Japanese women playing the koto (Japanese traditional musical instrument).

Playing koto (Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)

Misawa Air Base opened the gate on April 11 for cultural exchange at the annual Japan Day.

The event dating back to 1988 serves to uphold the strong tradition of sharing cultures and blending the Misawa on-base and off-base communities. This year, festivities at the Misawa Club included karate, naginata, nebuta and other traditional performances, a kimono fashion show, live music and other great activities.

Outdoors, food vendors served up some delicious Japanese festival foods like yakitori and ramen. Traditional rickshaws were also available for fun rides and eventgoers also tried calligraphy, koto practice, pottery making and more.

“A lot of visitors in family enjoyed performances and festive foods,” Yoshihito Morita, a Misawa Commissary employee said. “During the festival, calligraphy and balloon art booths were especially popular, with long lines of visitors. My American friend was very delighted, too, to have his name written in kanji.”

The event kicks off the upcoming spring festivities including the long-awaited cherry blossom season which is forecasted to arrive in the coming weeks to the northern portions of Japan’s mainland.

Japanese girls in traditional clothes holding a U.S. flag and a Japanese flag.

(Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)

Japanese girls in traditional clothes dancing.

(Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)

A girl in karate uniform chopping a wooden board.

Karate (Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)

Girls showing the use of naginata (Japanese polearm).

Naginata (Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)

An American man, an American woman and an American girl in kimono; a girl is holding an Japanese umbrella.

Kimono fashion show (Photo by Yoshihito Morita/Stripes Japan)