{"id":409500,"date":"2026-08-18T05:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409500\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T05:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:08:54","slug":"oita-japan-festival-returns-to-the-long-center-for-a-passport-free-sister-city-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409500\/","title":{"rendered":"Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center for a passport-free sister city celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

No passport required! The Oita Japan Festival <\/a>returns to the Long Center on Aug. 30, bringing a full day of Japanese music, dance, fashion, martial arts, family activities and more to Austin while celebrating a sister-city relationship more than three decades in the making.<\/p>\n

Juliann Krute , a representative from the Austin-Oita Sister City Committee, and Ritsuko Kataoka, and Kimono expert, joined We Are Austin’s Trevor Scott with a preview of the festival, including a live kimono demonstration and a look at the performances and cultural experiences planned throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\"{p}Juliann<\/p>\n

Juliann Krute , a representative from the Austin-Oita Sister City Committee, and Ritsuko Kataoka, and Kimono expert, joined We Are Austin’s Trevor Scott with a preview of the festival, including a live kimono demonstration and a look at the performances and cultural experiences planned throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Celebrating Austin’s Connection to Japan<\/p>\n

Austin currently has 14 sister cities around the world, relationships designed to create meaningful connections between people and cultures.<\/p>\n

Austin’s relationship with Oita, Japan, has lasted 36 years and includes programs and exchanges throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cSister cities in general were created so that we can get to know people from other countries on a person-to-person level,\u201d Juliann said.<\/p>\n

The annual Japan Festival brings that relationship home, giving Central Texans an opportunity to experience Japanese culture without leaving Austin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a year, we like to have this big festival so everyone can celebrate not only our relationship, but also the culture of Japan,\u201d Juliann said.<\/p>\n

\"Oita<\/p>\n

Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center for a passport-free sister city celebration<\/p>\n

The Long Center Transforms for a Day<\/p>\n

The festival will utilize spaces throughout the Long Center, with multiple performances, demonstrations, presentations and activities happening throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Music will include Austin-based Japanese American performers Maru Haru and Sho Humphries, along with Japanese idol performances from A-Wake, Love Notes Chorus, and Princess Shae.<\/p>\n

Guests can also experience traditional dance, Okinawan dance and kimono dressing.<\/p>\n

Martial arts will have a major presence, too, with demonstrations including kendo, judo, and karate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re so blessed to have so many Japanese organizations within the city of Austin that we can draw in every year,\u201d Juliann said.<\/p>\n

\"Oita<\/p>\n

Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center for a passport-free sister city celebration<\/p>\n

Learn, Play and Experience Japan<\/p>\n

The festival goes beyond performances with presentations covering topics ranging from travel and doing business in Japan to raising koi at home.<\/p>\n

Families can also visit Experience Japan, an area filled with Japanese arts, crafts, games and other hands-on activities for children.<\/p>\n

Organizers hope visitors leave with more than just a fun day out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that you can walk away having had a little bit of Japan touch your heart and maybe touch Austin and bring that connection to life in a way that everyone can feel,\u201d Juliann said.<\/p>\n

\"Oita<\/p>\n

Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center for a passport-free sister city celebration<\/p>\n

A Closer Look at Kimono<\/p>\n

Ritsuko Kataoka gave We Are Austin a demonstration of how an obi, the long sash worn with a kimono, is tied.<\/p>\n

While the process can look intimidating to someone who didn’t grow up wearing the traditional garment, the demonstration showed how quickly an elaborate bow can come together with practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is still part of everyday Japanese culture today,\u201d Juliann said. \u201cYou will walk around the major cities in Japan and see people in kimono every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"{p}Juliann<\/p>\n

Juliann Krute , a representative from the Austin-Oita Sister City Committee, and Ritsuko Kataoka, and Kimono expert, joined We Are Austin’s Trevor Scott with a preview of the festival, including a live kimono demonstration and a look at the performances and cultural experiences planned throughout the day.<\/p>\n

The Japan Festival <\/a>takes place Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Long Center, with a full day of opportunities to eat, listen, learn and experience the culture and community connecting Austin with Japan.<\/p>\n

\"Oita<\/p>\n

Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center for a passport-free sister city celebration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No passport required! The Oita Japan Festival returns to the Long Center on Aug. 30, bringing a full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-409500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}