Byron Bay is the easternmost town in Australia.
Byron Bay is located in the northern part of New South Wales and is a small town where surfing and yoga are popular.
The town of Byron Bay has no tall buildings, no luxury resorts or shopping malls.
While the Gold Coast and Brisbane, towns near Byron Bay, have a high percentage of Japanese, the percentage of Japanese is much lower in Byron Bay, which is a little further away.
However, there are several Japanese restaurants run by Japanese people in the town, and they are popular among the locals and crowded every day.
Held once a year! "Matsuri" Japan Festival
Byron Bay, the easternmost town in Australia, holds a Japan Festival once a year in November.
According to local people, the festival was originally a small market, but as the number of visitors has increased over the years, the market has now been moved to the main beach, where it is more spacious, and the admission fee, which used to be charged, has been waived, so that more people visit the festival.
This time, I happened to visit Byron Pay on a trip during the festival period and learned about the Japan Festival, and I was glad to see that Japanese culture is so popular overseas.
From here, I would like to showcase what I saw at Japan Festival Matsuri 2024!
Lots of fun booths with authentic feel
At the “Japan Festival” in Byron Bay, the easternmost town in Australia, there were Japanese food stalls and booths to have fun like at a fair such as ring toss and super ball scooping. You can directly experience Japanese culture at the “Japan Festival” in Byron Bay.
Gyoza, takoyaki, yakisoba, and green tea sweets were on sale, and all were very popular, with long lines forming.
Many items were sold out by the end of the festival.
The festival starts from 14:00 to 20:00, so it is recommended to visit early.
The prices of the products sold at the “Japan Festival” are higher than those at Japanese festival stalls, but since they are made and sold by Japanese people, you can enjoy the authentic taste of Japan.
Sushi is also available.
The sushi is not the California roll, which is unique to overseas, but the Japanese sushi roll.
The “inari sushi” tasted just like inari sushi in Japan, which made me happy because I visited the festival just when I was craving for Japanese food.
I felt that the Japan Festival was a good opportunity to introduce “Japanese sushi” to people from overseas who have never been to Japan before.
The festival also featured exciting performances of “Awa Odori” and “Karate”.
Other performances included “Sumo” (Japan's national sport), “Mochitsuki” (a New Year's event), “Soranbushi” (a typical Hokkaido folk song), and “Koto” (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument). Many traditional Japanese cultural performances kept the audience entertained from start to finish.
The taiko and karate performances were performed not only by Japanese but also by Australians. Everyone performed very well, and I could feel the respect everybody had towards Japanese culture.
As a Japanese, I was very happy to see that even in such a small town, there are people who love Japanese culture.
If you are planning to visit Byron Bay in November, please consider visiting the Japan Festival.
＞ Byron Bay Japan Festival Matsuri Official Instagram
Japan Festival is an opportunity to meet Japanese people living around the area
I visited the annual “Japan Festival Matsuri 2024” held in Byron Bay, the easternmost town in Australia, and found that the festival is a great opportunity to meet not only local Australians, but also Japanese people who live nearby. I realized that there are many Japanese people in a small town, not only local Australians, but also Japanese people living in the suburbs.
I think one of the attractions of the festival is not only to enjoy Japanese culture, but also to possibly meet new people.
In Australia, other major cities also hold large-scale Japan Festivals every year.
If you are planning to visit any of the cities listed below, please try to plan your visit to the festival according to your schedule.
＜Japan Festivals in Australian cities＞
● Perth, Western Australia
Date: Held annually in March (since 2014)
Scale: approx. 20,000 visitors
● Melbourne, Victoria
Date: Every May (since 2000)
Scale: approx. 40,000 visitors
● Sydney, New South Wales
Date: Every December (since 2002)
Scale: approx. 50,000 visitors
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