Date: February 7, 2026
I landed in Bangkok on February 4… sick. I was sick when I landed in Phuket on January 29 and I could not enjoy that time with my friends — but I will blog about Phuket later. I didn’t go out much for the first two days in Bangkok. On February 8 (a Saturday), I was on my way to the Big C opposite CentralWorld when I noticed a concert happening at CentralWorld mall.
And I can’t believe I missed One or Eight! 🙁 I was listening to their latest single “Tokyo Drift” the last few days and I could have seen them perform it live — for free(!) — had I known about JapanExpo happening! Another act I ended up missing was Sho Kiryuin from Golden Bomber. I kept thinking to myself “where have I heard the name Golden Bomber before?“. Only after returning back to India did I remember their awesome track “Dance My Generation” (funny music video by the way).
It wasn’t the whole group that performed so I don’t know if missing Sho Kiryuin was a big deal or not.
Oh well, I made a note of who all were performing on February 8, the last day of Japan Expo Thailand 2026, and told myself I would try to see more acts. Then I went inside CentralWorld mall.
In fact, Japan Expo Thailand featured so many artists — many small — and a few big names, both Thai and Japanese.
Check out the compilation of video clips I took at JapanExpo Thailand 2026 at the bottom of this post.
Date: February 8, 2026
The next day (it was a Sunday), I made it back to CentralWorld after visit Dusit Central Park earlier (again, I will blog about all that later).
But I had to rush inside CentralWorld to catch a glimpse of the first act I wanted to see that day — Avantgardey. The viral Avantgardey is a 20-member all-female Japanese dance team led by choreographer Akane. They are known for their highly synchronized dances and their ‘uniform’ look. They got really popular after appearing on America’s Got Talent where they reached the semifinals.
I had to step away from CentralWorld to hop over to BigC when I noticed JapanExpo was having a mascot parade.
I had to head back to my hotel room for a bit as I had to pack my bags. When I stepped out again, it had rained hard for a bit.
I looked up Kid Phenomenon and they’re one of the newer sub-groups under the long-running EXILE TRIBE supergroup. Check out their song “Snakebite” — it’s pretty good.
Who are BNK48 you ask? Well, they are the Thai sister group of Japan’s most successful idol girl group, AKB48. The 48 signifies the number of members… which now, in AKB48’s case, has grown to have over 100 members! BNK48 is the third sister group after JKT48 (Indonesia). BNK48’s first generation debuted in 2017.
In fact, much of BNK48’s stage was devoted to promoting “Celebration”. The girls even sat on stage and watched the whole music video in front of the audience.
Towards the end, every member of BNK48 took to the stage and said their goodbyes.
More than the music, I enjoyed the fan chants, and watching the excitement of the fanboys around me was fun.
Mind you, JapanExpo Thailand was not just about the concerts.
As much as I enjoyed all the idol groups, I am bitter about not knowing about JapanExpo Thailand 2026 earlier. (I blame my fever). I missed seeing One or Eight, Golden Bomber’s Sho Kiryuin, seeing a few members of AKB48, and the many other smaller groups. Mind you, all of this entertainment was free for three days because JapanExpo Thailand has the backing of Japan’s government agencies and major corporate sponsors like ISUZU Corporation.
I now follow JapanExpo Thailand on Instagram and will keep an eye out for their future events. If you are a J-pop fan in India and wish to see such idol groups, I would highly recommend following JapanExpo and plan a trip to Bangkok around the time the next JapanExpo Thailand happens. I can only imagine it’s going to get bigger!