I was driving home from work one day this week and heard a commercial on the radio that made me listen more carefully - it was advertising something called Tokyo Fiesta 2006. The name alone was enough to intrigue me! In listening to the commercial and visiting the website, I found myself growing more and more curious about the event, which was to be held in the Vanderbuilt Hall of Grand Central Terminal. Artisan demonstrations, live music and a 3-D movie - I was ready to go! Considering I'm audio-book-reading this on my commute, it seemed like good timing to me!
The weather was looking very wet and miserable for Friday night and all day Saturday, which was disappointing, considering that those were the only two days of the event. However, Saturday afternoon started to clear, and Matt and I made a split decision to hop on the train and take ourselves in.
What fun! It looked very small at the onset, but in true Japanese style, they compacted everything into a little space. There was tourism information, marathon information and the 3-D movie, complete with silly glasses and great door prizes (we both came within one number of winning... bah!). Artisans were there as well - carving intricate details into wood blocks, creating straw mats, painting calligraphy on lanterns - there were exhibits of artwork, including plants that were grown with sound sensors in them, so that when the wind blows, they make music! And as for live music, it was so peaceful and beatufiul - there were people playing Kotos and Syakuhachi, and even a dancer!
We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and I took a bunch of pictures, which I'll soon put into my gallery. I'd love to see the real Tokyo - why does it have to be so far away?
UPDATE: Pictures from the fiesta!
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