Ohayo (Japanese for “hello”), our dear readers! We would like to invite you to a quick flashback, presenting you Hiwasai: The Festival of Fiery Wings 2025 in a nutshell!
The celebration of Japanese culture kicked off on Saturday and ended early Sunday afternoon. Much like its bigger, free-entry sibling, Opolcon, the schedule was mostly packed with Polish language attractions. However, international attendees could still enjoy plenty of activities, such as the video game rooms. These had various retro and current systems on display, along with rhythm games like Osu! and Taiko no Tatsujin / Drum Master available to try out. There was also a karaoke room, an arts and crafts table hosted by the well-known local fan dubbing group NanoKarrin, and a meme-making station called “The Smile Factory” (courtesy of the crew behind Katowice’s NANI?!con).
A whole area was dedicated to stalls selling all kinds of knick-knacks, a lot of handcrafted loot, merchandise, and many Japanese products. Some even offered pricing information in foreign currency, making it easier for international visitors to collect their favorite items. However, for many, the main highlight was cosplaying characters and taking part in the cosplay competition at the end of day one. The line to get even a tiny peek at the action stretched down to the floor below the stage, and the auditorium was packed to the brim.
The convention, which had its humble beginnings as a one-day test run in 2024 at the Small Palace of Opole Voivodeship’s Library, made a big impact on early attendees. Iya, one half of Wi Cosplay, an award-winning Silesian duo with around three decades of combined cosplay experience, shared: “We are at Hiwasai for the first time. It feels like a convention from 10 years ago, and we do not mean that in a bad way. It has the atmosphere of school-based events – tighter, friendlier – not like expos, which are more like major trade fairs. (…) This is where it all starts: lectures, guests, main attractions, console rooms”. Wojti, the other member of the wife and husband pair, added, “If someone is just starting out and finds it hard to jump into the grandeur of bigger conventions, a smaller event like this one is a great starting point. It is a nice, enjoyable way to ease into it”. The festival’s organizers also seemed very pleased with the interest and the large turnout throughout the weekend.
As we get ready for the next edition of Hiwasai, we are also working on a few surprises for our readers, which will be revealed in the coming days. Before 2026 comes around, alongside OKF Fenix (the organizers of both Hiwasai and Opolcon), we would love to invite everyone to join us at Opolcon from September 19th to 21st of this year. In the meantime, take a good look at our expansive gallery of our favorite moments last weekend had to offer.
(photos: OKF Fenix, OPOlink.pl)
