Taiwan Plus culture market opens in Osaka for the 1st time in 6 years

Osaka, Aug. 9 (CNA) The sixth Taiwan Plus culture market officially opened for business in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday for the first time since its inception.

Organized by the Taiwan General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC), the latest edition of the cultural exchange market is an experience that will take place between two weekends from Aug. 9-10 and Aug. 16-17.

According to the GACC, it chose to hold the market in Osaka this year rather than in Tokyo as it had been in the first few years to partner up with the Ministry of Culture's "We TAIWAN" cultural program from Aug. 2 to 20.

An hour after letting visitors in at 3 p.m. inside the western Japanese city's Nakanoshima sandbank, the market attracted over 3,000 attendees.

Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Culture Sue Wang (王時思) personally visited the market on Saturday and praised it for providing a plethora of faces of Taiwan, such as films and literature, to engage with the Japanese population.

Over 100 Taiwanese brands banded together to participate as exhibitors in this year's Taiwan Plus market.

The 48 booths over the first weekend feature food stalls from companies such as Len Jen Bakery, Shang Shin Select and Wu Deng Jiang braised pork rice.

Several arts and crafts booths sold Taiwan's paper-cutting artworks, ceramics, while several Taiwanese artists also had shops set up to sell merchandise from their works.

But the most eye-catching establishment at the market was a booth erected by the Tourism Administration, which not only provides visitors with information on touring Taiwan, but also has interactive game activities, which give souvenirs to winning participants.

The most popular item at the market, which flew off the shelves, was none other than merchandise of the mascot of the "We TAIWAN" cultural program "a-We."

Souvenirs, including stuffed a-We toys and gashapons glassware, were extremely popular among visitors, while daily limited edition collectibles were observed to be sold out in less than an hour by individuals who lined up outside the market before it opened.

While the market features 48 booths this weekend, there will be 60 booths next weekend, according to GACC Deputy Secretary-General Huang Jing-hui (黃竫惠).