Sunshine City One in five visitors actually traveled to Okinawa! The 16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festa, a cultural exchange festival connecting Tokyo and Okinawa, will be held May 23rd (Friday) to June 1st (Sunday)

[Sunshine City] One in five visitors actually traveled to Okinawa! The 16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festa, a cultural exchange festival connecting Tokyo and Okinawa, will be held [May 23rd (Friday) to June 1st (Sunday)] ​
Sunshine City Co., Ltd. Press release: May 9, 2025 The 16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festa, an early summer event where you can experience Okinawa through product exhibitions and sanshin live performances, will be held in Ikebukuro [May 23rd (Friday) to June 1st (Sunday)] One ​​in five visitors actually traveled to Okinawa! A festival of cultural exchange connecting Tokyo and Okinawa At Sunshine City (Ikebukuro, Tokyo), the “16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festa” will be held for 10 days from May 23rd (Friday) to June 1st (Sunday), with various events held at various facilities in Sunshine City with the theme of “Okinawa”, a tourist destination that Japan is proud of.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-3697a5784eabb2bcc5585fb87e16bd1a-840×510.jpg This year marks the 16th time for the Okinawa Mensore Festa, which was started in cooperation with Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture, and leverages the relationships built with the local community through the Coral Project, which Sunshine Aquarium has been working on to protect coral since 2006. During the event, you can experience Okinawan culture at various locations in Sunshine City, including the Okinawa Product Exhibition, which is the largest in Tokyo. On the stage and beer terrace inside the product exhibition venue, you can see families, individuals, and Sunshine City workers in suits toasting with Orion beer and dancing kachashi to the sound of the sanshin, filling the entire venue with an Okinawan atmosphere. Amid high demand for domestic travel due to the effects of the prolonged weak yen, Okinawa continues to attract a lot of attention because of its resort-like feel even though it is within Japan.The product
exhibition, which last year reached a record high of 92,000 visitors over 10 days, is expected to attract many visitors this year as well. ▼▽You can download the PDF of this release from here▽▼
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-701e692e4daf18882d88607208417706-2422×1193.png ▼▽The story of the birth of Okinawa Mensore Festa and the thoughts of those in charge at the time are introduced here▽▼
https://co.sunshinecity.co.jp/archives/007/202404/554e8d82c7d85c164d5b169251565191.pdf ◆Okinawa products exhibition (exhibition hall A) A total of 49 stores, including 22 stores with demonstration sales that you can enjoy with your eyes, are gathered together, ranging from local specialties that are popular with tourists to hidden soul foods that are actually not well known! Of the 12 stores exhibiting for the first time at this event, 3 are exhibiting outside the prefecture for the first time. In addition to popular restaurants such as “Nakijin Uppama Soba,” which won the grand prize at the “Okinawa Soba Grand Prix” held at last year’s product fair, Okinawa “HanaFuku,” which sells “Kunpen Andagi,” a combination of the traditional baked confectionery “Kunpen (Kunmochi)” and Sata Andagi, will be exhibiting outside the prefecture for the first time. You might be able to meet Okinawa that you don’t know about yet! ?
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-b1a639392447907782d1ecfafbc428c2-2478×2292.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-b4745a0c400571601d7dede6bb5f87c1-3900×2925.jpg “Okinawa Mensore Festa” original Ryukyu glass “Okinawa Mensore Festa” original Ryukyu glasses on sale Five types of Ryukyu glasses will be available for the first time, including a blue design inspired by Sunshine City’s logo color and a red design representing Sunshine City’s “sun” and Okinawa’s “sunset”. It is a long type, which is rare among Ryukyu glasses, and is large enough to pour Orion beer from the venue and have a toast. In addition to selling single glasses (3,500 yen), there is also a curry (*) set (4,000 yen) that comes with a glass of Orion beer. *“Curry” is an Okinawan-style toast. It has the meaning of “something auspicious” or “something auspicious” The fun of finding the best snacks ●Snack set (weekdays only)/1,500 yen We sell 5 snack tickets worth 300 yen. Convenient when you want to eat a variety of foods little by little! ●It goes well with the 5th Orion Beer! Snack Championship Choose and vote on the snacks that go well with Orion Beer from among the products eligible for the snack set. Voting results will be announced on Saturday, May 31st at the fountain plaza!
