It is Liguria that represents our country at the ninth edition of “Italia, Amore mio!”, the largest Italian festival in Japan, underway at the Tokyo Fair; an opportunity to enhance cultural, food and wine and tourism excellence to the Japanese public. The Region’s promotional work started this afternoon in Tokyo (late morning in Italy) with a seminar focused on the tourist value of Liguria, in which more than fifty people took part, including Japanese tour operators, travel agencies, journalists and influencers. The participants, after the presentation of the tourist destination and a journey through the tastes and aromas of Ligurian cuisine, were able to enjoy an exclusive preview of the Liguria area set up for the occasion in the Roppongi Hills Arena.
“From tomorrow, 25 May, the area will be open to the general public who will take part in the event – explains the Liguria Region -. Here there will be various moments of show cooking, curated by the starred chef Ivano Ricchebono, which will feature pesto and walnut sauce. The flavors of Ligurian cuisine, together with oil and wine, will be the true protagonists of the event, as the only ‘official’ cuisine of the Festival. There will also be focaccia prepared by the chef in collaboration with the chef of Focaccia di Recco 500, Kenichi Nakama, who trained in Liguria before opening his restaurant in the East in 2023. Furthermore, Ivano Ricchebono also coordinates the area The Dream Dining, a sort of lounge upon reservation in which authorities, ambassadors and representatives of local authorities will be able to enjoy an entirely Ligurian menu, including pesto, trofie and pandolce”.
“Italy My Love!” it takes place with the support of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan and in its previous editions it recorded an attendance of around 50,000 visitors in two days. “The participation of the Region in the festival, the only Italian present – adds the note from the Ligurian regional body – is part of a series of actions designed as tools to strengthen the image of Liguria on the tourism and business market of the Far East and thus develop coordinated actions within the Road to Japan project, which will culminate in participation in theOsaka Expo in 2025. Liguria’s mission in Japan, not surprisingly, began on May 23rd in Osaka, with a first meeting with the Italian consul general in the city Marco Prencipe, which was followed by some 2025-themed meetings.”
Comments the regional councilor for Tourism, Augusto Sartori: “An increasingly international Liguria continues to work towards new and exciting goals in the tourism sector with important benefits for the economy and employment. I thank the consul for the precious time he dedicated to us and the director of international relations of the Expo, Minoru Fujitsuka, who explained to us the great opportunities that the great 2025 event will offer to our region and prepared for the expectations of the public which will be composed mainly of citizens Japanese, Korean and Chinese”.
