Japanese Cultural Festival: A Great Success!

The Japanese Cultural Festival was held in the High School on November 9, 2018. Many students, teachers, and staff came to the HS breezeway during lunchtime to enjoy several aspects of Japanese culture. Thanks to a lot of support from the RIS community, we raised 16,753 baht from the Japanese food sale. All of the proceeds were donated to the city of HIROSHIMA for the preservation of the A-bomb Dome. Here are some comments from our students about the experience.

Japanese Food Sale

“Our class made Japanese curry-rice for the HS to enjoy. I enjoyed the cooking process as I didn’t know how this delicious meal was made. We definitely didn’t make enough for all the people who were eagerly lining up to try, after only a short duration until we ran out!” — Adina, IB Japanese Ab Initio Y1

“This year, we sold chocolate bananas that helped raise money for the Hiroshima Dome preservation. There was lots of food, like takoyaki and mochi, that one could enjoy while engaging in Japanese activities, creating a lively atmosphere that was memorable. I had a lot of fun at the festival.” — Angie, IB Japanese B Y2

“Japanese 1 sold dorayaki (basically pancakes with red bean filling). We split up the jobs in class and were given time to do so. I was in charge of the pancakes along with T, a freshman in the same class. On the day of the festival, the class came together and put everything into motion. Half of the class was doing a performance but they also helped put in the red bean filling before lunch break. The selling wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was an enjoyable experience for my last year in high school, and I got the chance to talk to my classmates more than I usually would.” — Kwan, Japanese 1

“I sold rice dumplings and bracken-starch dumplings at the Japanese food fair. Most people didn’t know what rice and bracken-starch dumplings were and the difference between the two different dumplings so I tried to answer their questions. Then they enjoyed eating them. I was really happy to share my favorite Japanese sweets.” — Mina, IB Japanese A Y2

“We sold okonomiyaki and takoyaki during the Japanese Festival. We cooked okonomiyaki on a hot plate during Japanese class in the morning. There were many people who lined up to buy the okonomiyaki and takoyaki, so we had a busy time selling to them. We enjoyed selling the okonomiyaki and takoyaki.” — Nozomu, Japanese for Native 1

Japanese Songs and Dances

“Along with selling food, our class also did a performance. We sang the theme song of Doraemon. It was a short performance with the addition of a beautiful Japanese harp, which was played by Ms. Megumi. After practicing for several days, we finally had the chance to perform the song. It was short and sweet, good for beginners like us and it gave us a chance to experience a new aspect of the Japanese festival.” — ‎Ananya, IB Japanese Ab Initio Y1

“Our class staged a mini performance of 2018’s popular J-Pop song, ‘Lemon’ by Yonezu Kenshi. We prepared and practiced for the performance decently beforehand, but we encountered some technical issue onstage. However, we gave our best performance and I think we were able to show a new side of Japanese pop culture.” — Yui, IB Japanese A Y1

“We performed a Japanese pop song called ‘It’s the Right Time’ by Daichi Miura. We picked the song according to our preference in music. We practiced as much as possible, using our flex block and lunch time to make it as perfect as possible. It would have been nicer if we had memorized the song lyrics, but it was quite difficult because we aren’t fluent in the language, but we managed. It was a good opportunity to show our talents. I like that my friends got to see me perform something that wasn’t in English. I’m glad I was given the opportunity to perform.” — Ivy, Japanese 1