Archives for April 3, 2013

For the fourth year straight, Bandai is promoting the Hyper YoYo Festival in Japan. The event coincides with the week of April 4th, “yo-yo day” in Japan (the number four can be read as “yo” in Japanese, hence 4/4 is yo-yo day).

This year Bandai seems to be closing the gap between their mainstream yo-yo campaign and our beloved freestyle yoyoing. The event will still have attractions for beginners, such as parent-child long sleeper competitions and a “yo-yo park” where anyone can learn a few basic tricks, but there’s also a freestyle competition for advanced players. While not as elaborate as regular yo-yo contests, it’s nonetheless a great chance to witness some of the new talent that’s coming out of this most recent iteration of the Hyper Yo-yo campaign, just like the late 90’s boom, where a lot of current yo-yo legends came from.

Yo-yo shows and demos are regularly held at Bandai events, but this year, in addition to Bandai’s own pro-spinners and Shaqler, two very special guests will also make an appearance. US 2A National Champion Patrick Mitchell and 2010 European Champion Vashek Kroutil will be the international superstars at the festival.

The Hyper YoYo event will be held from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, April 7th, at Sunshine City, in Tokyo.

Check the official site for detailed information!