'I want to visit Syria'... How the experiential restaurant 'SEKAI KITCHEN' to savor food and music changed the way we see the world

NPO 'Piece of Syria' (Osaka, Representative Director: Takayuki Nakano), 'Hito to Neiro' Co., Ltd. (Kobe, Representative Director: Sakiko Muto), and General Incorporated Association 'demoexpo' (Nishi-ku, Osaka) held an experiential restaurant event 'SEKAI KITCHEN ~Syria Shiriau Oishiria~' on Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Italian restaurant 'osteria égo' in Kyomachibori, Osaka.

At the event, participants shared a moment of 'getting to know Syria' through three cultural experiences: food, music, and photography.

Food Experience: The joy of arranging Syrian cuisine, famous for its gastronomy

Syrian chef Hiba Jamjoom, who lives in Japan, and osteria égo owner chef Masashi Yamada supervised the food under the theme of 'Syrian festive days'. From appetizers to desserts, colorful vegetables and highly fragrant spices spread across the plates. The dishes, created by combining memories of home cooking and meals at weddings and festivals with Yamada's Italian culinary sensibility, were prepared not as a 'reproduction' but as a 'new dish'. Many participants commented, 'I was captivated by the colors of the appetizers and desserts.'

Furthermore, a 'spice bar' was set up where participants could blend various spices to their liking, name them, pack them in small bottles, and take them home. By encouraging the act of 'giving to someone', it also served as an opportunity to verbalize what they felt that day.

Arranging lentil soup into a Syrian dish

Masashi Yamada, who supervised the spice bar dishes made by participants

Music Experience: Japanese artists layering new sounds over Middle Eastern music

Sound artist Kei Yamamoto performed live original songs created through repeated sessions and dialogues with Syrian artists in Istanbul, Turkey. The delicate sound world, combining effects and loops with Syrian music of the traditional instrument oud recorded locally, added quiet emotion to the dining setting. A design was implemented so that the experience wouldn't end on the spot, allowing participants to take the music home via cards with QR codes. Feedback from participants included, 'After hearing the local episodes and then listening to Mr. Yamamoto's music, I almost cried.'

Sampling locally recorded music and layering sounds to arrange it on the spot

Mr. Yamamoto having a session with a Syrian artist living in Istanbul, Turkey. Hussein, the Syrian artist Mr. Yamamoto met and recorded music with in Istanbul.

Photo Exhibition and Talk

Photos capturing the people and everyday scenery of Syria were displayed on the venue's walls. Each photo was accompanied by a caption written by Takayuki Nakano, Representative of Piece of Syria, detailing a 'personally moving experience', structured so that related videos could be viewed via QR codes. A single photo was told multi-dimensionally through three layers: image, text, and video.

This mechanism of 'seeing while feeling' through the photographer's emotions, rather than 'seeing as knowledge', shook the participants' perceptions. Comments were received saying, 'I was able to perceive Syria not as a distant country with a special background, but as a country with a rich lifestyle culture no different from ours.'

Furthermore, based on his 20-year relationship with Syria, Nakano spoke about the reality of the people living there, which is not conveyed in the news. Suit culture at weddings, differences in how to express gratitude, the meaning of the dining table—episodes that gave glimpses into their background of thought continued, creating moments where participants felt 'Syrians are human beings too'.

In addition, Japan-resident Syrian chef Hiba Jamjoom also joined the scene, creating natural interactions with the participants. Voices saying, 'Touching Hiba's smile made me want to go to Syria' demonstrate the power of personal encounters, not knowledge, to bridge borders.

At the end of the event, a photo book containing all the exhibited photos, captions, and video QR codes was handed out as a souvenir. It is a special book shaped so that the experience felt at the venue can be taken back to everyday life and opened again and again. It was also a mechanism for the experience to spread outwards from the participants.

Photo exhibition capturing moments of moved emotions. Talk between MC Aya Shimada and Nakano

Hiba also joining to listen to stories about Syria. A space overflowing with spontaneous smiles.

Participants' Voices: The entrance of the five senses leads to 'personalization'

'I was able to receive Syria not as "a distant country with a special background", but as a lifestyle culture with both uniqueness and universality. In particular, the experience of "seeing -> stereotyping -> unravelling" at the photo exhibition was very suggestive, making me realize how unconsciously I was assigning meaning with preconceptions.'

'From treating public themes as "objects that must be understood correctly", I first encountered them sensorially, and later deepened my thoughts.'