Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007

Publisher plans lifestyle festival at Expo Park

City Life New, a northern Kansai-based publication company that has been providing free local information in the area, is organizing Lohas Festa, to be held Sept. 30 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at open spaces in Expo Park in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture.

"Lohas" stands for lifestyles of health and sustainability and represents goods and services focused on health, environment, and sustainable living. At this event, around 150 shop booths will sell handmade goods, antiques, fabrics, and gardening goods. There will also be some 40 restaurant and cafe booths. Bagles, soups, cakes and many other varieties of food and drink can be enjoyed.

The festival will be held at the Ue no Hiroba (Upper Space) and the Shita no Hiroba (Lower Space). Both are located east of the Taiyo no Tou (Tower of the Sun) in the park. In the case of heavy rain, the event will be postponed to Oct. 8.

Admission to this event is free of charge, but ¥250 is required to enter Expo Park, which is a five-minute walk from Banpaku Kinen Koen Station on the Osaka Monorail Line.

For more information, contact the organizer at (06) 6338-0640, or visit its Web site at www.citylife-new.com/lohas/lohas.html (in Japanese).

Kyoto museum offers deal to foreign students

The Kyoto National Museum is inviting foreign students studying in Japan to visit the museum on Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission will be free on this day to the Collections Hall, which introduces pre- and early modern Japanese and other Asian art and cultural properties. Students can also enjoy a sencha tea at a tea house in the museum and receive a complementary ticket for this autumn's special exhibition "Kano Eitoku" from Oct. 16 to 28. Only one ticket per person allowed.

The museum is a 7-minute walk east of Shichijo Station on the Keihan railway line. Present your student ID card at the entrance.

For more information, contact the museum at (075) 531-7504, or visit its English-language Web site at www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/index_top.html

39th Grand Antique Fair to be held in Pulse Plaza

The 39th Grand Antique Fair will be held in Kyoto from Oct. 5 to Oct. 7 at Kyoto Sogo Mihon Ichi Kaikan, also known as Pulse Plaza, in Fushimi Ward.

About 350 antique shops will exhibit more than 1.5 million items, including folding screens, hanging scrolls, tea ceremony utensils, "ukiyo-e" paintings, ceramic wares, antique kimono, and even Western-style antiques.

The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. To get to the venue, take the Kintetsu railway or subway lines from Kyoto Station to Takeda Station. A free shuttle bus service is available from Exit 4 at Takeda Station.

For more information, contact the organizer at (077) 522-2307, or visit its English-language Web site at www.gomoku-do.com/000english/index.htm

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