A SMALL corner of the North-East took on the feel of the Far East at the weekend, in a celebration of Japanese culture.

Teikyo University's satellite college on the Durham University campus opened to visitors at its annual Japanese Festival, on Saturday.

The Lafcadio Hearn Cultural Centre was filled with Japanese arts and crafts, many staged by 60 students from Teikyo University, who are spending a year in Durham as part of an English language and culture course.

Guests at the event were Durham's Mayor, Councillor Ray Gibbon, and his wife Margaret, who admired displays of martial arts, flower arranging and a traditional Japanese tea ceremony

The mayor also tried his hand, relatively unsuccessfully, at the Japanese art of calligraphy.

"Unfortunately. I'm a bit of a novice," said Coun Gibbon. "I think it was obvious it was the first time I had tried it.

"It's a really marvellous art and its amazing to see the experts doing it. They have such wonderful control over the brush strokes."

Other aspects of life in Japan also on display included demonstrations of sumo wrestling, origami, kimonos, nail art, modern and traditional music, while there was plenty of Far Eastern food to try in the adjoining marquee.

Teikyo University of Japan opened its college in Durham in 1990 to give its undergraduates the chance to sample life in England, in an academic environment, alongside local students.

They follow the Japanese academic timetable, with terms running from April to February.

Each year the Teikyo festival introduces Japanese culture in different ways, with the theme this year being Real Japan.