Kansai Pride! – Osaka and Mie

Kansai Rainbow Pride!

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who was able to attend this year’s rainbow event!

The weather wasn’t the best but, on October 8th, we were still able to show our support and walk with pride in the rainbow parade. From info booths and food vendors, to stage performances and even a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony, the Rainbow Festa was educational, emotional and a whole lot of fun.
I hope that everyone who attended had just as much fun as I did! I heard that the event was even featured on Huffington Post Korea’s website! The article is written in Korean, but there are some great pictures of the booths and the parade. If you’d like to check it out, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.kr/minsoo-kim/story_b_18233096.html.

An extra special thank you to the people at TELL, who kindly offered to share their booth with us. Hope to see you again next year!

Mie Rainbow Festa

The first ever pride parade in Mie prefecture!

In conjunction with the popular Tsu festival, a small group got together and marched down the main street with rainbow flags held high and a vintage car float leading the way! It was the first time for and LGBT+ group to have such visibility in a local event, and the organiser hopes to have an even bigger group next year.

If you are interested in participating next year, you can contact the organisers via their Twitter @mieken_RF.

 

Articles from Oct-Nov Stonewall Kansai Newsletter 2017
Photo credit: Hannah Brown, Monique Tong, Shirin ET