Vietnamese and Japanese arts troupes will join the annual Viet Nam-Japan Culture Exchange at the Da Nang Administrative Centre and the former Han River Port from 27 - 30 July.

Young Vietnamese and Japanese show off Japanese traditional costumes. — VNS Photo Cong Thanh

An arts troupe from Japan's Sakai will offer a prelude to the opening ceremony with a tea-making demonstration at the centre at 24 Tran Phu from 9.30am to 10.30am on July 28.

A Japanese expat makes Japanese green tea, matcha, at a fair in Da Nang. — VNS Photo Cong Thanh

Japanese businesses and local enterprises will also join an investment promotion conference in the afternoon on the same day.

A tourism promotion programme of Japan will be held at the Novotel Hotel on Bach Dang on 27 July.

According to the city’s Foreign Affairs Department, calligrapher Sakamoto Koichi, Ikebana flower arrangement Yokoi Kouen, rocker Fujii Youichirou, Saxophonist Tajima Yoshikaza and dancing team Run to the World will also join the 4-day cultural exchange in the city.

Vietnamese and Japanese dancers will demonstrate traditional Japanese dance Yosakoi and Co Tu (an ethnic group) dance as well as a joint-performance flashmob.

Make-up artist Mami Yamamoto will show off his skills at the event, and real Ninja from Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura – a Japanese cultural theme park – will also have a showcase in the city, along with a Kimono show on stage.

Food courts displaying traditional local cuisine and Japanese cooking will be set up at the former Han River Port on Bach Dang.

Vietnamese students wear kimono during the Vietnamese-Japanese Cultural Exchange event in Da Nang. VNS Photo Cong Thanh

Also on the occasion Japanese film entitled ‘Have a Song on Your Lips’ will be screened at the Le Do Cinema.

The Viet Nam-Japan Culture Exchange programme will end on 30 July with a beauty contest and kid’s football festival.

The annual event has been seen as a favourite destination for local and Japanese artistes and businesses seeking a friendship and cooperation opportunity.

More than 400,000 Japanese tourists, the second largest foreign group, visited Da Nang in 2016.

Local airlines operate direct routes from Da Nang to Osaka, Narita and Tokyo in boosting tourism between destinations in central Viet Nam and Japan.

(Source: VNS/ DA NANG Today)