In September, we invited the Berliners to NION Week to celebrate diverse music & art, sake & food, workshop & crafts inspired by Japanese culture. It started with the NION Week Festival at Holzmarkt Project.
September 1st was a warm late summer’s day that needed to be spent outside, so I decided to visit NION Week Festival with some company in the afternoon. The location at Holzmarkt has a cool and hipster-esque flair and invites you to linger by the river bank, drinking a beer and having a snack – NION Week Festival blended in nicely with the other surrounding bars and food stalls, creating an environment that felt very natural.
A DJ filled the air with some tunes from Japan as we strolled by the food stalls and art booths, taking a closer look at different handcrafted products. As is typical for Berlin, the food attracted not only us, but apparently also everyone else. By the time we got there, some specialties were already sold out! We still got to try Okonomiyaki (a savory Japanese pancake, cabbage-based.) that was offered as a vegetarian version as well as the traditional meat-option. While Japan isn’t usually known for its variety of vegetarian food options, NION managed to unite contemporary Japanese food culture with Berlin’s “green vegan spirit” in the best possible manner, without losing authenticity.
It was a great way to spend an afternoon, find inspiration through art, food, talks or even a glass of whiskey or sake – whatever rocks your boat. I hope to see more of this and am looking forward to similar events in the future!
Shoko Spoon, serving dry dam dam noodles.
Spirits, sold by Ginza Berlin
Live Calligraphy, performed by Juju Kurihara
Samurai Spoon offered their delicious Okonomiyaki.
Boomki‘s impressive Bonsai performance.
Presentation and talk with NION’s founder Ryo and the great NION community.
All pictures taken by community member Philipp Goeser. Thank you <3
