The crowds along the Rhine, an estimated 650,000 attended the festival in Düsseldorf
JLGC at Sakura Festival Copenhagen, Experience Japan, Dublin and Japan Tag, Düsseldorf
For the first time JLGC helped visitors celebrate Japanese culture under cherry blossom in Langelinie Park, Copenhagen. The 16th Sakura Festival was held on April 22-23, with visitors enjoying sunshine on the Saturday and rain on the Sunday.
Over a couple of days, cosplay and Japanese culture fans came out to enjoy the festivities.
Guests enjoyed a variety of activities, musical and dancing performances and weapon displays. There was also a chance to taste the country’s famous cuisine. The kimono fashion show is a yearly tradition, as are the tea ceremony, haiku recitals, ink wash painting and ikebana flower arranging.
Organised by the Japanese Embassy, Copenhagen Municipality and others, the festival celebrates Japanese culture and offers impressions from Japanese traditions. Many ambassadors from different countries came to the event.
JLGC also exhibited again at Experience Japan at Farmleigh House & Estate, Sunday 30th April, the cultural event held in Dublin which attracts many people interested in Japanese culture and visiting Japan, especially families.
This year’s event featured Japanese music, dance and martial arts performances, an exhibition of calligraphy, and a haiku contest. Dublin City Council, the Irish Government Department of Public Works, the Embassy of Japan in Ireland and others supported the event.
JLGC’s exhibition included the distribution of pamphlets, the display of posters and the showing of video clips using tablets. The booth also had a questionnaire using flipcharts and a photo session with visitors wearing ‘happi’ coats.
The photo session was particularly popular, with a line of people queuing to have their photos taken, leaving many people with fond memories of their visit.
The survey asked what people were most interested in when travelling to Japan, and the results showed that people were most interested in Japanese food, ahead of other items.
The booth visitors were mainly people planning to travel to Japan or had visited Japan once. However, some had planned to visit Japan but were forced to abandon their plans due to a new coronavirus outbreak.
The 20th Japan Day Düsseldorf/NRW again attended by JLGC, and Fukushima Prefecture with a dedicated booth, was again a great success: around 650,000 visitors from Germany and abroad flocked to the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia last weekend to experience Japanese culture up close. Between the busy streets in the city’s old town and the famous Reuterkaserne and the Landtagwiese, unique cultural highlights were explored throughout the day. The numerous visitors enthusiastically enjoyed diverse Japanese dance performances, traditional martial arts, numerous cultural offerings and musical acts.
