NB: Some of my earliest blogs no longer have their accompanying images but enjoy the copy!

Someone at work picked up a flyer for Okinawa Day and said ‘this reminded me of you’! So, seeing as I’m finally living in London and can go to a lot of the London events I wasn’t able to before, I thought I’d flag up this popular event and encourage those of you close enough to go along!

Okinawa Day takes place at Spitalfields Market on Saturday 22nd June. The mission  is to promote Okinawan culture further in the U.K in order to strengthen the island’s existing relationship with the UK, which has been established through previous Okinawa Day events. In addition, 23rd June is the memorial day in Okinawa to commemorate the final battle day where more than 200.000 lives were lost at the end of World War II. Accordingly this year’s Okinawa Day is scheduled to be close to this memorial day.

Admission is free (always a plus for London events) and Spitalfields is handily located near Liverpool Street station, and will make for a great day out for lovers of Japanese culture and anyone who fancies trying out something different one lovely (let’s hope!) Saturday afternoon. The programme also looks very interesting, highlights including:

• Karate demonstration
• Eisa dancing and workshop
• Okinawa folk music

There are also plenty of interesting stalls for a bit of better-than-the-highstreet shopping:

• Tour specialists: Inside Japan Tours and Unique Japan Tours
• Delicious food: Happy Sky Bakery

Click here for the full programme and list of stalls!

I’ve never been to Okinawa Day before, but I have heard good things about it. So, if you’re about, head on down and experience Okinawa… in London! The weather probably won’t be as tropical but we will shoulder it like true Brits, right?