Kinko Bay Tidings ~ Autumn 2019 Edition
Springboks management expresses gratitude to Kagoshima CityUponKagoshimaCityhostingtheSpringboks`

pre-tournament training camp for the Rugby World Cup 2019
in Japan from September 7 to 12 this year, head of Operations
for the Springboks team, Charles Wessels offered his deepest
gratitude to the Mayor, staff and citizens of Kagoshima City.
“On behalf of the South African Rugby Union, I would like toexpress my sincere appreciation for the wonderful hospitality
we received in Kagoshima for our pre-rugby World Cup Camp.
Theopentraining

sessionsandschoolvisits

wereinspirational for our players and one of the many highlights ofour stay. The quality of the training pitch was exceptional, andthe generosity and kindness we experienced from the citizensof Kagoshima was very humbling.”
Mr Wessels would also go on to express his
satisfaction with the Sun Royal Hotel, who hosted
the team throughout the training camp. “The level ofservice and “can-do” attitude among the staff wasexceptional. We really could not have asked forbetter service and were humbled by the patience andgood humour with which your staff put up withwhat can be the heavy demands of a professional
sports team. We have only the highest praise foryour hotel and will carry very happy memories of our stay for many years to come”
Taking place once every 4 years, the 2019 Rugby World Cup is the ninth Rugby World Cup and isbeing held in Japan from 20 September to 2 November, and is the first time the tournament has
been held in Asia.
68th Ohara Festival
Kagoshima will once again bring colour to autumn
for the 68th Festival, which will take place during
the 130th anniversary of Kagoshima City.
In the biggest festival in Southern Kyushu, over
20,000dancers

will

dance

throughout

theTenmonkan business district over the 2-day festival
period.

In addition to dancing to native folk songs “Ohara Bushi,” Kagoshima`s “Han’ya Bushi” and“Shibuya Ondo,” Kagoshima will also display other forms of traditional public entertainment.
There will also be many festival stalls, games to try and plenty of local sake on offer to try andbuy. The festival will be held over a two-day period from Saturday, November 2nd until Sunday
3rd.
The 3rd of November also signifies Japan`s national holiday “Culture Day”, so what better way tocelebrate than to witness the historic festival first hand and the best dancers Kyushu has tooffer? Anyone is welcome to participate at any time, so come and enjoy the experience!
Saturday 2nd - Night festival (group dance etc.)
Sunday 3rd - group dance Ohara 21, parade,matching and traditional public entertainment.
Inquiries:OharaFestivalPromotion

Office(Kagoshima Tourism Promotion Division)
Tel: 099-216-1327

Shochu Street 2019 (Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd)Three days you can drink as much as you want in
Kagoshima with the arrival of the authentic shochu day“Shochu Street” in Tenmonkan, Kagoshima from November
1st - 3rd. With a massive gathering of 114 shochu breweries
from around the prefecture on the day, you can expect to feelthe love of shochu in its homeland of Kagoshima.
-Enjoy 5 drinks for only 500 yen from a selection of 114
breweries! Tickets for enjoying 5 cups of shochu with one
coin (500 yen) will be sold at the Shochu Street venue.

-W who come in a Japanese Kimono on Friday November
1st can enjoy 5 drinks valued at 500 yen for free!

-A special guest to sing along with and famous talk show
guest will also make an appearance!

The 14th Kagoshima Asia Youth Arts FestivalThe Kagoshima Youth Arts Festival was once again be held in Kagoshima City for the 14th year,
bringing together youth from countries and regions throughout Asia and youth from Kagoshima

City with the aim of fostering the international andculture pride of young people, as well as raising thecitizen`s awareness of internationalisation throughthe medium of music and arts.
The festival took place over the 19th and 20th ofOctober

2019.

Thisyearmarking

the130thanniversary of Kagoshima City and the first year ofthe Reiwa era brought more significance to the event.
Eight groups from 7 countries arrived in Japan
within days of the weekend festival. On the Friday
afternoon of October 18th, all the groups (includingtwo Japanese groups) came together at the mainbuilding of the City Hall to meet with the Deputy
Mayor of Kagoshima City, Noriyoshi Matsunaga.
Later that evening a Welcome reception was held at
the Sun Royal Hotel.
The beginning of the Art Festival began on
Saturday November 19th at the Houzan Hall.
There, a total of 231 participants from 10 groups
gathered together to display their choral andinstrumental

ensembles,traditionalmusic,dance performances and more.
The festivities continued on Sunday 20th at theChuo Park with the “Asian Festival”. People
enjoyed Asian Experience Booths, enjoying
cuisine from Asian food stands and much more.

About Kinko Bay Tidings
Produced by: Kagoshima International Exchange Foundation
Editors: Nathan Talbot (English), Songhui Lee (Korean), Xingmin Ji (Chinese) (Coordinators for International Relations, Kagoshima City)
Kagoshima International Exchange Foundation
15-1 Yamashita-chō
Kagoshima City892-0816
JAPANTel: +81 (0)99 226 5931 Fax: +81 (0)99 239 9258
kokusai@kiex.jp http://www.kiex.jp/
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