As creative as they are traditional, Asakura people know how to preserve traditions while using their heritage in innovative ways. This explains why some places or events are unique to Asakura.
- Dontokagashi Harvest Festival Sculpture (Yasunosato Park)
For a few years, japanese and international artists started an amazing project for the Harvest season. Every year during autumn, they collaborate to make a huge sculpture using straw. For 2020, they choose to make a Gorilla. Night time, people can see the red eyes of the monster lighting. The artists made their choice to show that humanity should be strong and brave during the corona pandemy. For the previous editions, they made the Yamato spaceship, Godzilla, a dragon and an airplane.
- The 97 fighter or Nakajima Ki-27
Nakajima Ki-27 or the 97 fighter was the most important fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Air Force Army before the Second World War. It’s a monoplane designed by Nakajima Aircraft Company that won the competition against Mitsubishi and Kawasaki to replace the Kawasaki K-10 (95 Fighter). The 97 Fighter made its first flight on 15th October 1936. Today, this model is on display in Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Asakura, the museum itself used to be an airplane hangar. It’s the sole surviving of its type (3,368 97 fighters were manufactured). It was hoisted from Hakata Bay and restored in 1996. The one displayed in this museum is the only survived plane which still exists in Japan.
At the same Museum, you can see the Mitsubishi A6M3 Type 0 and the Lockheed T-33.
- Mushi-Zoni
In japan, Zoni is usually a soup. This is why Asakura’s Mushi-Zoni is special. It’s actually a combination of Chawan-Mushi (vegetables with steamed eggs) imported from Nagasaki and Fukuoka during the Edo period, and the Zoni soup. It became a special New year food because it combines the valuable food of that time (eggs) and the zoni soup. In Asakura, restaurants serve it in different ways and with different flavors like cheese.
