Family event «Biệt đội Doraemon hội tụ tại Hikari» (Doraemon comes to Hikari)

   A blue robot cat from the 22nd century is settling into the northern edge of Ho Chi Minh City for a full month: Doraemon and his crew take over the Hikari retail quarter, built by a Japanese developer next to the former administrative centre of Binh Duong province. The timing is calendar-perfect — the character has a birthday, and families are invited to mark it.

   In the manga canon Doraemon was made on 3 September 2112, and the date sits right on the poster, beside a birthday cake drawn as the Hikari quarter itself. Two Japanese names stand behind the programme: Becamex Tokyu, the Vietnamese-Japanese joint venture whose logo currently carries a 15-year anniversary mark, and TOKYU Group Vietnam. The character is used under an official Fujiko Pro licence: the poster carries the studio copyright line running from 1970.

   The short version
Guest of honour — Doraemon, the robot cat from the manga by Fujiko F. Fujio
Host — the Hikari quarter: around 15 restaurants and cafes and an open-air stage in the courtyard
Organisers — Becamex Tokyu together with TOKYU Group Vietnam
Not announced yet — a day-by-day activity schedule and the list of characters who will appear

   This one is for families with preschoolers and primary-school kids, the audience that watches the cartoons and reads the manga. Grown-ups who grew up on those stories get something too: the series has been running for more than half a century and is a Japanese classic by now. And if you live in Thủ Dầu Một or work in the industrial parks around it, this is a family weekend with no long drive attached.

   Hikari itself is not a standard mall: the Japanese developer built it as a quarter of water, greenery and light — one- and two-storey blocks, a pond, tenants ranging from Pizza 4P's to Maison Marou. Doraemon has been here before: in May 2018, during Doraemon Golden Week, the lucky draw at the food court drew more than 1500 people by the organiser's own count, and nearly 300 children joined the treasure hunt with a map and a KAZE bus ride.

   A straight word about the address. On paper this is Ho Chi Minh City: Binh Duong province was merged into the city in 2025. In practice the quarter stands in Thủ Dầu Một, some 30 km north of the centre, about an hour's drive from central Saigon. Opening hours differ from tenant to tenant, so plan a generous window and check the organiser's announcements before you set off.

   A month is room enough to pick an unhurried weekend, bring the children and drive out to Hikari: birthday wishes for a cat from the future land better in person.