Friday, April 3, 2026
- 1 A collaborative event held on a spring evening, attended by 44 people.
- 2 Event Overview
- 3 Greetings from Representative Naoki Kishi
- 4 Greetings from Akamatsu John Masateru
- 5 Mealtime – Cheers with bento boxes from Himawari Restaurant!
- 6 Mini-games – Beginners and advanced players alike, everyone cheers loudly!
- 7 Enjoyable perks and a fun kendama (cup-and-ball game) lottery!
- 8 What Kendama teaches us
- 9 YouTube videos
- 10 Other photos
- 11 Related articles
A collaborative event held on a spring evening, attended by 44 people.
On the evening of March 31st (Tuesday), as spring was beginning to arrive, 44 smiling faces, from children to adults, gathered in the main hall of the Hokuryu Town Community Center.
The "Himawari Cup" is a collaboration between the Hokuryu Kendama Club and the Himawari Restaurant. Participation fee is 600 yen per person. Gather around a bento box handmade by Himawari and compete in mini kendama games in this special evening filled with the warmth of homemade food.
Event Overview
- Date and time:Tuesday, March 31, 2026, around 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Venue:Hokuryu Town Community Center Main Hall (2nd Floor)
- Participation fee:600 yen per person
- Number of participants:44 people
- Organizer:Hokuryu Kendama Club × Himawari Restaurant
Greetings from Representative Naoki Kishi
Naoki Kishi, representative of the Hokuryu Kendama Club, warmed up the audience with his opening remarks.
"Today is the 'Himawari Cup,' a collaborative event with the restaurant Himawari."
We have two mini-games today. The prizes are: 3rd place gets a drink or ice cream voucher, 2nd place gets a 500 yen discount voucher, and 1st place gets a voucher for one free dish of your choice!
Everyone, please do your best!
Greetings from Akamatsu John Masateru
Next, John Akamatsu addressed the audience.
"This event will have a large turnout of 44 people! Enjoy delicious food and fun games!"
Today, Icchan and Taiga-kun from Asahikawa are also here, so please feel free to ask them for advice.
This time, we'll be holding a "Kendama Lottery" for the first time! We have a variety of prizes including T-shirts, stickers, and kendamas. Please enjoy!
Mealtime – Cheers with bento boxes from Himawari Restaurant!
The event begins with a 30-minute "mealtime." The menu for the day is a choice of one of three options: hamburger steak, fried chicken, or omelet rice.
On the table, Himawari's bento box was filled to the brim with rice, and the freshly fried chicken and teriyaki chicken gleamed with a fragrant aroma.
The participants naturally engaged in lively conversation while sharing their lunches, and the shared meal helped to bridge the emotional distance between them.
A kendama (a traditional Japanese cup-and-ball game) was placed on the table, and even while eating, people couldn't help but play with it. The delicious food and the kendama created a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Mini-games – Beginners and advanced players alike, everyone cheers loudly!
The hour following mealtime was dedicated to kendama (cup-and-ball game) mini-games. The venue was filled with excitement thanks to the two games, which allowed everyone, from beginners to experts, to take center stage.
Game 1: Kendama Rock-Paper-Scissors
This simple yet hilarious game involves performing three kendama tricks (singling the ball on the large, medium, and small cups) like in rock-paper-scissors, and winning if you match the trick of the player on stage.
Whether they hit the target or miss, there are loud cheers of "Wow!" More than winning or losing, it's a precious moment where everyone present laughs and enjoys themselves.
Game 2: A game where you guess whether a move is possible or not.
This game involves players on stage demonstrating their skills, and the audience predicting whether they will succeed or fail. Every time the players' serious expressions intersected with the tension of the onlookers, the entire venue erupted in excitement.
Enjoyable perks and a fun kendama (cup-and-ball game) lottery!
The top three finishers in the mini-game received discount coupons for Himawari. Third place received a drink or ice cream service coupon, second place a 500 yen discount coupon, and first place a coupon for one free dish of any choice – these luxurious prizes drew envious murmurs from the audience.
The event concluded with the first-ever kendama lottery. A line formed in front of the lottery tickets, which offered prizes such as ASAHIDAMA T-shirts, THE PILL products, overseas brand kendamas, and stickers, and cheers erupted each time a ticket was drawn.
What Kendama teaches us
You can practice kendama alone, but it shines even brighter when you're with someone. Even if you fail, they'll laugh. And if you succeed, they'll share in your joy.
The activities of the Hokuryu Kendama Club convey that they value the connections between people who play kendama more than the kendama techniques themselves. Spreading smiles across generations and regions—that is the true charm of this club.
The "Himawari Cup" was created through the lovingly prepared bento boxes made by Himawari-san and the warm hospitality of the Hokuryu Kendama Club.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we wish the strong bonds of the large family that is Hokuryu Town even greater, and to the Hokuryu Kendama Club, where everyone enjoys themselves with smiles on their faces.
Everyone took a commemorative photo.
YouTube videos
Other photos
Related articles
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