Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan’s Taiwan Lovers Association (Taiwan Ai Suru Kai) organized the 9th Taiwanese festival at the weekend to celebrate the friendship between Taiwan and Japan.

According to the organizers of the festival, nearly 20,000 visitors took part and were able to taste many regional products such as lychee from Taiwan while listening to the island’s traditional and nostalgic dances and songs.

The “Nine Heavens Folk Crafts” troupe from Taichung in the western center of Taiwan performed with songs, dances and traditional drums.

Taichung is the second-most populated city in Taiwan and is home to the Atayal aborigines who were present before the Chinese and Japanese arrived. A folk troupe revived the original culture of the island through dances supposed to ward off evil spirits.

According to the organizers who started the festival in 2014, the goal is to increase the number of lovers of Taiwan by discovering gastronomic products in a peaceful spirit.