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Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now — What to See at The Photographers' Gallery Before It Closes
Twenty-seven Japanese women photographers, more than 200 works, and seventy years of a history that was mostly told without them. Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now spans four floors of The Photographers' Gallery until 27 September. Here is what to look for, and how to get in free.

NOVA ESEA
Aug 275 min read


ESEA Heritage Month 2026: London Events, What It Means & How to Get Involved
The full ESEA Heritage Month 2026 London calendar, from celebrASIA at Battersea to Margins United and four Chinatown walking tours. Plus the Evolving Threads theme and besea.n's grants.

NOVA ESEA
Aug 227 min read


Urban Garden Fair: The East Asian Market in London Two Friends Built from Nothing
Three years ago Angie and Irene got lost looking for the venue, then worried nobody would come to their first market. Fifty-odd markets later, Urban Garden Fair brings Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea into car parks and courtyards across London. We asked them why an East Asian market rather than a Hong Kong one, and what a message from a stranger in Malaysia changed.

NOVA ESEA
Aug 205 min read


Japanese Markets in London: 2026 Dates & What’s On
Every Japanese market in London with 2026 dates — Shōtengai at King’s Cross, Nishi Market in Shepherd’s Bush, Yokimono pop-ups, Japan Matsuri at Trafalgar Square, plus where to shop Japanese year-round. Updated monthly.

NOVA ESEA
Aug 136 min read


SHOKUDŌ: “But He’s Happy, Right?” From a Banking Job to Japanese Comfort Food in London
Joe spent thirteen years in banking before he left to cook. It was Christine, his wife and co-founder, who told him to go, and her father who settled it with one sentence about happiness. Now they run SHOKUDŌ, a Japanese comfort food business built on a deliberately small menu, an ox tongue from a Hong Kong restaurant that no longer exists, and a rule about wasting nothing.

NOVA ESEA
Aug 65 min read


Wine The Noodles: Red Wine, Beef Noodles, and the Side of Taiwanese Food London Hasn't Seen
Chef Yu spent nine years perfecting a beef noodle recipe that fuses French red wine braising with Taiwanese technique. Now he's in Paddington, filling a gap he spotted in London's Taiwanese food scene.

NOVA ESEA
Jul 165 min read


Hyper Japan 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the UK's Biggest Japanese Culture Festival
The UK's biggest Japanese culture festival is back at Olympia London from 24 to 26 July 2026. Over 530 exhibitors, headliners QUEEN BEE and avantgardey, Japanese street food from wagyu skewers to mochi, cosplay, workshops, and a brand-new indie gaming zone. Here's everything you need to know.

NOVA ESEA
Jul 144 min read


Muri: The Filipino Violinist-Singer Who Found Her Solo Sound Between Manila, Paris and London
Muri (Muriel Gonzales) is a Filipino violinist and singer-songwriter who came up through The Ransom Collective in Manila before moving to Paris alone, writing her debut EP 11ème, and performing at SXSW and Focus Wales as the sole Filipino act. We sat down with her in London — as she opened for @moonlanegardens at Dingwalls Camden — to talk jazz clubs, her grandmother, and what keeps her making music.

NOVA ESEA
Jul 24 min read


Sosaku Onigiri: How Masami Brought Creative Japanese Onigiri to Shepherd's Bush
Masami came to London at 23 and never left. Thirteen years later, she's at Shepherd's Bush Market making onigiri with the precision of someone who believes one dish, done well, is enough. We visited Sosaku Onigiri to hear about the stall, the flavours, and the philosophy behind the name.

NOVA ESEA
Jun 183 min read


Physiolosophy: Zhi Wei on Why Pain Is Never Just Physical
Zhi Wei left the NHS, was diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and built Physiolosophy around one idea: pain is never purely physical. We visited her at A Morning of Movement — a wellness event with kin+deum to hear about her practice and the cultural conversation she's trying to change.

NOVA ESEA
Jun 43 min read


K-Pop Concerts in London Summer 2026 Plus J-Pop, City Pop & More Asian Acts
London's 2026 music calendar has more East and South East Asian acts than any previous year — BTS at a football stadium, BIGBANG reuniting for their first tour in nine years, TWICE doing their first 360° UK stage, XG becoming the first Japanese group to play Wembley, and a brand-new outdoor city pop festival at Crystal Palace Bowl. Whether you're here for stadium K-pop or intimate J-rock, there's something on this list for you. Here's everything confirmed, by date. K-Pop Conc

NOVA ESEA
May 2910 min read


Yokimono Japanese Market: How One Woman's Community Became East London's Favourite Japanese Market
Sonoe Sugawara came to London for three months in 2001. She never left. Over two decades later, she runs a vintage kimono shop in Dalston and organises Yokimono Japanese Market — an independent gathering of Japanese food makers, artists, and craftspeople that was only ever supposed to happen once.

