Bento Plus April 2024
Itadakimasu
Nippon Events and Festivals April 2024
April is a lively month in Japan, filled with various events and festivals that celebrate the arrival of spring. Here are some notable Japanese events and festivals that typically take place in April
Throughout April
Cherry Blossom Festivals (Sakura Matsuri): April marks the peak of cherry blossom season in Japan. Many cities and parks across the country hold cherry blossom festivals, known as “Sakura Matsuri,” featuring hanami (flower viewing) parties, traditional performances, and food stalls.
April 14-15
Takayama Festival: The Takayama Festival, held in Takayama City in Gifu Prefecture, is one of Japan’s most famous spring festivals. It features ornate floats, traditional music, and performances showcasing local culture.
Throughout April
Honen Matsuri (Fertility Festival): This fertility festival is held in various locations across Japan, including Komaki City in Aichi Prefecture. It involves parades with a giant wooden phallus and rituals to pray for a good harvest and fertility.
April 17-18
Nikko Toshogu Shrine Grand Spring Festival: Taking place in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, this festival honors Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. It includes processions, traditional performances, and ceremonies at the Toshogu Shrine.
South African Events
Starts: 14:00 – Ends 20:00
Theme: Food & Gourmet Anime
App of the Month
Stardew Valley
“Stardew Valley” is a popular indie farming simulation game developed by ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). Players assume the role of a character who inherits a run-down farm in Stardew Valley and must restore it to its former glory. The game features various activities such as farming, fishing, mining, foraging, and socializing with townspeople.
One notable Easter egg in Stardew Valley is the character Linus, who resembles Totoro from Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro.” Linus lives in a tent and is passionate about nature, mirroring Totoro’s love for the forest.
Another Easter egg is the character Abigail, who loves playing video games and mentions a game called “Journey of the Prairie King,” a nod to classic arcade games. Additionally, players can find references to anime in the game’s dialogue and events, such as references to “Dragon Ball Z” and “Sailor Moon.”
Stardew Valley also includes seasonal festivals like the Flower Dance and Spirit’s Eve, adding a festive atmosphere to the game. Players can explore caves, encounter monsters, and discover secrets, adding depth to the gameplay.
With charming pixel art, relaxing gameplay, and engaging character interactions, Stardew Valley has captured the hearts of players worldwide, making it a beloved title in the indie gaming community.
What we liked
Engaging Gameplay: Stardew Valley offers a variety of activities such as farming, fishing, mining, and interacting with NPCs, providing hours of engaging gameplay.
Relaxing Atmosphere: The game’s calming music, charming pixel art, and rural setting create a relaxing and immersive atmosphere, perfect for unwinding.
Freedom of Choice: Players have the freedom to pursue different paths, whether it’s focusing on farming, exploring caves, completing quests, or building relationships with villagers.
Character Development: Interacting with NPCs and building relationships adds depth to the game, with characters having unique personalities, backstories, and events.
Seasons and Festivals: The changing seasons and seasonal festivals add variety and excitement to gameplay, offering new challenges and rewards.
Modding Support: Stardew Valley has a vibrant modding community, allowing players to customize their experience with mods that add new content, features, and visual enhancements.
What we didn't like
Repetitive Tasks: Some players may find certain tasks like watering crops or mining repetitive over time, especially in the early game.
Limited Multiplayer: While Stardew Valley supports multiplayer, it may have limitations in terms of connectivity and gameplay depth compared to dedicated multiplayer games.
Learning Curve: New players may find the game’s mechanics and systems overwhelming at first, requiring time to learn and understand.
Time Management: Balancing various activities and managing time effectively can be challenging, leading to potential frustration for some players.
Limited Endgame Content: Once players have established their farm and completed major objectives, the endgame content may feel somewhat limited, although ongoing updates and mods can alleviate this.
Performance Issues: On some platforms or with certain mods, players may encounter performance issues such as lag or crashes, impacting the overall experience.
Our overall impression
Stardew Valley is addictive, the perfect drug for fans of both datig simes and farming RPGs. Lovers of anime will get nosebleeds with all the anime easter eggs in the game .
Itadakimasu Eats
Strawberries
We bring you a generous helping of videos. The first video shows us how traditional strawberry farming works, followed by a video about modern strawberry farming. Lastly a yummy strawberry milk recipe with ASMR sounds and trust us this recipe is amazing, we tried it ourselves.
New AMV's
Takeshi and Ookami chose some rocking AMVs this month.
Takeshi’s first choice is scenes from the anime Fieren featuring the song Endless War by Within Temptation, followed the second video featuring scenes from Solo Leveling with the song Hard by NEFFEX. Ookami’s first choice has scenes from Berserk of Gluttony featuring the song War by Laito. His last choice video has scenes from Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy Season 2 featuring the song Hard by TYDEAL.
In this edition we are joined by Shiro from our WhatsApp group. He is choosing scenes from the anime Solo leveling and the song he chose is Burn It All Down by League of Legends feat. PVRIS).
Please do support the original music artists by looking them up on YouTube and other media ad give them your appreciation and support!
Takeshi's Tunes
Ookami's Tunes
Shiro's Tune
Birthday of the Month
Natsuki (Re:Zero)
Natsuki Subaru, the main protagonist of the Japanese light novel and anime series “Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.” celebrates his birthday on April 1st. Transported to a fantasy world, Subaru discovers he has the ability to return to a predetermined “save point” upon death. With no combat skills but a strong sense of justice and determination, he navigates a world filled with magic, danger, and political intrigue. Subaru’s character development revolves around his resilience, growth from failures, and emotional struggles, endearing him to fans as a relatable and complex hero who faces adversity head-on while striving to protect those he cares about. He shares his birth month with Usopp from One Piece, whose birthday is on the 7th
Anime Challenge April 2024
Ben-To
All About Japan
All About Japan shows you interesting journeys, interviews or just trivia that teach us more about the Land of The Rising Sun and it’s people. Enjoy the videos as we take a deeper dive into what makes Japan such a beloved country for many.
Japanese Commercials
Japanese commercials are out of this world sometimes, strange and fun. We share with you a highly entertaining Japanese commercial video and we hope you enjoy it!
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