Ennichisai 2017 : Japanese Culinary and Cultural Festival

Written by Amelia Alvina

Ennichisai is a festival held by volunteers who created the place to enjoy Japanese culture and culinary. The volunteers are not only Japanese people who are currently living in Indonesia, but also Indonesian people who wanted to be volunteers.

Ennichisai first started in 2010 after the Japan bombing occured. In 2011, it was decided that the festival would take place in South Jakarta area. In 2015, 250,000 people attended the festival. It can be called that Ennichisai is the biggest Japanese festival people are excited about. Now, Ennichisai Festival holds more than 150 food, beverage, and merchandise booths, with many various kinds of Japanese traditional culture, such as traditional dances and merchandise, and various kinds of pop culture, such as cosplay.

Ennichisai 2017 was held at Blok M Square, South Jakarta, on the 13th and 14th of May 2017. The festival was attended by 300,000 this year. The theme for this year’s Ennichisai Festival was “Challenge”. There were special performances by Japanese singers, cosplay competition, and Oiran Parade to promote a courtesan. Oiran Parade is a cultural parade passed down from the Edo period.