And with that, it’s the end of another year. 2022 started with us emerging from lockdown with a limited schedule, and the next few months were spent slowly building back and reintroducing events while keeping a close eye on government rules and restrictions. Luckily by May, Japan appeared to have shucked off the last of its COVID restrictions and we exploded back onto the scene with some of our biggest events in years – the relaunch of The International Party, and two new events, GROOVEAR and UNDERGROUND.
2022 was also the year that we tried out some new events! Some have become regular fixtures on the schedule, such as Chatterbox, SWFCC International Futsal, Trivia Night @ The Rock and Short Treks. Other events we’ve given a shot include Back to Reality, Peruvian Grill and Mixtape Bingo. Will they return? Not sure yet (but I really like Mixtape Bingo).
We closed the year with a goodbye to two of our favourite venues, Eight & Mothra, which have been the stage for many of our events throughout the year. An excellent night with music from KEIGO, JENN and 1QUESTION, as well as Eight’s regular DJs ZOO-YAA, PHAT, KAZMO, MEE and DYMZ. The drinks kept flowing and the party went on until the early hours. I’d like to thank everyone who attended, and of course to Justin Kase Sound Crew, the staff from Eight and Mothra for helping me to put the event together, and to Dario for these awesome photos.
I’m really happy that despite the difficulties of the last few years, Small World has managed to continue to grow, innovate and provide exciting experiences that bring people living in Nagoya together and create long-lasting friendships. I’d like to think that we have created a community that is unique, and stronger than many others in cities across the country. Other cities may be bigger, they may have better tourist attractions and better reputations, but it’s hard to imagine a city with a stronger and more interconnected international community than ours. I’m very proud to be a part of it.
2023 will be a big year for Small World. With restrictions behind us and our events back in full swing, I’m planning to focus on creating a more robust suite of events that will have something for everyone, every week of every month, as well as some BIG events (such as SUPERNATURAL HALLOWEEN) that are sure to blow you away. I’m very excited to share these projects with you.
In the meantime, I wish you a very, very happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
– Matthew
