Tokyo Curry Expo 2026
The common sense of curry will be rewritten in 27 days, as 48 stores from across the country gather at Shinjuku Okubo Park.
The Tokyo Curry Expo returns for its second edition with an event period more than double the previous run: 27 days, up from 13. A total of 48 stores and 9 ambassadors will be on site, and the event marks the opening of the “Shinjuku Gourmet Park Great Strategy,” a program of four consecutive food festivals spanning approximately 100 days.
This is not a curry festival where you simply eat and leave. Visitors can choose the flavors they are curious about, layer them, and assemble their own unique plate. There are as many possibilities as there are stores, and as many discoveries as there are combinations. Across these 27 days, the 48 stores and their visitors together create a new kind of curry experience.
Making curry more free, making it more interesting
The first event in 2025 introduced a way of enjoying curry that went beyond ordering a single signature menu item from each store. By combining curries from different stalls on a single serving of rice, visitors created their own personal “aigake” (side-by-side serving). Throughout the venue, as many different curry plates were born as there were visitors.
The 2026 edition expands the format from 13 days to 27. In Shinjuku in September, where the late-summer heat still lingers, people gather around chilled drinks and spice-scented curry. Comparing tastes during the day and getting excited with friends at night—these 27 days will spread the heat of curry throughout the streets of Shinjuku.
Five gimmicks to rewrite the common sense of curry
1. Transcending store boundaries, compare 48 stores from across the country
European-style, Japanese-style, spice-based, South Indian, and West Indian curries will all be represented. Furthermore, businesses from different industries, such as ramen shops and Italian restaurants, will also participate. The seriousness of store against store clashes on a single plate, creating combinations that cannot be reproduced even if intended.
2. Biryani and Dosa too: beyond “curry roux and white rice”
Indian mixed rice “Biryani” and South Indian crepe-like dishes “Dosa” are also scheduled to appear. At one venue, you can experience the current state of curry culture as it spreads across the globe.
3. Beyond a single plate: taste the background of the owner
Not only specialty stores, but shops that have honed their skills in different fields, such as ramen shops and Italian restaurants, will participate. Why does this store make curry? Tasting the answer to that is the essence of the Tokyo Curry Expo.
4. Food tickets in 200-yen increments: a little bit of the flavors you are curious about
A food ticket system is adopted where 200-yen tickets are purchased in combinations. Instead of deciding on just one, you can choose multiple flavors you are curious about and search for your own answer.
5. Ramen shop soup becomes curry: “Ra-Curry”
A new genre called “Ra-Curry,” where spices are combined with the soups that ramen shops have perfected and eaten with rice, is scheduled to be deployed at the venue. Not curry ramen, but a new fusion of two great national foods, where the individuality of each store’s broth becomes curry rice.
*”Ra-Curry” is a registered trademark of House Foods Group Head Quarters Co., Ltd.
48 stores from across the country: the “now” of curry gathers in Shinjuku
Curry specialty stores, biryani specialty stores, ramen shops, Italian restaurants, and more. The 48 stores gathering in Shinjuku have honed their skills in different fields, crossing the walls of genre. Each is a protagonist on its own. When layered, they become a plate that does not yet have a name. Visitors are invited to come and compare the seriousness of these 48 stores at the venue.
Confirmed participating stores (alphabetical/Japanese order)
Amma Shokudo / Iwashi Tornado / India Tokidoki Takokuseki Hona Mata / Oiwa Shokudo / Kanio / Curry Anderson / Curry The Hardcore / Curry Dashit! / Kyo Yabai Yatsu ni Atta / Sake to Meshi / THE CIRCLE / Chef no Kimagure Sakaba H / Jagura Koenji / Shunka To / Johnny’s Biryani / Jindagi Spice / Spice Post / SONA HALAL HOME MADE FOOD / Takanome / Tattutaga / Daruma Shokudo / Darumat West Azabu Main Store / Ebisu Ra-menya Tsunagi / TRUNK CAFE / West India Spice Gayabaji / Noukou Tori Soba Aoi / Patta Nakameguro / Biryani Specialty Store INDIA GATE / MAGALIE / Magic Hour Kyodo / MUGHAL Halal Indian Restaurant / Menya Sou / Romanchak hotel / wacca / and others
*Please check the official website for detailed information.
Basic information
- Location / nearest station: Okubo Park — Seibu-Shinjuku Station (2 min walk), Higashi-Shinjuku Station (7 min walk), Okubo (Tokyo) Station (7 min walk), Shinjuku Station (8 min walk)
- Address: 〒160-0021 Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Kabukicho 2-43 (MAP)
- Venue: Shinjuku Municipal Okubo Park Special Venue
- Period: 2026/09/11 (Fri) – 2026/10/07 (Wed)
- Time: 11:00 – 21:00
- Fees/costs: Admission free (food and drink costs separate); food ticket system in 200-yen increments
- Official SNS: X (formerly Twitter) · Instagram
*Listed contents may be subject to change. For the latest information, please check the official websites of the venue and organizers.
Shinjuku Okubo Park is a small public park in the Okubo area of Shinjuku Ward. It has open lawns, shaded benches, and paths lined with trees, and it functions mainly as a neighborhood gathering point. The park’s flat, open layout is also used for bigger events: its central plaza and grass areas host community festivals, outdoor markets, and food events such as the Tokyo Curry Expo. For the 2026 expo, the park will be set up as a temporary curry village. Food stalls and communal tables will be placed around the existing lawns and trees, and visitors will be able to eat their curry on-site. The park is within walking distance of Okubo Station, in an area of small shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings.
