A little piece of Japan in Rio’s mountainous region! Bunka-Sai, a festival dedicated to Japanese culture, is coming to the Palácio de Cristal in Petrópolis this weekend, with traditional dances, typical food, exhibitions and much more! The best part: free admission! Find out more about the event!
Event in historic palace opens with choir performance and sake ritual!
The official opening of the Bunka-Sai festival takes place on the evening of Thursday, August 14. Starting at 6.45pm, the choir from the Sun, Sound and Movement Project of the Caminho da Roça Institute will perform Japanese songs.
At 7pm, there will also be an official ceremony with the authorities. During this ceremony, the Brazilian and Japanese anthems will be played, as well as folkloric dance performances and Kagami Biraki, a sake drinking ritual!
Gastronomy, exhibitions and more: what’s on at Bunka-Sai
The program continues steadily over the next few days, with lots of interesting activities to do between Friday and Sunday!
Throughout the event, there will be workshops on manga, drones, Japanese language, games and much more!
In addition, in the gastronomy section, the public will have the chance to enjoy different traditional dishes, such as the tea ceremony, mochi matcha and strawberry tasting and various other oriental delicacies.
It’s also worth highlighting the performances that take place during Bunka-Sai, such as Japanese dances, taiko, pipa and even the dragon dance!
The festival will also include geek culture! There will be a cosplay contest, a chat with voice actor Paulo Matosu and a concert by the band Yukidama, with a repertoire full of songs and themes that have marked generations of anime fans!
And it’s not over! During Bunka-Sai, the public will be able to check out the origami and manga exhibitions! This year’s edition is not to be missed!
Bunka-Sai 2025 | Japanese culture festival
📌 Crystal Palace – Petrópolis
📅14 to 17/08 | Thursday, 5pm to 11pm | Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 11pm
💵Free admission