Friday, December 27, 2013

Off Topic Japanese Carnival at Safa Park

I've never been to Safa Park on a pleasant Friday afternoon during winter holidays, but it seemed like everybody and their second cousin were there (a parking situation not helped by the closure of the old Gate 5 parking zone). Still, I had come all that way in my new yukata, so I managed to find a semi-legal space and spend the afternoon at Off Topic's second Japanese Carnival


Several kiosks had been set up in the enclosure, (not sure why there was an enclosure, since there seemed to be no ticketing) selling all manner of Japanese paraphernalia and manga merchandise, including some by groups from out of town, and a few artists' booths. There was, oddly, no tea or Pocky (!) to be seen in the venue, although Off Topic arranged for some Japanese food boxes to be peddled about by costumed manga maid and butlers (I think it was some kind of a competition), and there was a mochi ice cream vendor.


A couple of Japanese artists were on hand to demonstrate traditional dance and drawing arts.


There was also a sizable cosplay contingent, including some extremely elaborate kits.

2 comments:

  1. Looks great! But Mochi ice cream is an American invention, sort of like Chinese fortune cookies. Both were made to sell to American tourists visiting local China towns and Little Tokyo's scattered through out the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, although it does have mochi as an ingredient. That makes it the most Japanese thing available there, apart from some of the food being sold by the maids and butlers.

      Delete