The 16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festival opened on Friday, May 23rd at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. The event is co-organized by Sunshine City and Onna Village in Okinawa, and was originally launched by the Coral Project, a coral conservation initiative that has been ongoing since 2006. 10 days of Okinawa-themed events will be held until Sunday, June 1st. In 2024, a record 92,000 people visited the festival.
The “Okinawa Products Exhibition” features 49 vendors offering Okinawa’s local specialties as well as lesser-known soul food. 12 companies are exhibiting for the first time at Mensore Festival, and for 3 vendors, it’s their sales debut outside of Okinawa. An eat-in corner has been set up in the venue where visitors can enjoy Okinawan cuisine, and the “Mensore Beer Terrace presented by Orion Beer” offers a 120-seat outdoor venue with live performances of sanshin, a traditional Okinawan stringed instrument.
Furthermore, ”5th Orion Beer Snack Championship” is being held to determine which snack tastes the best with Orion beer, and the terrace also features a variety of programs to experience Okinawan culture, such as Ryukyuan dance performances.
In conjunction with the festival, Sunshine Aquarium is presenting “Animal Discovery: Mensore version” where visitors can learn about the wildlife of Okinawa, as well as a special exhibit on coral conservation efforts. During the event, a special booth has been implemented to introduce Onna Village’s environmental initiatives, and hands-on workshops will be held.
