The big festival of culture and dialogue on the banks of the Rhine is back / Highlight: original Japanese fireworks with the motto “Together for Peace and Friendship” / Live broadcast on WDR  

Japan Day Düsseldorf/ NRW will take place on 21 May

A unique festival of culture and dialogue, every year Japan Day Düsseldorf/NRW attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors who want to experience the Japanese flavour of the city and enjoy the grand finale – a spectacular fireworks display on the Rhine. This year Japan Day will take place again on Saturday, 21 May – in the way we know and love. 

After more than two years of the pandemic, when the festival couldn’t take place, visitors from at home and abroad will now have the chance to enjoy a diverse range of music, dance, sport and culinary treats on the Rhine embankment promenade, along with many information and activity tents. Traditional culture, modern Japanese pop culture and typical sports will be presented on three stages. The climax will be provided by the Japanese fireworks display which will light up the Rhine in the late evening. The motto for this year’s fireworks display is “Together for Peace and Friendship”. The spectacular 25-minute fireworks display will be staged in five scenes.  

As in pre-pandemic times, on Japan Day the Rhine embankment promenade will be transformed into a world of colour, packed with demonstration, exhibition and sales stalls relating to Japanese culture – which is particularly evident in the Rhine metropolis. After all, Düsseldorf is home to Europe’s third-largest Japanese community, and is famous for its “Little Tokyo” area between the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and the city centre. 

Children and teenagers from the Japanese community in Düsseldorf will be performing on the live stage on Burgplatz. The headline act just before the fireworks display is the J-pop band “Charan-Po-Rantan with Kankan Balkan”. French chanson and Balkan music are combined with various international genres, producing a unique, international sound. The colourful costumes lend the act a festive circus feel. There will also be any number of stalls providing information about Japanese culture, as well as demonstrations of Japanese martial art, a karaoke competition and a cosplay fashion show.  

The official opening ceremony for the 19th Japan Day Düsseldorf/NRW will commence at 12:30 on the main stage on Burgplatz. Dr. Stephan Keller, Mayor of the City of Düsseldorf, Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Manabu Miyamoto, President of the Japanese Club and Kiminori Iwama, Japan’s Consul-General in Düsseldorf will symbolically open the festival by together tapping a barrel of sake after their opening words.  

The organisers – the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the state capital Düsseldorf, and the Japanese community – are delighted that a normal Japan Day Düsseldorf/NRW can again take place after a two-year hiatus. Even those who can’t make it to Düsseldorf can still enjoy the spectacle: this year, the Japanese fireworks display will once again be broadcast live by WDR.

Following the festival of culture and dialogue on the Rhine promenade, “Japan Business Day” will also be taking place again, on Wednesday, 25 May. This year at the KÖ59 hotel, industry representatives will be discussing the subject of “New Materials for a Sustainable Future: Development, Processing and Recycling”. This event is intended for trade visitors.

 

Find out more on the official event website: www.japantag-duesseldorf-nrw.de

The official hashtag: #japantagDUSNRW

You’ll find press photos here from the last regular Japan Day in 2019: https://duesseldorf.pixxio.media/share/?token=H2eRY214qz85J9db5

 

Kontakt: 
Clemens Henle 
Tel: +49 211. 17202-863, [email protected]
#visitduesseldorf