Organizer Information

• Organizer: Aforward Inc.

• Event Name: Japan Fes New York

• Host City: New York City

Event Guidelines:

• Fees: 

  • Initial Deposit:

    • Each vendor is required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $100 for each event they wish to participate in. This deposit must be paid upon signing up for the event.

    • Due within seven (7) days of submitting Your application form.

    • For participants from outside the host country, securing a booth requires payment of half the quoted amount.

  • Booth Fee:

    • Wayo Secchu Non-Food Booths: The participation fee for non-food booths is $600

    • Wayo Secchu Food Booths: The participation fee for food booths is $600

    • Japanese Food Booth: The participation fee is $500

    • Japanese Non-Food Booth: The participation fee is $500

      • The participation fee includes the initial $100 deposit and is due at least one month prior to each event.

  • Rental Fees:

    • Vendors needing to rent equipment from the Company must pay a rental fee, the details of which can be obtained by emailing the Company at [matsuri@japanfes.com].

    • The rental fee is in addition to the booth participation fee and is due one month prior to the event.

    • Any equipment rented on the day of the event will incur an additional surcharge on top of the standard rental fee.

  • Sales Commission Fee:

    • In addition to the booth and rental fees, each Vendor must pay the Company a fee equal to 8% of their net sales from each event they participate in.

    • This payment is due within 5 Working Days after following the conclusion of the event.

  • Refund Policy: 

    • Both the booth fee and rental fees are refundable only if the Vendor requests a refund at least one month prior to the event. Requests for refunds must be made in writing and received by the Company no later than one month before the event's scheduled date. Refund requests received after this deadline will not be eligible for a refund.

    • The Initial Deposit is not refundable. 

• Weather: 

  • Events will be held Rain or Shine!

  • In case of rain: Bring a cover to protect your products from getting wet.

  • In case of wind: Use a device to prevent your products from being blown away.

• Event hours:

  • Event hours: 10AM - 6PM

  • Preparation time: 9AM - 10AM (Vehicles can be brought in between 9:00 AM and must be moved out by 9:30 AM; you are allowed 20 minutes to drop off your items)

  • Cleanup time: 6PM - 7PM (Vehicle access allowed after 6PM)

• Booth and Banner: 

  • Booth size: 1 booth, 10 feet x 10 feet (3 meters x 3 meters). Operating outside the 10 ft x 10 ft area is not allowed.

  • Banner size: Maximum size 10 ft x 4 ft

  • Nobori: Maximum size 6 ft and must be displayed at a height of 13 ft or below from the ground and must be lower than the Japanese flag. If you are participating as a contest vendor, you may only use 1 banner.

  • Prohibited products: Fake, imitation, alcohol, and raw food.

  • Promotion: Decorate your booth to make it easy for customers to understand your products, using items like product photos and prices and impactful displays. It's important to make your offerings easily comprehensible to attract customers.

  • Tarp (Floor Protection): Mandatory for Food Vendors.

• For food vendors, please send us these documents one month before the event you're applying for:

  • NYS Certificate of Authority

  • NYC Health Department Food Establishment License H25 (H15), FS Restaurant License, or Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit (TFSE)

  • New York Food Handlers License

  • G23 License for Vendors who use Propane

  • Remember to bring a fire extinguisher and an original Qualifying Certificate in Food Protection.

• For non-food vendors, please send us this document one week before the event:

  • NYS Certificate of Authority

  • Temporary Street Fair Vendor Permit

  • Remember to bring the Temporary Street Fair Permit on the day of the event.

    *If you cannot prepare the above licenses, please let us know. We will help you.

• Garbage:

  • Please carry your trash to the designated garbage area in the corner.

  • Use black plastic bags for garbage and transparent plastic bags for recycling.

  • For oil disposal, soak it up with newspaper or similar material before discarding.

  • Please do not dispose of any leftover ingredients or food on the streets. We kindly request that everyone take their leftovers home with them.

  • If you rent anything other than tents, tables, chairs, and generators from JAPAN Fes, please come to the JAPAN Fes booth to pick them up and return them where you picked them up at the end of the day.

• For Contest Participants:

  • Only the equipment approved by the organizer can be used.

  • Contest Participants are limited to one product per entry.

  • The winner will not be determined by the number of sales but by a popular vote by general customers. The announcement of the winner is scheduled for 6 PM on the second day.

