We exhibited at MADE IN JAPAN IN MONACO, which was held at the Fairmont Monte Carlo, a hotel in the Principality of Monaco, from Friday, February 2nd to Sunday, February 4th!

On the first day, February 2nd, a preview event was held exclusively for invited guests starting at 5pm, and a ceremony including opening a sake barrel was held.

Check out the ceremony on their official Instagram

This is my third time exhibiting at an event within France (technically the Principality of Monaco), and I feel that there are many people in France who are friendly towards Japanese culture.

There were a lot of people in attendance!

Some of them had been to Kamakura before, and some were planning to visit next year. It seems that Kamakura is quite well-known even in the south of France!

Posters for this event can be seen all over the city.

In fact, Kamakura is a sister city of Monaco's neighbor, Nice, and at the invitation of the mayor of Kamakura, Mr. Moretti, a city official from Nice, visited Sansui-do's booth.

As always, chopsticks are very popular at events in France and almost always sell out!

＜Click here for Sansui-do chopsticks, which are also popular in France!＞

By the way, Monaco has long been famous for the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

As many of you may know, the venue, the Fairmont Monte Carlo, is located right in front of the famous hairpin curve that is part of the Monaco Grand Prix course.

It used to be called the Station Hairpin or the Rose Hairpin, but is now called the Fairmont Hairpin.

The night view is also beautiful ♪

After the event, some of Sansui-do's products will be sold at "SAKURA," an antenna shop for Japanese products located near the Prince's Palace of Monaco.

There are a variety of shops in the area, creating a quaint, old-fashioned townscape.

The whole town is like a theme park.

There are many tourist attractions in the area, and you can go on walking trails overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Monaco Oceanographic Museum

Fort Antoine, etc.

And of course the Prince's Palace of Monaco.

Finally,

The former Princess Grace of Monaco, who was also famous as an actress, was also known as a lover of Japanese culture, and was particularly fond of flower arranging.

During his lifetime, he had expressed a desire to build a Japanese garden in Monaco, but after his death in a tragic accident, his predecessor, Prince Rainier III, built the Monaco Japanese Garden in 1994.

The garden also features an authentic tea house.

This tea room is named "Gayaen," which means "elegant" and is a reference to Princess Grace herself.

＜Click here to see Kamakura-bori tea ceremony utensils＞

This trip allowed me to feel many different connections, such as the friendly relationship between Nice and Kamakura, and the deep ties between Monaco and Japanese culture.

The scenery of southern France overlooking the sea had a very similar atmosphere to that of Kamakura.