"Kyoto Fan" Event -- Maiko Spring 2012 -- Set for April 28

KYOTO, Japan, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Facebook fan page "Kyoto Fan" (https://www.facebook.com/discoverkyoto) allows people around the world to talk about Kyoto across distance. It will hold a real event, "Kyoto Fan Event," on April 28, 2012 (Saturday) in Kyoto's Sanjo area. The event aims to create a space for people to go beyond exchanges on the Internet and learn more closely the traditions and life of Kyoto.

(Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201204243952/)

The forthcoming event, the second in a series, will invite "Geiko" (Geisha girl) and "Maiko" (apprentice Geiko) from Miyagawa-cho, Kyoto, to perform traditional Japanese dancing and singing, and also to talk about their lives in the hana-machi (traditional entertainment Tea House). Participants can also experience "ozashiki-asobi" or dinner games clients play with Geiko or Maiko.

- Kyoto Fan
Kyoto Fan started on Facebook on August 10, 2011, is an international community page (English version) on which non-Japanese can learn and know about the culture, traditions and life of Kyoto. As of April 2012, it has received more than 80,000 likes. It is one of the largest fan pages about Kyoto.

Kyoto Fan was started by Ricardo Alvarado, originally from Costa Rica. After marrying a Japanese woman, he moved to Kyoto in 2011 and now is an adviser at "Kyoto Design House," a store that sells Japanese gifts and crafts; popular among foreign visitors. Alvarado, with his "foreign eyes", visits temples, festivals and artisan studios to report about them as well as on the beauty of the seasons for the global audience.

- Kyoto Fan Event
The first Kyoto Fan Event was held in Tokyo in November 2011, attracting more than 1,000 non-Japanese. The organizers plan to hold this series of events regularly so people can know Kyoto more deeply and enjoy hands-on experience.

- Outline of Event
Date and hours:  April 28, 2012 (Sat.), 12:30-17:30
Stage performance:  Starting at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00
Place:  Niwaka Building, BF, 105 Fukunaga-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City
Admission:  Free
Hosted by:  Kyoto Fan
www.facebook.com/discoverkyoto
Sponsor:    Kyoto Design House
www.kyoto-dh.com

Contact:
Mari Watakabe or Kazuka Aoki
Section: "Kyoto Fan Event" PR Section
Company: NIWAKA Corporation
Tel:  +81-3-3796-0805
Cell: +81-80-5636-2005(Mari Watakabe)
+81-90-2067-6507(Kazuka Aoki)
Fax:  +81-3-3796-0806
E-mail: [email protected]
Address: 3-13-18 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan

SOURCE Kyoto Fan