Youngsters flock to Japanese mid-autumn festival in Hanoi

The Tsukimi (literally, moon-viewing) Festival takes place on the 15th day of the eight month of the traditional Japanese calendar. It aims to honour the autumn moon and celebrate the harvest before preparing for the new crop.

Visitors to this year’s event in Vietnam had the chance to explore Japanese culture through music, cosplay, dances, games, and cuisine.

Savico Megamall filled with colorful Japanese lanterns creating an autumn atmosphere.

Yosakoi dance is an indispensable part of any Japanese festival. This is one of Japan’s traditional dances, also called the ‘Dance of smiles’.

Yosakoi dance from Hanoi yosakoi teams including Hanoi sennen yosakoi, Thang Long yosakoi, FPT Junior, and Ulis yosakoi.

Energetic students in traditional Japanese costumes.

A combination of tradition and modern.

Learning yosakoi.

The highlight of the festival was a cosplay performance. Young people who love Japanese anime, manga, and video games wore costumes and fashion accessories to represent their favourite characters.

Elaborate cosplay costumes makes participants look like they have stepped out of a comic book.

The festival also included stalls of discounted clothes, books, souvenirs, and toys.

Delicious Japanese dishes fill-up visitors including takoyaki, Tsukimi-dango, and Dorayaki – the favourite pancake of Japanese manga and anime character Doraemon.

Lots of Japanese folk games such as kyudo (archery), origami, kirigami, and kendama also attracted a large number of participants.