The Jamaica Anime Society recently held a traditional Japanese festival, the Sakura Garden Matsuri.

There was a multitude of games, merchants and, of course, food—a range of Japanese snacks and traditional festival foods, such as onigiri and taiyaki, sold at the Zenbu booth. The two other booths had different sweets: one held gluten- and flour-free cookies, and another featured a cake, mini cake, and cookies by Sugarbowlja.

Further on the day, Heecha set up their booth for their one-day $1000 per drink promotion.

Other than food, there was a range of games to take part in. The video game section was set up along with traditional festival games like goldfish scooping, with a twist—scoop balls for a prize.

Artists’ booths were set up for people to show their works, which ranged from clothes to drawings and paintings. A different form of art was on display—the various people who came in cosplay for the cosplay contest.

Getting anime merchandise is something to be expected at events like these. A prominent booth was by the Anime Merchant. You will be able to get figurines, anime memorabilia and manga.

A Jet Programme booth was set up by the Japanese Embassy. The Jet programme sends Jamaicans to Japan to teach English. The booth was run by people who had been in the programme already, and they encouraged patrons to sign up and explore Japanese culture.

Look out for future events similar to this by the Jamaica Anime Society, which can be found at Jaocity on Instagram.