  • The voting rules for the contest have been chosen as the best method, and we do not accept requests from participants.

  • Spreading the contest voting link is strictly prohibited. If any fraudulent activity is discovered, such as the distribution of the contest voting link on social media, rankings will be revoked.

  • Regarding the announcement of the contest results, it is kept confidential as a rule, considering potential negative impressions of those who did not win the contest. Although the contest results are confidential, if you ask the organizer directly, we will verbally tell you the number of points (only for the top 3 teams).

  • All contest participants are required to participate in influencer marketing.

Regulations

All vendors must meet our specified requirements to be accepted. Violations will result in a $300 fine and potential revocation at the sole discretion of the Company.

1. The event organizing committee reserves the right to limit the number of vendors selling similar items or services.

2. All booths must bring all supplies required to operate for the day, including tables, tents, chairs, water, and other equipment. Food vendors must have a tent in order to operate. A rental option is available if needed.

3.At the end of the festival, vendors must fully clean up their area of trash and dispose of any garbage in the available garbage dumps.

4.Vendors shall not use any sound amplification system, loudspeaker system, or anything that might interfere with sound activities on the event festival grounds without approval from organizers.

5.Vendors must be set up by 10:00 am, and remain set up until 6:00 pm, and the booth must be manned at all times.

6.On the morning of the event, please provide one product for SNS promotion.

7.A vendor application form does not guarantee vendor space at the event. It is only a request for participation and booth space, subject to our approval.

• To ensure a unified experience, vendors are kindly requested to prominently feature their Wayo- Secchu and Japanese items on their menu.

• There are 2 main types of vendors: Japanese and Wayo Secchu.

  • A Japanese vendor has only Japanese food in their menu (e.g., Ramen, Takoyaki, Sushi, Matcha, etc) or sells Japanese merchandise (Japanese records, pop-culture items, art, etc).

  • The Wayo Secchu vendors have a fusion menu or products which blend western/international influences with Japanese flavors and designs. Examples are: Takoyaki Bao, Sushi Tacos, Matcha Cheesecake, etc). The entire menu must have only fusion items with no options for non-fusion food/merchandise. 

• This will help customers easily identify and enjoy the variety of Japanese products available, enhancing the overall cultural experience.

• Vendors must bring the menu, which was approved in the application process, to all participating event days.

• If your items sell out repeatedly before 4 pm, it could result in not being able to participate in the festival.

• As all vendors are either Wayo Secchu vendors or Japanese vendors, menus should be displayed as such. Prominently feature the connection your item has to Japan.

• Before accepting your vendor to JAPAN Fes, bring your item to a designated space for our team to taste it to accept them as menu items to JAPAN Fes.  This process confirms your items as Japanese or Wayo Secchu and is the final process in accepting your application. 

8.Each tent may sell products from only one category. To maintain the quality of products sold and to ensure clarity for visitors, selling products from multiple categories is prohibited. The Company reserves the right to establish and modify sales policies, including but not limited to, mandatory menu items and specific price points. The Vendor agrees to strictly adhere to all such operational guidelines and pricing requirements as determined at the Company’s sole discretion. Any vendor found selling items outside of their approved category or in violation of these sales policies without prior written consent will be required to cease sales of those items immediately and may be subject to fines.

9.All vendors must follow an ethics code. Products requested to be sold or displayed must be tasteful. Vendor coordinators will use good judgment in reviewing and approving products. Event producers reserve the right to decline a product if deemed unsuitable or inappropriate. Japan Fes Management retains the right to remove products at any time.

10.You are only allowed to form one line for sales. All vendors are prohibited from forming two lines. Please cooperate with the management to ensure that the number of customers picking up goods does not exceed five groups.

11.All vendors need to cooperate with our team in setting up the Japanese flag and JAPAN Fes flag. We kindly request that only the Japanese flag be displayed at this event, as it represents our commitment to showcasing Japanese culture. In line with our festival's ethos of embracing both traditional and contemporary aspects, we appreciate your understanding that our aim is to create a harmonious blend of Japanese and international influences. The use of flags from other countries is not permitted to maintain the authenticity and cultural integrity of the festival. As part of the decoration for JAPAN Fes, we may display the Japanese flag on the tents. We kindly request your cooperation in supporting this effort.

12.All booths are non-transferable.

