With the success of last year’s event, JNTO and JTA will collaborate again to bring back Japan’s tourism promotion event Japan Week from March 19 to 21, 2013 at Grand Central Terminal in New York. In addition to celebrating Japanese culinary culture, this year’s event will also recognize the “sister station” relationship between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and Tokyo Station in Japan. Grand Central Terminal will mark its 100th anniversary this year, and Tokyo Station is anticipating its centennial anniversary in 2014. Japan Week’s event programs will be tailored to highlight Japan’s characteristic attractions: food, train travel, traditional culture and contemporary art.
- Ekiben is a carry-on bento box (boxed meal) for train travel in Japan. Sold at major train hubs around the country, ekiben serves regional Japanese meals with local ingredients. It reflectsJapan’s profound culinary culture, and introduces travelers to Japan’s dynamic regional culinary diversities. Japan Week will introduce actual bento boxes for visitors to sample, and to experience a different aspect of Japanese food culture.
- The “sister station” relationship is also commemorative, as it is the very first sister relationship for New York’s MTA, and it is also a celebration of centennial anniversaries back to back. As train travel has been highly regarded amongst international travelers, this is a great milestone to articulate the train culture in both countries.
- Experience Japanese sake in a more traditional style during Japan Week. Sake is a very regional product, and there are many locally brewed craft sake labels in Japan. Japan Week will feature award-winning labels served by sake professionals in a make-shift tachinomiya, Japanese “Pop-Up” bar. Enjoy tasting meticulously crafted sake wines in an authentic Japanese style.
- As Japan’s unwavering customs have retained their cultural significance throughout history, Japan Week will host a traditional geisha make-up demonstration in honor of a long-standing tradition. Ms. Satomi Shiroma, one of 10 masters obtaining this special technique in Japan, will demonstrate a 30-minute geisha make-up preparation.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
