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HCJ Tokyo Guide: Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Japan Show

By Ilyas Kerbal,

Commercial kitchen equipment stand at a hospitality trade show
Photo: Monmar Comunicació, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

HCJ (Hotel, Restaurant & Catering Japan) is Japan’s biggest hospitality and foodservice show. Organised by the Japan Management Association, which also runs FOODEX, it combines three shows: HOTERES JAPAN, CATEREX JAPAN and the Japan Food Service Equipment Show. The 2025 edition had 859 exhibitors (32 from abroad) and 49,334 visitors. With record inbound tourism driving hotel and restaurant investment, the HCJ attendee list is a strong lead source for hospitality suppliers.

This guide is for the February 2027 edition.

HCJ at a glance
Industry Hospitality / foodservice
City Tokyo, Japan
Venue Tokyo Big Sight (East & West Halls), Tokyo
Dates February, 2026: 17–20 Feb
Frequency Annual
Moves between cities? No, always Tokyo
Typical scale ~60,000 attendees · ~800 exhibitors
Visitor ticket Trade registration online (check site for fee)
App / platform Online registration (jma.or.jp/hcj)
Official website jma.or.jp/hcj

Details checked in October 2026. Dates, prices and venues can change between editions, so confirm on the official HCJ website before you book travel.

Three shows in one

Show Focus
HOTERES JAPAN International Hotel & Restaurant Show
CATEREX JAPAN Foodservice and catering
Japan Food Service Equipment Show Commercial kitchen equipment

Categories include commercial kitchen and cooking equipment, beverage and hygiene equipment, food and beverages, tableware, hotel IT, bedding and furniture, spa equipment, interiors and uniforms.

Tokyo Big Sight exhibition halls in Ariake

HCJ uses the East and West Halls of Tokyo Big Sight every February. Photo: Guilhem Vellut, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Venue and dates

HCJ is held every February at Tokyo Big Sight, in the East and West Halls. The 2026 edition ran 17–20 February. It’s close in time to FOODEX in March, so some international suppliers plan both.

Who attends HCJ

Visitor What they buy Who should target them
Hotel owners and purchasing managers Furnishings, IT, amenities Hotel suppliers
Restaurant and chain operators Kitchen equipment, food Equipment and food suppliers
Caterers and institutional foodservice Equipment and ingredients Foodservice suppliers
Distributors and dealers Lines to carry Manufacturers
Designers and consultants Products to specify Design-led suppliers
International suppliers Japanese buyers Distributors

Want to know who will be at HCJ before you book flights? Tell me the event and the profile you sell to, and I’ll send back an enriched, CRM-ready list of attendees and exhibitors. Get in touch

Registration

HCJ is for trade visitors only. Register online; no fee is listed in the JETRO listing, so contact [email protected] for details.

Data and preparation

Registration and exhibitor search run through the JMA’s HCJ site. Few international exhibitors attend, so foreign suppliers stand out, but Japanese buyers expect preparation and Japanese-language materials. An enriched list of hotel groups, restaurant chains and distributors attending helps you choose who to approach.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Japan’s main hospitality supply event
  • Three shows in one
  • Strong demand from the tourism boom
  • High-quality Japanese buyers
  • Organised by JMA, which also runs FOODEX

Cons

  • Mostly domestic visitors
  • Mostly Japanese-language
  • Few international exhibitors
  • Limited English fee information
  • February timing close to FOODEX

One file, ready for HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive. That’s what you get when you order the HCJ attendee and exhibitor list from me. Order it here

Preparing for HCJ 2027

  1. Register early and contact JMA for fee details.
  2. Target hotel groups expanding for inbound tourism.
  3. Bring Japanese materials and local certifications.
  4. Book meetings in January.
  5. Plan a combined trip with FOODEX if you sell food products.
  6. Work with a Japanese distributor for after-sales support.

FAQ

When is HCJ?

Every February at Tokyo Big Sight. The 2026 edition ran 17–20 February.

What shows make up HCJ?

HOTERES JAPAN, CATEREX JAPAN and the Japan Food Service Equipment Show.

Is HCJ free?

It’s trade-only; contact [email protected] for fee details.

Can I get the HCJ attendee list?

There’s no exportable list. I can build an enriched list of exhibitors and buyer profiles.

Want the HCJ attendee list?

Event apps are built for browsing, not for sales teams. They cap connections, hide data behind logins and rarely let you export anything. I pull attendee, exhibitor and speaker data from the app and the event website, enrich every profile and hand you a clean file before the doors open, so your reps can book meetings in advance and follow up properly afterwards.

Get in touch to order the HCJ list

Sources

Photo credits