The 3rd Japanese Culture Class in FY 2012 was Origami instructed by Ms. Chieko Watanabe from the COSMO ECHO, a volunteer group in Tsukuba. The class was held at Ninomiya House, Tsukuba, on July 6, a day before the Star Festival on July 7.

Origami is a traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding. After a basic lecture about the history of Japanese paper folding and the Star Festival, the 14 participants were challenged to make various nice Star Festival decorations, which were attached to bamboo grass. By using glue, scissors, and various colored papers, the participants succeeded to make a net-patterned paper representing the Milky Way, a star, a ring chain, and a Japanese paper lantern.

Then the participants tried traditional Japanese paper folding. They were very concentrated on folding pieces such as a goldfish, a box, a balloon, and even a very complicated crane. These origami pieces were also used as Star Festival decorations.