Japan Festival

The Japan Festival is a one-day event held annually at Johnson County Community College, dedicated to educating and entertaining the Greater Kansas City metro area through an introduction to Japanese culture.

The festival is presented by the Heart of America Japan-America Society. Since 1962, the Heart of America Japan-America Society (HAJAS) has made it our mission “To further the understanding between the peoples of Japan and the Greater Kansas City area by promoting social, cultural and educational exchanges.”

The Festival showcases the traditional culture, pop culture, food, and art of Japan, along with the vision, technology, and hopes for the future shared by the people of Japan and the people of the Kansas City area. It features Japanese musical performances, traditional Japanese foods, a Japanese candy artist, Japanese snacks and sweets, a Bazaar shopping extravaganza, exhibits, Japanese cultural village for kids, martial arts, anime & manga, workshops, demonstrations, cultural presentations, and more.

This year’s theme is “Yokai & Japanese Folklore.” Yokai, those enigmatic beings of Japanese folklore, have long danced at the edges of human understanding, offering whispered explanations for the inexplicable. Picture them lurking in the shadowy corners of desolate mountain pathways, their presence invoked to rationalize the eerie whispers and inexplicable sensations that haunt travelers. Yet their influence stretches far beyond mere ghost stories; these spectral denizens inhabit the very fabric of Japan’s rural landscapes, weaving themselves into the tapestry of its folklore. From quaint countryside hamlets to bustling towns, yokai lurk just behind the veil of what is real, their myriad forms inspiring generations of imaginative tales and cautionary whispers.

Festival events will be spread out across several buildings on the JCCC campus:

• Food vendors will be located in the Commons building (COM), next to and inside the JCCC Food Court.
• Japan-related booths are now in the Capitol Federal Conference Center in the Regnier Center (RC), and workshops, lectures, and demonstrations are in the classrooms in the Midwest Trust Center (MTC).
• Festival maps will be available on campus the day of the festival.
• Information tables are spread throughout the festival — see maps once you get to campus.
• Wristband pickup will be available at Box Office locations in
  • Midwest Trust Center (MTC)
  • Student Center (SC)
  • Regnier Center (RC)
  • outside the CoLab in the Office and Classroom Building (OCB)

If you purchase tickets the day of the festival, you'll have two locations to purchase:

• The Box Office in the MTC lobby
• The Box Office Satellite in the Student Center