Japanese Sakura Festival in Leeds

Aim

Eight Japanese students who are studying in Leeds will organize an event to introduce authentic Japanese culture at the Leeds City Museum.

What image do you have of Japan? 

When we ask this question, many people say Sushi, Manga, Anime or Karoushi (death from overwork)..... We would like British people and people from other countries to know Japanese culture has other charms than those well-known images. As well as these, we have great appreciation for the seasons, especially in spring, when we enjoy food and drinks under cherry blossom trees. We also have a lively traditional culture that is indispensable to our life, which is Matsuri.

Who we are?

We are Japanese students who are studying in Leeds with a scholarship program named “Tobitate.” Tobitate is a unique scholarship program that the Japanese government and private enterprises founded together. As Japanese young ambassadors, we would like to share some new traditions from our country that you may not have experienced before.

What can you do in Sakura Festival? 

In this festival, you can enjoy footage of beautiful cherry blossom trees and even a virtual reality experience of them! Of course we are offering authentic Japanese dishes cooked by a Japanese chef in a famous Japanese restaurant in Leeds, traditional sweets, green tea, snacks and lots more. You can also experience Japanese traditional games, tea ceremony (making green tea), and traditional Japanese dresses. We will also be lucky enough to have Japanese harpist perform for us.

We cannot do this without you！

We need to raise £2000 in order to rent a space to host this festival, collect Japanese goods from Japan and buy decorations etc. Please share this page and donate to help us organize this authentic Japanese traditional festival in Leeds. And we would love you to come together and enjoy this festival with us!!

【Event Details】

Date and time: 28 April 2018, 11 : 00 – 16 : 00

Place: Leeds City Museum

Contents: Screening of cherry blossoms and festival scenery, Game stall stands (shooting gallery, hoopla etc.), Japanese food sales by Japanese restaurant, Trying on Japanese traditional dress, Tea ceremony experience, Calligraphy worksales, Koto (Japanese harp) performance etc…

Sponsorship: Saitama Prefecture Tourism Division (Sayama Tea and Matcha), Okashi no Koubai (Japanese traditional sweets)

Goal of visitors’ number: 500

【Our Homepage】

https://sites.google.com/view/sakura-festival-in-leeds

This project successfully funded on 7th April 2018