Festival-goers learned how to karate chop, munched on soba noodles and listened to Taiko drumming when they got a taste of Japanese culture at the weekend.

People flocked to Spitalfields Market on Saturday to the third annual Okinawa Day festival where they browsed stalls selling Okinawa delicacies, watched Eisa dance performances accompanied by the sanshin lute and joined in with martial arts workshops.

The event was to celebrate Okinawan island culture and was also to raise money to help people stricken by the earthquake and tsunami which hit the Japanese region of Tohoku in March.

There was also a display of arts and crafts from Okinawa as well as historical and tourist information.