> film series. Patrons will also be able to browse Evangelion<\/em> books, toys and collectables in anticipation for the upcoming release of the third film in the series, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo<\/em>, which hits theaters in Japan this fall.<\/p>\n

According to Jansen, for those who can\u2019t quite keep up with the ever-evolving Japanese scene, J-Pop is the perfect place to dive right in. \u201cWe\u2019re striving to bring pure multiple aspects of current J-Pop culture and also expand your horizons to new genres you may not yet know much about,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot to soak in. In addition to the fashion shows, theatrical film premieres, live art performances, and celebrity appearances inside NEW PEOPLE\u2019s door, you\u2019ll also be treated to mini-concerts at the adjacent Peace Plaza and tons of goodies to browse for in open air displays that will flank both sides of Post Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe J-Pop Summit Festival has become an important part of the cultural fabric of San Francisco and is a unique celebration of Japanese pop culture in all its colorful forms,\u201d says Seiji Horibuchi, the president\/CEO of NEW PEOPLE, Inc. and chairman of the J-Pop Summit festival committee.<\/p>\n

So in the words of my former students\u2026ikimasho<\/em>!<\/p>\n

For more <\/em><\/strong>on this year\u2019s <\/em><\/strong>J-Pop<\/em><\/strong> Summit Festival, visit <\/em><\/strong>www.J-Pop.com\/2012<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

d By Lindsay Martell (Saitama-ken, 1995-1997) for JQ magazine. Lindsay is a freelance writer and a voice-over actor in Oakland, California. Visit her website here. Whether you have a penchant for hunky Lelouch Lamperouge (the hunky antihero of the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion) or a serious hankering for Lolita fashion, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,53,291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articlejournalism","category-events","category-jq-magazine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t