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-d11ef05704aeb4f662e6ce5ccd9fced3-617×346.jpg “Mamiya Kamaboko” is currently winning for the second time in a row
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-82e8ed8ff891dc5996898061a6225fb1-2560×1707.jpg “Orion Beer presents Mensore Beer Terrace” attached to the venue You can enjoy products purchased at the product exhibition hall while listening to sanshin live music at the 120-seat outdoor venue. The admission fee includes a 3,000 yen gift certificate that can be used at the product exhibition, and the right to participate in a limited lottery where you can win Orion Beer Co., Ltd.’s chuhai “WATTA Tankan”, so it’s a great deal! Admission fee: 4,000 yen (advance reservation required) *For details on how to make a reservation and the live performance, please click here. We will also be holding a special raffle where you can win accommodation tickets to a resort hotel in Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture! You can participate in the lottery with 5 auxiliary tickets, one given for every 1,000 yen spent at the product exhibition venue. ◆Okinawa Live Stage (Fountain Square) At the fountain plaza located on B1 of the specialty store district Alpa, a live stage performance featuring many Okinawan artists will be held. In addition to the artists who are very popular every year, this year Sougo Nakamura, a voice actor and singer-songwriter from Ginowan City, will also perform. Don’t miss the Okinawa Prefecture PR stage featuring Gardy, who was just appointed as the Okinawa Cheer Pokémon last August, and the traditional performing arts (Ryukyu dance) performed by Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts alumni, who are so talented that they have performed at overseas embassies!
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-f2330cbd2c089348e1ad627e0a007a48-2424×1482.png ◆Sunshine Aquarium Creature Discovery Mensore ver. We will be delivering a part of “Creature Discovery” in which the breeding staff introduces the natural appearance of living things and their interaction with breeding staff in a fun and easy-to-understand manner, in the Mensore version.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-5e6241be5b622cd7084c596fe6f11d09-957×390.png Creature Discovery Mensore ver. (Explanation of creatures related to Okinawa, sea lion training) An event where you can learn about coral and Onna Village’s initiatives As part of Sunshine Aquarium’s “Coral Project,” a coral conservation activity that has continued since 2006, some of the corals that are kept and raised from Onna Village are on permanent display. During this period, a special coral ver. will be held for a limited time on the “Exploration Guided Tour” (for a fee) in which breeding staff will take you around the backyard, allowing you to learn more about coral. Furthermore, from May 23rd (Friday) to May 25th (Sunday) only, there will be a special booth where you can learn about efforts to protect coral reefs in Onna Village. In order to preserve coral reefs, we will hold a workshop using vetiver, which is used as a green belt to prevent red soil from flowing into the sea, and a coral quiz where you can win original goods from Onna Village.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-e672a6e1482c0652b35c4b9b6c0ca137-3900×2925.jpg At the workshop, you can also experience making crafts using “vetiver”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-45dffcba08b756d383d6405904e609e3-2598×1412.jpg Keyword rally to learn about Okinawan fish A keyword rally will be held at the museum where you can have fun learning about the characteristics and local names of the fish that live in Okinawa’s seas. If you clear it, you will receive an original design sticker! Click here for details on “Sunshine Aquarium Coral Project”
▶https://sunshinecity.jp/file/aquarium/coral_project/ Click here for the activity report of “Coral Maintenance in 2024”
▶https://sunshinecity.jp/file/aquarium/coral_project/pdf/202503.pdf ◆Other
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/20364/995/20364-995-22fa2df0036d10aac3bca06645a301e4-823×524.jpg Conditions from past events Acer experience An “Eisa” experience class for elementary school students organized by the Onna Village Youth Group. The event will be held at Toshima Green Disaster Prevention Park near Sunshine City. Date and time: May 24th (Sat) 11:00-12:00 *Cancelled in case of rain Location: Toshima Green Disaster Prevention Park (nickname: IKE/SUNPARK) Target: Elementary school students Price: Free Participation method: Advance online reservation system (if there is space available, same-day registration is possible) *For details, please check event website ◆Event overview Event name: 16th Sunshine City Okinawa Mensore Festa Period: May 23rd (Friday) to June 1st (Sunday), total 10 days Sponsor: Sunshine City Co-sponsor: Onna Village, Onna Village Tourism Association Sponsored by: Orion Beer Co., Ltd., Sanyo Bussan Co., Ltd./Sanyo Sales Co., Ltd. Sponsored by: Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau, Toshima City, Toshima City Tourism Association Event
Website ​ ■Sunshine City Overview■ Location: 3-1
Higashiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo Business hours: Varies depending on each facility Contact: Sunshine City General Information
03-3989-3331 https://sunshinecity.jp/ *Depending on the situation, the content and schedule may be changed or canceled. *The image is for illustrative purposes only. *All prices include tax.