| ASEAN Tourism Fair 2007 was held in Yokohama, Japan from August 2 to 7. This fair was organized by the ASEAN-Japan Centre in different cities of Japan each year to provide an opportunity for ASEAN countries to display their cultures and promote our tourist attractions to the Japanese.
Vanda Village was one of the handicraft demonstrators selected by Singapore Tourism Board representing Singapore (among other ASEAN countries) to this fair for a cultural exchange in order to promote the understanding of ASEAN culture, tradition and lifestyle. We were there from July 31 till August 9, where we were stationed at Keikyu Department Store (Kamioka, Kanagawa) from 1000hours to 1900hours daily.
The Japanese were very impressed on our products and
craftsmanship. We were also approached by the Indonesian Embassy in Japan to conduct courses for their Women Association. This is really an added value to us and it’s again proven that our products are welcome in anywhere of the world.
This is also a great adventure for us, helped in no small way by the warmth and graciousness of the Japanese people and the chance to make friends with all the delegates from the ASEAN countries. Throughout these ten days, we really understand quite a far bit of the culture and lifestyle of the various ASEAN countries even though most of them did not understand and speak English well. We were given one extra free day from the organizer after the event for us to go around visiting some major cities like Yokohama, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc in their Japan Railway and Subway. We also visited the famous Sensoji Temple located at
Asakusa, Tokyo.
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The Singapore Team |
Helen, The Interpreter of STB,
Constance Lee, The Team Leader of STB
and Our Demonstrators |
Kim Hua demostrating the making of our flowers |
Bee Bee and Kim Hua |
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