Bon Odori Makes Debut In Sunway City 

PETALING JAYA, July 12 (Bernama) -- The Bon Odori Festival has made its debut at Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, featuring cultural performances, traditional dances, and more than 100 stalls of featuring Japanese street food and snacks, charming trinkets, handmade crafts, and one-of-a-kind festival finds.

Held over two days starting today from 4 pm to 11 pm, the 49th edition of the festival is jointly organised by The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur and Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, and supported by Tourism Selangor, the Embassy of Japan, and The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur.

Sunway Malls chief executive officer (CEO) HC Chan said the festival’s arrival in Sunway reflected a deepening of bilateral ties and community building.

“Today marks an important milestone in the history of cultural exchange between Malaysia and Japan. It is with great honour and privilege that the 49th Bon Odori Festival is being held for the first time in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, one of Malaysia’s top tourist destinations with an annual visitorship of over 42 million people,” he told a press conference here today.

Also present at the event were Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general Lee Thai Hung, Selangor Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim, Tourism Selangor CEO Chua Yee Ling, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Shikata Noriyuki, The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur president Dai Hoshiai, and The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur chairman Toru Nakabayashi.

Chan said the support of the Selangor state government and Tourism Selangor had been crucial in making the festival a success, and added that Sunway’s commitment to cultural diplomacy was also reflected in its extensive collaborations with Japanese institutions in business, education, and innovation.

“Sunway University has established active collaborative partnerships with more than 20 Japanese universities, with eight more in the pipeline, focusing on research collaboration, technological innovation and student exchange programmes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ng said the celebration of Bon Odori was in line with the spirit of unity and multiculturalism promoted under Visit Selangor Year 2025.

“As Visit Selangor Year 2025 continues to gain strong momentum into its second half, we are proud to welcome more multicultural celebrations across the state, a true reflection of Selangor as a model of unity, and harmony, in line with the Kita Selangor spirit,” he said.

He added that Japan remained one of Selangor’s key international tourist markets, with Japanese tourist arrivals climbing from 110,018 in 2023 to 132,526 in 2024, marking a remarkable 20.5 per cent increase.

“We are confident that with the continued strengthening of bilateral ties between Selangor and Japan, this upward trend will persist in the years to come,” he added.

Bon Odori is a traditional Japanese festival that is celebrated with dances and a lively performance of drums to welcome the homecoming of ancestral spirits. 

Since its inception in 1977, Bon Odori has attracted a diverse crowd, supports the local economy, boosts tourism and solidifies Malaysia’s position as a leading cultural and lifestyle destination in the regional tourism landscape. 

-- BERNAMA