We are glad to let you all know that AniMatsuri is happening this year! Book your calendar for both September 17th and 18th as well as October 8th, 2022!

You all probably have a lot of questions now. Why two dates? Why such a late announcement? What’s up in general? There is no one simple answer, but on top of the past two years being tough on everyone, there have been some big changes regarding our original plan for this year. Basically, we had to throw it out of the window and start from scratch with multiple agreements and approvals needing to be changed and confirmed again. So, we just have had a lot of adjustments happen and this has taken a lot longer than expected. But we now have a new plan!

Okay, but what is the new plan and what have been the changes? Good that you asked. Let’s start with the biggest changes:

The venue has changed. This year, AniMatsuri will be taking place at the V Spa Hotel and Conference Centre (Riia 2, Tartu).

️ Due to the venue change, the event this year will be smaller. This means reduced programming as well as a smaller number of tickets we can sell.

Since the event will be smaller this year, we have decided to split the event up and change how we have organized Japan Month until now:

AniMatsuri will be staying the same type of event as it has been, however we will be more specifically focusing on pop culture and everything around it (for example cosplay). The dates are September 17th and 18th, 2022.

The part that has focused on the more traditional Japanese culture will be moving to a separate event called Momiji festival which will take place 3 weeks later, on October 8th, 2022.

The addition of the Momiji festival also means that Japan Month as it has existed until now will not be happening anymore. Japan Month was started since we did not have enough room in the AniMatsuri program and we wanted to have something that will have a wider view on Japan. Before the pandemic there were big plans for the event, but the world and the possibilities that come with it have changed, so we are trying something new and different now, starting out with a smaller 1-day event. Let’s see where we go from there.

As for some smaller changes, for those who want to be more involved with the event, we will not have an open volunteer program this year. The venue and programming are smaller; thus, much can be covered by the organizing team. However, if you have been a volunteer before and would very much like to help, then send an email to staff@animatsuri.eu and we’ll see what we can do.

We will continue with further announcements in the coming 2 weeks as we put the last things together. Even though we had to change a lot, we hope to still deliver you a great experience! See you at AniMatsuri!