Kids Web Japan

A performance in Taiwan (Wakahaya Taiko)

In addition to its regular appearances at events and competitions around Japan, Wakahaya Taiko has also made several trips to perform overseas.

Its first appearance outside Japan was in April 1995 at a charity concert staged at the Carnegie Hall in New York. It was such a hit that the group was invited back to the Carnegie Hall again in April 1998.

In November 2003 they participated in a festival in Taipei, Taiwan 2003. The invitation came after the festival organizers saw their website. Ten boys, ranging from second grade to seventh grade (the first year of middle school), flew to Taiwan to play in front of the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Chungshan Park.

With various other attractions at the same venue, there were around 10,000 people present on the day, and the boys' drumming went down extremely well.

"Taiwan was a lot of fun. We're playing all the time, so the performance didn't make us nervous," declares second grader Shinozaki Tatsuki. It was an experience that the boys will remember for the rest of their lives.