NOVA ESEA
May 214 min read


Best Bánh Mì in London: Vietnamese Sandwich Spots Worth Seeking Out
Bánh mì is one of those sandwiches that shouldn't work on paper — French baguette, Vietnamese pickles, pâté, coriander, chilli — and yet it's one of the most satisfying things you can eat. London's Vietnamese food scene has grown quietly and steadily over the past decade, and the bánh mì options have grown with it. From Hackney to Southbank, here are the spots we think are doing it well. Pho Street Eats ⭐ Our Pick This mother-daughter duo has been at Old Spitalfields Market s

NOVA ESEA
May 154 min read


Nha Trang Kitchen: Vietnamese Street Food Stall Built on One Family's Recipes
The Stall Named After Her Mum's Hometown Chau's parents were among the Vietnamese boat people who fled the country after the war. They made it to Hong Kong, met there, and that's where Chau was born. She came to the UK at one year old. The journey that brought her family here was dangerous; everything left behind is the quiet foundation beneath every dish she sells. Her mum's family is from Nha Trang. The stall carries that name. Which means every bánh mì sold at Berwick Stre

NOVA ESEA
May 83 min read


Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen at Southbank Centre: Threads, Suitcases & the Things We Carry
There's something about visiting two exhibitions in one go that feels indulgent, like ordering two desserts without feeling guilty. We went to the Hayward Gallery to see Chiharu Shiota. Her thread installations had been all over my feed, and I'd been meaning to go for weeks. Yin Xiuzhen was the other name on the ticket, someone I didn't know much about going in. But I left thinking most about her work. Yin Xiuzhen: Cities in Suitcases You walk into Yin Xiuzhen's half first, a

NOVA ESEA
Apr 163 min read


Zao An Collective: The ESEA Community Café That Feels Like Coming Home
What does it feel like to walk into Zao An According to co-founder Rihlan, it's like going to someone's house and having their parents cook for you. Part café, part canteen, part community hub. Zao An is an ESEA diaspora workers' collective built on the belief that the best hospitality happens when everyone has a real stake in it. We sat down with Irene and Rihlan to hear the story behind it all.

NOVA ESEA
Apr 24 min read


Pinoy Eat: Filipino Comfort Food on Tabard Street
At Tabard Street Market, Pinoy Eat is serving Filipino food that feels simple, satisfying, and full of heart. Run by Nino, alongside his wife Helen and their son Paul, the stall brings together family, flavour and everyday comfort in a way that feels deeply personal. Pinoy Eat began after Nino left his long career as a chef in hotels and restaurants to build something of his own. For the family, it was not just a business decision but a lifestyle change too. Running their own

NOVA ESEA
Mar 182 min read


Cernamic: Clay, Community and a Small Oasis in London
If you walk into Cernamic on a busy evening, London suddenly feels quieter. Wheels are spinning, hands are deep in clay, and there is that soft concentration that happens when everyone is making something together. It feels less like a strict class and more like a shared studio, a small oasis tucked between train lines and traffic. Cernamic is a pottery studio with three spaces in Stoke Newington, Deptford and Dalston, founded by ceramic artist Nam Tran with co-director Susi

NOVA ESEA
Feb 53 min read


The Happy Pot: Malaysian Rendang With Nigerian Soul in London
Walk past The Happy Pot at a London market, and you often smell it before you see the stall. Slow-cooked beef rendang, coconut rice, bright pickles and golden fried chicken. It is the kind of food that makes people describe it as “comfort in a bowl” and come back day after day. Behind it all is Yvette, a Nigerian-born, London-based cook who swapped a career in international development for a life serving Malaysian-inspired comfort food. From climate grants to comfort food Bef

NOVA ESEA
Jan 144 min read


Walking the House: Do Ho Suh and the Homes We Carry With Us
Stepping into Do Ho Suh’s exhibition at Tate Modern feels a bit like walking into a memory made of air and colour. Walls become sheer fabric, doors glow in soft pinks and greens, and everyday objects, door handles, light switches, radiators, hover like ghosts of all the places we’ve lived in but never quite left behind. For those of us who’ve left home and rebuilt our lives elsewhere, his work hits very close to the bone. Who is Do Ho Suh? Do Ho Suh (b. 1962) is a South Korea

NOVA ESEA
Dec 4, 20254 min read
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