culture festival
Combines modern technology and old-school carpentry in a way that puts ordinary science fair projects to shame.
For many of our readers, the “culture festivals” held at high schools and colleges will already be familiar thanks to their prevalence in anime and TV dramas produced in Japan. Even if you’ve never been to Japan yourself, you probably already know that the classes turn their rooms into fun little shops, offering food and entertainment for their families, friends, alumni fellow students and teachers.
While most of them aren’t particularly elaborate, every now and then, a class with will show up with a project that goes above and beyond. This year, one of those projects exploded online, capturing the attention of thousands of Twitter users. The idea? The students made their own “tea cup” ride! It’s just like what you’d see at Disneyland, but entirely mechanical and way, way more awesome!
From preschool all the way to university, Japan has a very proud tradition of schools festivals. Every year, the students and teachers work together to transform their school into an array of art, entertainment and food their goal to make the school as fun as possible for everyone who attends. High schools and colleges especially go the extra mile to show that their school is number one by having various cafes, haunted houses, cosplay photography, and performances.
But there’s an event idea that has gone viral because of the amazing efforts of one high school: a manually operated tea cup ride.
The first weekend in November, Japan’s largest prison facility, Fuchu Prison, will be holding its annual culture festival! Everyone’s invited to visit the grounds and experience all the fun, food, and friendly atmosphere – things that are not often attributed to prison life. It’s just like the cultural festivals run by high school students, but imagine that the students are all convicts dressed in grey pajamas and locked up in their classrooms. Flyers for the event list educational exhibitions, musical guests, and even a “prison adventure” bus tour behind the heavily guarded walls!
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