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Japanese autumn fest brings in lively crowd
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Posted on Oct 21 2006
Great food, colorful performances, and affordable shopping marked the Japanese autumn festival at the Sugar King Park yesterday.
The festival, organized by the Japanese Society of the Northern Marianas, has been an annual event on Saipan for the past 21 years.
The activity began with a Shinto ceremony in the shrine at the park. A priest prayed for the Japanese people living here.
The fair followed immediately, drawing a crowd of 1,500 to 2,000 people from 11am to 2:30pm.
Twenty-six vendors participated this year. They sold Japanese food and other items, and offered fun games. The CHC Volunteers, which aims to raise $400,000 for a hyperbaric chamber and a CT scanner for the Commonwealth Health Center, sold Saipan-da toys. A yard sale was also conducted.
A dance group from Hokkaido made the event even livelier. Eighteen of the group’s members flew in from the northern Japanese city of Asahikawa to perform the “yosakoi soran,” a traditional Japanese dance. Some local residents had a chance to join in the dancing toward the end of the festival.
“There are two main reasons we hold this festival. One is to let the local people experience Japanese culture. The other is to build a stronger relationship among the Japanese people living on Saipan. For at least once a year, we can get together and ‘feel Japan’ even though we’re away from home,” said Hiroko Tenorio, a board member of the Japanese Society.
The organization has about 1,200 members.
