JVlog #14: Yokohama Street Performance Festival

Good Day Everyone,

On the weekend we finally got a break (for the most part) from the April showers, just in time for the annual Yokohama Street Performance Festival. This is a 2 day festival which showcases and celebrates the talents of a huge range of street artists and performers, ranging from mime artists, singers and belly dancers to acrobats, tight rope walkers and jugglers.

The festival involves not only Japanese performers but also artists from other countries. Whilst it is a free event, donations are collected at the end of each performance and we were only too happy to oblige given how fantastic all the performances were. 

The event takes place at various locations around Yokohama, including where we live in Minato Mirai 21. There were two designated special stages which showcased some of the more complex acts such as synchronized trampolining and tight rope walking. You can watch these and more in the video below :o).

As you would expect, the map/brochure detailing all the performances was in Japanese but using specific landmarks we were able to decipher exactly where the events were. Also the index border with photographs of all the different performers proved to be most useful in determining what their talent was...so even though we cannot read a word of Japanese...where there's a will there's a way ;o).

Luckily for us the two special stages were located near where we live and we prioritised watching the artists at those sites as the performances looked particularly exciting. On Saturday we watched an entertaining mime act who did impersonations of a Rocky fight as well as some Michael Jackson and super heroes inspired performances.

We then wandered across to the special stage located outside the Yokohama Museum of Art to watch a duo from Colombia do a number of performances whilst tight rope walking. These men did an amazing, and somewhat nerve wracking job given that it was very windy on Saturday. They didn't appear to be wearing any harnesses but there were a couple of men moving an inflated mattress along the length of the tight rope, just in case. We ended our little outing on Saturday by watching some belly dancing at one of the nearby malls.

On Sunday, we went to the second special stage but by the time we arrived all the best spots were taken (the joys of being vertically challenged;o)) plus it was starting to rain. So we headed into the nearby mall to pass the time until the next scheduled performance.

Whilst at the mall we found an area by the stairwell that proved to be a great viewing point for the special stage. We watched some truly fantastic performers who did the most amazing things with their bodies. I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of physical and mental strength, determination and focus those movements required.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our weekend and that the video gave you a little taste of the Yokohama Street Performance Festival. Now that the weather is starting to warm up I think there will be a lot more fun activities and events coming up.

What fun activities/events have you been to lately? I'd love to hear about your weekend :o).

Love Sheen xxx