By Lam Ka-Sing

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The Hong Kong Jockey Club has expanded its popular Japanese-themed race days from two to four this year, a move aimed at drawing more spectators, including mainland Chinese and overseas visitors, by adding cultural elements from one of residents’ favourite travel destinations.
The expansion of the “Japan Nights” event series was highlighted on Thursday in conjunction with the opening of the 2025 “Japan Autumn Festival in Hong Kong”, a two-month programme marking its 10th anniversary.
Hanane Sabri, head of racing marketing at the Jockey Club, said the increase in the number of events was a direct response to high demand.
“Last year we had only two Japanese nights and this year we are going to have four. So we expanded our budget in that regard because the Japan Nights were very successful last year,” she said.

Sabri said the club planned to create a fully immersive Japanese race-day experience appealing to the senses, which would include live bands from Japan, new culinary offerings and a lucky draw for travel vouchers.
The initiative – renamed the “Happy Wednesday Japanese Festival” – the aligns with a wider strategy to innovate the race-going experience and attract a diverse audience.
“Our objective in the club is also to promote the diversity and the cosmopolitan sides of the city with a different culture,” Sabri said.
The festival, which features more than 100 events, is part of a broader push by the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong to boost the presence of the country’s food, drinks and culture in the city.
The consulate has enlisted support from major groups and businesses including the Jockey Club and food distributor Four Seas Mercantile Holdings, as well as several prefectural governments, to drum up sales and deepen cultural ties.
Jun Miura, consul-general of Japan in Hong Kong, said he hoped the festival would serve as a platform to deepen the relationship between his country and Hong Kong beyond culture into areas such as innovation and technology.
“We hope that through the various events that we offer for the Autumn festival, there will be, obviously, business opportunities. There could be people to people connection,” he said.
Commercial partners echoed the sentiment of cooperation.
Kason Kung, purchasing manager at Four Seas, said the company’s participation was about supporting a key partner.
“As the sole agent for Japanese snacks, we are mainly here to support the Japanese consulate’s Autumn Festival,” Kung said.
Prefectural representatives also outlined their goals, with the Okinawa office pushing to promote its products in what its director called a “tough” retail market. Tokushima prefecture is also trying to resume direct flights to Hong Kong.
For others, the goal is building brand recognition from the ground up.
Aiko Sakai, managing director at the Miyazaki Prefectural Hong Kong Representative Office, said her focus was on raising the profile of shochu and awamori, traditional spirits.
“Our ultimate purpose is to [have] more Hong Kong people drink and buy [it] at the shop,” she said.