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mid China’s rising political and economic influence and K-Pop’s “invasion” of Indonesia, many Jakartans remain infatuated with anything Japanese.

On Sunday, the grounds of the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta were full of Japanese culture enthusiasts attending the close of the Jak-Japan Matsuri 2012 festival after a week of activities.

Women in yukata (summer kimonos) walked elegantly, taking small steps with round-shaped fans in their hands. Men wearing hanten, Japanese festival wear, walked proudly with their headbands. Some youngsters were imitating famous Japanese fictional characters such as Chii from the manga comic Chobits, Rukia from the manga comic Bleach and some characters of the anime TV series Saint Seiya. The sound of taiko (a Japanese drum), mixed with the shouts of food vendors offering takoyaki (octopus doughball), onigiri (riceball), ocha (Japanese tea) and shaved ice.

Jakartans, pretending to be Japanese for a day, have been treated to the festival’s attractions and performances since Sept. 23, the day the event began.

According to an official from the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia, Yusuke Shindo, the annual festival, now in its fourth year, was aimed at strengthening the 50-year-old relationship between the countries.

“The point of this festival is kisuna, which means the bond of friendship,” Shindo said while pointing at some hiragana writing on this year’s event logo. Jakarta and Tokyo were recently engaged in a spat over trade policies, souring relations between the two countries.

Shindo said the festival, which welcomed almost 30,000 visitors a year, was aimed at building friendship at a citizen level through artist collaborations, by bringing together Japanese culture enthusiasts from both countries to present various performances.

He said he saw the growing enthusiasm of visitors each year, an enthusiasm that was clearly shown in the faces of this year’s visitors as they bore the heat of the sun to flock to the festival’s stages, or as they wandered around the booths to see what food they could eat and what Japanese ornaments they could buy.

Evi Sylviani, a Bekasi resident, arrived at the festival at 11 a.m. and planned to stay until 9 p.m. to savor every last minute of it.

“I attended the three previous festivals,” said the 38-year-old woman in a dark blue yukata. “I love Japanese culture. I’ve even learned how to conduct a Japanese tea ceremony,” she added while watching people carry omikoshi (a divine palanquin), her favorite performance.

Omikoshi are usually carried by people during festivals in Japan. Sunday’s festivities saw two omikoshi being carried around Monas.

Other performances included Japanese traditional dances, a yukata fashion show and a meet
and greet event with Hello Kitty character.

Shindo said the main attraction for this year’s festival were Bon Odori and the performance of local girl band JKT48.