It was a pleasure for us to send out the primary invitations to overseas groups for the 2020 festival. Seventeen groups from fifteen different countries, including 7 that would be “firsts” at WMDF. Our yearly decisions deadline is the third Saturday of December, but for the 13th edition of our festival we made a special plan to meet early, on December 13th. Even though it was a Friday…

Selection was harder than ever, and we extend our huge thanks to all the other groups that applied but could not be accommodated this time. One of the main themes of WMDF is “Long Now”. We really hope that in the future, we will have the chance to meet.

If you live in Japan and want to get involved, consider our open  International Guide recruit,, subscribe to our  staff mailing list, or check out the sponsorship opportunities. Season’s greetings to all and our best wishes for a landmark year.

We were part of the team from Hokkaido that took the Grand Prize in October’s four-day Tourism Expo. Kudos to the Hokkaido Tourism Company and to the Hokkaido Rail Company for coordinating such a huge effort, and for stepping up Hokkaido’s presence so much from last year. We took part in two days’ of promotional meetings with representatives of tour companies and interests from all over the world, and then publicised WMDF on the final two days. Thanks to all we spoke to there: hopefully many new collaborations were born.

WMDF is seeking out volunteer guides for next year’s festival. Be part of a multi-cultural experience like no other in Japan.

You need to be available for 12 days at the beginning of August. In return, we offer board and lodging, a great atmosphere, and a cool Hokkaido summer.

This is the first time for WMDF to open its guide call publicly outside Hakodate. We offer the chance to work with hugely varied artists from around the world, to practise your logistics and hospitality skills, and to escape the heat of mainland Japan in the cool Hokkaido summer.

Full details on this recruit page. Event experience is useful, but not assumed: we hope you will be one of the 30,000 people whose “worlds meet in Japan”.