Within the many younger satellite fairs operating among this year’s Armory Week is one with a specific focus on Japan: New City Art Fair, an initiative aimed at showcasing Japanese contemporary art in select international cities. Returning to New York for its second year this Thursday, the fair will be held at HPGRP Gallery and will feature artists from seven galleries hailing from Tokyo, Osaka, and Kanazawa.

Having first kicked off at last year’s Armory Week, New City Art Fair has since traveled as a satellite to last November’s Art Taipei 2012, where it drew in some 35,000 visitors with its enticing mix of contemporary art, product design, and fashion. In its upcoming New York edition, in addition to the event at HPGRP, the fair will also be running a program that showcases authentic cuisine by 10 top Japanese restaurants and cafés in the city; as well as a bus tour leading visitors to the studios of several New York-based Japanese artists, including Noriko Ambe, Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, and Tadaaki Kuwayama.

Kentaro Totsuka, director of hpgrp Gallery in Tokyo, is optimistic about the recent spate of high-profile museum shows of Japanese art in New York, including the recently concluded “Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde” at the MoMA, and the current “Gutai: Splendid Playground” at the Guggenheim, believing that these exhibitions will help to generate more interest in Japanese culture in general. “There will be a small selection of Yayoi Kusama’s work at the New City Art Fair, where visitors will be able to take in Gutai, Kusama, and several younger artists all within the confines of such a small event — a fairly rare and unique setup, in my opinion.”

Totsuka also sees untapped potential in other cities where the fair has been held and where it will travel in the future. “In late April, we are also bringing the New City Art Fair to Osaka, where there are a very small number of contemporary galleries in relation to its population. We are also exploring the possibility of having a Kansai-based art fair that might combine New City Osaka with Art Kyoto.”

The New City Art Fair New York runs March 7-10 at hpgrp Gallery in Chelsea (529 West 20th St. 2W). Admission is free.