It has certainly been a busy past few weeks for the Kansai Consular Corps and our colleagues in local government throughout the region. Indeed, the various prefectures of Kansai were a flurry of activity for the entire months of May and June as KCC Consulates and Honorary Consulates hosted several large-scale festivals and celebrations of national holidays, all of which contribute greatly to the vitality and richness of the cultural offerings for the people of Kansai.
How much , you may wonder? One noteworthy example is the annual Thai Culture Festival in Osaka, organized by the Royal Thai Consulate. It is reported that over 180,000 local Japanese residents participated in this recent two-day event. Featuring sports, dance, music performances, as well as booths showcasing Thai regional cuisine, this event has achieved much to promote exchange between Thailand and Kansai. Another example of meaningful person-to-person cultural exchange is the recent International Yoga Day event held in Kyoto with the support of the Consulate General of India Osaka-Kobe, in which a crowd of more than 1,300 people assembled to practice yoga underneath the sunshine and a beautiful torii gate before Heian Shrine.
It isn’t possible to present all of the recent activities, but here are some highlights below. Daily updates from the Kansai Consular Corps appear on the KCC Twitter Account. Our handle is: @kansaiconsuls
Indonesian Jewelry Exhibition (Consulate General of Indonesia)
(Details at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website:https://goo.gl/A9fH7o ) 
Thai Festival 2017 at Osaka Castle (Royal Thai Consulate General)
(Link to the Consulate with more details: http://www.thaiconsulate.jp/en/topics_detail2/id=370)
International Yoga Day (Consulate General of India)
(For more details, please see https://www.yogadaykansai.com/ and future activities at https://indconosaka.org/event.php?id=77)
National Holiday Reception (Consulate General of Russia)
Philippines National Holiday Reception (Consulate General of Philippines)
150th Anniversary Celebration of Canada (Honorary Consulate General of Canada)
Independence Day Celebration of USA (Consulate General of the US in Osaka-Kobe)
(Official photos at the Consulate’s facebook page:https://goo.gl/7h7Ugd)