13.Regarding payment: after completing the application form, we will send you an invoice. Your application will be complete once you pay the $100 deposit fee within one week. If you delay the deposit payment, you must reapply, and the fee may change (e.g., early bird is already finished when you apply again). Please ensure you do not make late deposit payments. The remainder of the participation fee must be paid at least one month before the event date.

14.You may not sell any items that are not approved by JAPAN Fes management before the event. Please submit all menus and prices within 1 week after being accepted. If you have already submitted, you do not need to submit again unless there are changes to your menu. Any changes to the menu require approval from JAPAN Fes.

15.You must use the booth/tent display that was accepted by JAPAN Fes management during your application process and you can not use any other booth or display. The display should have Japanese Katakana or Hiragana characters. Your booth items must fit under the tent space and not stick out beyond the limits of your booth.

16. Invoice Rules:

• No fee if payment is made by the due date.

• A late fee of 10% will be charged if payment is made after the due date. If you have set up auto pay on bill.com, there might be no issues.

  • Your credit card will be charged a 13% fee (including card processing fee) if payment is made three days after the due date. 

  • Your spot is canceled if we don't have your working credit card information.

  • Vendors who have applied for the next event but have not made the payment will not be permitted to participate. Please note that deposits will not be refunded in case of rule violations.

17.Cancellation Policy:

• Booth fee: No refunds unless the event is canceled by NYC due to a weather warning.

• Rental equipment fee: Full refunds for cancellations made seven days or more in advance of the event date. No refunds within six days of the event.

• You must not cancel event attendance within 30 days of the event day

• 3 Fines will lead to the cancellation of all future event participation. In cases of severe violations, as determined at the Company’s sole discretion, immediate termination of the Vendor’s participation may occur, irrespective of the number of prior violations.

• Participation from Japan or Outside the Host Country

  • 10% of the total participation fee is non-refundable as an administrative fee after agreement to participate.

  • Refunds are granted under the following conditions. Party B shall bear all wire transfer fees and associated costs.

    1. 61 days or more prior: 90% refund.

    2. 31 to 60 days prior: 50% refund.

    3. Less than 30 days prior: No refund.

18.If there are more than 20 people, we will send our team members to control the line. If you require line control and our team members are not present, please reach out to our team for assistance.

19.If our staff members are wearing JAPAN Fes T-shirts, please allow them to buy from the back of the booth. Our team members have specific tasks to attend to, so please do not seek assistance without our permission. If you need help, please come to Honbu (JAPAN Fes reception booth).

20.Walkways and neighboring booth spaces should not be infringed upon. Vendors should maintain clear pathways for attendigate ees to navthe event and ensure that their setup does not encroach on adjacent booths.

21.FDNY Rules

• If you are deep frying in oil, you must have both a K-class and ABC-class fire extinguisher

• If you are serving food, an ABC class extinguisher is needed.

• You must have a valid NYC expiration date tag.

• If the Vendor fails to provide their own fire extinguisher, the Company will impose a fine on the Vendor. Additionally, the Company will offer to rent a fire extinguisher to the Vendor, provided that the Vendor deposits their identification card with the Company. This identification card will be held as security and returned upon the satisfactory return of the rented fire extinguisher.

• You must have a black hose for propane, as a metallic hose is illegal for outdoor events.

• You must not have gasoline onsite.  Discarding other liquids other than water on the event site is prohibited.

• You must not have more than one (1) extra propane.

22.Commercial Kitchen Usage Guidelines  *Applicable Vedndor only

• Cleaning: The kitchen must be returned to the same clean state as before use.

• Protective Gear: Rubber gloves, hair nets/hats, and appropriate footwear must be worn. Sandals are prohibited.

• Attire: Clothing must be sanitary and safe, avoiding the exposure of skin or body hair.

• Safety First: Preventing injuries is the top priority.

• Equipment Storage: Items must be stored at least 6 inches (approx. $15.24cm) off the floor.

• Instruction Compliance: Adhere to any additional instructions provided within the kitchen.

• Ingredient Management: Ingredients must be managed with date and product name labels.

• Day-of Operations Example: Assembly 6–7 AM > Loading by own responsibility > Venue > After Event ends, proceed to Commercial Kitchen.

• Violation: Violations may result in a fine or notice to vacate. Party B shall bear all associated costs