WEC Articles

  The first show Bowen Park was chosen in January 1876 as the site for the first ever Royal Queensland Show. The park covered 6.8 hectares bordered by Bowen Bridge Road, Gregory Terrace and a creek which ran through the middle of what is now the Main Arena. The Intercolonial Exhibition of 1876 was held from 22 to 26 August. A public holiday was declared and on opening day 17,000 people attended - a colossal success given that the total population of Brisbane at the time was only 22,000. Men attended in their suits and ladies in their finest garments. Food was served on long tables and the first showbag - a bag of coal - was free for all visitors. The origin of Ekka The first 'Royal' Show was held in 1921, when the Association was granted the prefix under warrant from His Majesty King George V. Since then, the shortened name 'Ekka' has replaced 'Exhibition' in the Queensland vernacular, indicating locals' affection for the show. Ekka has since been he...

  Deep into Japanese snow season, the northern city of Sapporo hosts the country’s largest winter festival Japan has long been considered a leading winter destination, thanks to its powdery slopes and heavy snowfall. From February 4-11, 2024, the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) turns the capital of Hokkaido into a frozen wonderland, attracting huge crowds. Visitors can wander the snowy streets and marvel at hundreds of snow and ice sculptures on display across the city. Now in its 71st year, the festival is a phenomenal way to experience winter in Japan and makes a great jumping-off point for those keen to explore the local alps.  Japanese snow season in the northern city of Sapporo. History By Japanese festival standards, the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri is relatively modern. The first iteration took place in 1950 when local students created six snow sculptures in Odori Park – a haven of greenery running 1.5km through the city’s centre. Snowball fights and a carnival were also p...

Sorry is the same as an apology

  Once known as Awa Province (Awa-no-kuni), Tokushima Prefecture is renowned as the venue for the Awa Odori (Awa Dance)*. It is also famous for its high-quality indigo dye called Awa Indigo** and the Awa Ningyo (Puppet) Joruri***, designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan. These are collectively referred to as the Three Great Awa Cultures. We spoke with the person in charge of promoting cultural tourism at the Tokushima Prefectural Government Office about tourism experiences centered on these special cultural aspects of the region. In Tokushima Prefecture, the Yoshino River, often referred to as the "raging river," stretches from east to west. During the typhoon season, this river frequently floods, causing extensive damage. Due to that factor, it was difficult to utilize the water of the Yoshino River as a resource, and rice cultivation was difficult in parts of the river basin. So instead, indigo plant's cultivation, which is a primary source for ...

  The Ichibata Electric Railway, known familiarly as the Bataden, connects Izumo City and Matsue City in Shimane Prefecture, taking passengers to local charms including a lake, hot springs, a temple, shrine and castle. Ichibata Yakushi in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture is a temple located at the center of Shimane Peninsula, which faces the Japan Sea. It has a history of more than 1,100 years and has attracted many devout worshippers since ancient times. In 1912, a railway operator was founded that transported worshippers to the temple. It is currently operated as Ichibata Electric Railway Co. and has its headquarters in Izumo City. Ichibata Electric Railway operates two lines: the Kita-Matsue Line, which connects Matsue City and Izumo City (33.9 km) between Matsue Shinjiko-onsen Station and Dentetsu Izumoshi Station, and the Taisha Line between Izumotaisha-mae Station and Kawato Station (8.3 km). The railway lines are both known as the “Bataden” by local people. According to Kato M...

  While consumers over the world are enjoying more gluten-free foods, a new product has been released in Japan: “non-gluten” rice flour, which contains virtually no gluten. It is said that rice cultivation was transmitted to Japan from mainland China about 3,000 years ago. Later, rice farming spread to most parts of Japan around 2,000 years ago, and rice has been the staple food of the Japanese ever since. Rice flour, or powdered rice, has been used mainly as an ingredient in confectionery products for more than 1,000 years. The number of products using rice flour used to be limited. In the last ten years, however, rice flour has begun to be widely used as an ingredient in daily food products such as bread, cake and noodles. This is due to the development of flour milling machines that are capable of making rice flour with much tinier grains than before. Further, rice varieties that are appropriate for bread and noodles have been developed, which has resulted in the better flavor a...

 Once the haunt of middle-aged and older men, saunas in Japan have surged in popularity in recent years, with the younger generation and women driving the boom. 1. In Japan as elsewhere in the world, many people enjoy using the sauna, or Finnish-style steam bath. According to the Japan Sauna Spa Association, Japan is home to more than 10 million sauna enthusiasts. 2. Japan’s first sauna was created in 1957 in a public bathing facility in Ginza, Tokyo, but the sauna did not take off in Japan until the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. 3. As Wakabayashi Mikio, General Manager of the Secretariat of the Japan Sauna Spa Association explains, “Reports that the Finnish athletes had created a prefabricated sauna in the athletes village boosted public awareness of saunas. After that, sauna facilities grew more widespread, especially in urban areas of Japan.” 4. Initially, sauna users were mostly businessmen, who dropped off on their way home from work to unwind. Some businessmen who were so busy...