New Zealand Paradise Week 2007, Roppongi Hills

The 17th and 18th of October saw the biggest New Zealand themed festival ever to be held in Japan at the Roppongi Hills Arena. It was part of 'New Paradise Week 2007' which also features events until Friday this week at the New Zealand Travel Cafe in Roppongi.

While the shipped in plants, the fiberglass waterfall, the surrounding skyscrapers and the throngs of people weren't exactly evocative of New Zealand, the music, food and the general vibe definitely was.





There were a few NZ beers on sale but not a huge range. I really don't know why they would want to push Tui into Japan. I heard one Japanese patron remark 'mazui!' (disgusting) after sampling some Tui - it's got way too much malt in it for the average Japanese palate. They also had a couple of varieties of Monteiths - a far superior beer and probably much more palatable to the average Japanese.



This was actually only the first 1/3 of the queue. If they do this again (I heard a rumour it may be bi-annual) the organisers should look for a bigger arena.





This was my first time to see Rhombus playing live. I really liked the deep base dub rhythms. Also, their enthusiasm was completely infectious. Just what you need on a really cold day in November.