Tokyo Fiesta goes off with a bang

Sydney residents were able to picture themselves in Tokyo with a three-dimensional tourism display held in Martin Place on November 2. The Tokyo Fiesta, staged to promote the city to potential tourists, featured displays and demonstrations including traditional craft, calligraphy, origami, the original "Soran" dance and three-dimensional theatre projections of Tokyo's hot spots. In 2006, Australian visitors to Tokyo numbered approximately 100,000 whereas the number of visitors between January and August of this year alone is close to 80,000 - a 27 per cent increase from the same period last year. The Tokyo government hopes to establish a tourism representative in Sydney next year.