The Taiwan Plus cultural festival is to take place at Ueno Park in Tokyo, on Sept. 16 and 17, featuring live performances by Taiwanese music acts, and a bazaar showcasing Taiwanese pastries and culture, organizers said in a statement on Monday last week.
The festival, launched in 2017, celebrates the rapport between Taiwan and Japan, said the Taipei-based General Association of Chinese Culture, which oversees the event.
This year’s event is to start with two musical performances by Taiwanese funk-rock band Cosmos People and the Amis Kakeng percussion group, which is to perform traditional folk songs, the organizers said.
Photo: CNA
Other acts on Sept. 16 include pop rock band Wonfu, which is known for its fusion of retro licks derived from Taiwanese and Western music styles, as well as Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese)-language alternative rock band Sorry Youth, the organizers said.
On Sept. 17, Taiwanese rock band Fire Ex is scheduled to close the festival with its signature big power chords and stirring choruses, the organizers said.
A team of Taiwanese and Japanese DJs would work in rotation to play old and contemporary Taiwanese hits for visitors, the association said.
A bazaar featuring more than 100 Taiwanese brands is to provide nostalgia-inspiring Taiwanese night market games, hand-dyed clothes, organic Taiwanese agricultural produce, craft beer, as well as iconic Taiwanese snacks, such as pineapple cakes and salted duck egg yolk pastries, which would be available in gift boxes, it said.
The event is to run from 11am to 6pm on both days.
Taiwanese visitors to Japan spent a combined NT$38.4 billion (US$1.2 billion) from April to June, ranking first among all international visitors to Japan in the period, the association said, citing data released last month by the Japanese Tourism Agency.
Japanese visitors to Taiwan from January to June had the second-highest spending power among all international visitors, second only to Hong Kongers, it said, citing Tourism Bureau data.
Hopefully, the festival with its more than 100 Taiwanese brands giving people a taste of Taiwan would spur more travel to Taiwan by Japanese, association secretary-general Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) said.
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