Japan Festival to open at Hills Park Thursday

      The third Japan Festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Hills Park in Summerlin with a special Taiko drum and Geisha performance.
      The Japan Festival, a yearly celebration of Japanese culture, was voted as one of the top 100 tourist events in North America by national tour organizers and the top tourist attraction in Canada and the United States for the month of November.
      The celebration of Japanese culture runs through Sunday at various locations including the Hills Park, Fremont Street Experience, Green Valley Town Center, Fashion Show Mall and the Lady Luck Hotel.
      The Kaminari Taiko Drum Team from Las Vegas, the Super Allegro Taiko Team from Japan and the Nagano Kamiyamada Onsen Geisha group will kick off the festival.
      "First of all it is very noisy," said George Peck, a board member of the Japan American Citizen's League and the drum group's business manager. "To me it's one of the most interesting parts of the festival and the culture. It's very exciting to watch and it's something I never get tired of."
      Taiko, meaning "big drum," is a relatively modern art of Japanese drum performances. Taiko was first used as a form of communication in ancient Japan and as battlefield instruments to intimidate and frighten the enemy. Japanese culture has always used the Taiko drum as a large part of its cultural heritage.
      "The Taiko drum has a storied history in Japan and is a major ingredient in many Japanese cultural events," said Bob Jitchaku, chairman of the Japan-American Society of Nevada, the group responsible for bringing the festival to Las Vegas each year. "Taiko drums are an important part of Japanese history and they are always a popular draw at the festival."
      The Taiko drum display marks a branching out of the festival to areas outside the city center of Las Vegas. The Taiko drum groups, which have performed at the previous two Japan Festivals, have been crowd favorites.
      "People who have never had any interaction with Japanese culture love these Taiko drum performances," Jitchaku said. "All ages love it and they really enjoy the music and the theatrics the drum groups bring to the festival."
      The group did branch out and have some performances in outlying areas last year in Green Valley and will also have a Taiko drum performance at 6 p.m. Friday at the Green Valley Town Center.
      The reason the festival has decided to move some events out of the tourist corridor and into Las Vegas neighborhoods is simple.
      "We obviously would love people to come to Las Vegas to take part in the festival and bring their tourism dollars here," Jitchaku said. "But we also want the Japanese culture and the festival to become an important event in communities here in Las Vegas. I think we are headed in that direction and it really has become something people in Las Vegas look forward to."
      Admission to all public events are free and genuine Japanese food and beverages will be available for purchase at each event.