2025 Tokyo X Festival

Last weekend, we attended Houston’s premier festival for Japanese Culture: Tokyo X. Visitors were invited to enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine, shop exclusive pop-ups, and meet guests from across the world. It was an amazing time, and we hope to see you there next year when Tokyo X returns!

Watching NRG Center transform into an extravaganza of dance, music, art, and food from all the way across the globe was truly amazing. The venue was far from empty, with people lined up in colorful costumes and vendors tucked away in every corner. We can’t wait to share our experience, so read below to find out just what makes Tokyo X the best Japanese festival in all of Texas!

The Food

The first thing we tried was the Tanghulu from @hggtanghulu, which, if you don’t know, is a traditional east asian snack consisting of glossy, sugar-coated fruit skewered on a stick. The Tanghulu we tried had strawberries, tangerines, and grapes. It was sweet and crunchy – the perfect mid-day snack!

Nikko Matcha had an Ube Ice Cream that was as tasty as it was smooth. Ube is a purple yam native to Southeast Asia, but it has recently grown in popularity in places like Japan, where it’s commonly used in drinks and desserts. We think its nutty flavor goes perfectly with a traditional ice cream!

To keep with the sweet trend, we got the Japanese Souffle Pancakes from @wobblebake. These you have seen before. They are the Instagram-famous fluffy pancakes that are as bouncy as they are tall. Wobblebake had tons of different flavors, but we elected for the strawberry. The pancake was just as good as it looked in pictures, and the strawberry cream added a nice freshness that was very well-received!

The Shopping

If there is any Japanese-related item you could ever think up, it was probably at Tokyo X. They had your typical anime-inspired merch, but some traditional items as well. One of our favorite vendors was @elephantworkapparel, who sold handmade Kimonos made by their family back in Thailand. All of their clothes were very fashionable and unique, so make sure to check them out!

The merch selection was as extensive as you would expect, and maybe even more so. They had Figures, Plushies, Swords, Tee-Shirts, Cards, Jewelry, and Home Decor – all inspired by your favorite anime, manga, or Japanese video game. Some people got really creative, like @randomsmash_, with their handmade terrariums that were made to look like Pokémon Balls with little Pokémon inside.

The Attractions

Tokyo X had lots of great attractions for us to stop by and check out. The Sumo Wrestling and Martial Arts demonstrations were two of our favorites, but we loved the Dance Performance by Emerald Coast Okinawa. They used traditional Okinawan taiko drums as part of their display, which combined movement and music into one great demonstration.

There were stations for almost every kind of game – from Video Games to Tabletop Games to Circus-Style Games like pop the balloon. It was so cool to see patrons in full cosplay get serious at the arcade machines. The festival also provided a diverse variety of fictional backgrounds for photographs with tons of props. We may have snapped a few.

On the main stage, Tokyo X had a variety of panels throughout the day. These included Q&As with popular artists and actors as well as contests for stuff like Cosplay and Ramen-Eating. Next to the main stage was a sick auto show that was always packed to the brim with tricked-out Sports Cars. We wanted to drive away with one of those.

Final Thoughts

Going to Tokyo X was the experience of a lifetime, and we can’t wait for them to be here when summer rolls around again. With over 400 vendors and top-tier experiences that you can’t find anywhere else, Tokyo X is truly one of the best cultural experiences Houston has to offer. We couldn’t have had a better weekend.