The first-ever Craft Valley Fair will take place in San Francisco’s Japantown in 2022 over the first two weekends of October.This event, meant to promote and connect the region in Japan known as “Craft Valley” with Northern California’s very own “Silicon Valley,” was successful and brought in over 4,000 visitors during those two consecutive weekends.
Craft Valley in Japan is made up of 5 cities in 3 prefectures: Komatsu in Ishikawa Prefecture, Hida in Gifu Prefecture, and Takaoka, Himi, and Nanto in Toyama Prefecture. Similar to how Silicon Valley is known for its regional excellence when it comes to technology, Craft Valley is also renowned for its regional excellence in the crafts and traditional Japanese arts.
In this article, I’ll be sharing my personal experience at the Craft Valley Fair. I’ll also highlight some key products and experiences I had while I was there.
The space that Craft Valley Fair was presented in was small, but it contained a warm and friendly atmosphere. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Hiro Masumoto, president and CEO of B-Bridge International, Inc. Hiro told me the purpose of Craft Valley Fair was to promote Craft Valley to American visitors who may want to visit the region in the future after Japan’s borders open. The event was also sponsored by the five mayors of Craft Valley, so the event was significant in that it brought “Craft Valley” and its sister region “Silicon Valley” closer together.
Numerous other products were on display at the event, and I wanted to quickly give a shout-out to other businesses at the event who were kind enough to share their products with me and other visitors. These included: custom han obi by Sitateyasan in Himi; matsui silk scarves from Nanto; pet hair combs from Kenshin Industrial, Co., Ltd. in Himi; custom acrylic tansu from Yes, Inc., in Takaoka; sake bottles from Watanabe Sake Brewing Co., Ltd., in Hida, and many more.
The event overall was a great success, and I’m sure others enjoyed the event as much, or more, than I did. For more information, please visit the Japantenna site, where they have more information about the event and its logistics.
Thank you to Hiro Masumoto, the businesses at Craft Valley Fair, the event sponsors, and all the volunteers for giving me this chance to experience a taste of Craft Valley. I feel grateful for the experience, and I look forward to more opportunities to dive into Japan’s deep culture around craftsmanship and the arts in the future.
