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T O K Y O IN EARLY APRIL, THE CHERRY TREES in Tokyo welcome spring with a brilliant display of hundreds of thousands of white blossoms. Locals and foreigners alike snap endless streams of photos of the vibrant foliage, as they celebrate the annual, but brief, flowery show. The temporary but dazzling exhibition of the blossoms is part of what makes their appearance so captivating and special. Like a Zen garden design raked in sand, or a pattern cast in milk with coffee, the transient nature of the art demands that the viewer stop everything for a moment to absorb the craft and appreciate it before itÕs gone. Such detailed and transitory craftsmanship was also on display inside the Tokyo Big Sight, the huge, supermodern international expo center in Ariake, across Tokyo Bay from the bustling heart of the metropolis. The iconic building with its instantly recognizable grand entrance featuring four gigantic inverted pyramids, hosted the 2007 World Barista Championship, and this April it saw 64 talented baristas participate in the first-ever Coffee Fest Latte Art World Championship Open held outside of the United States during FABEX, the World Food and Beverage Great Expo, a trade show for restaurants, bakeries, cafŽs, and more. The latte art competitions have become a focal point of every Coffee Fest event, and the head-to-head style, in bracket format mimicking the popular NCAA basketball tournament, draws competitors from across America and, increasingly, Asia to try to win the top prize of $2,000. When Noboru Ueno, Principal of FBC International, first approached David Heilbrunn, who cre- ated the Latte Art Open for his Coffee Fest trade shows, about holding an installment of the popular competitions in Japan, David signed on enthusiastically. He says he appreciated how the American versions, which have been running in various for- mats since 2002, had been attracting more and more competitors from Japan, thus holding an event in the nationÕs capital seemed like a natural fit. ÒItÕs rewarding to create something thatÕs so wildly popular and good for the business,Ó David said. But even more, he added, it was UenoÕs personal plea to him that won him over: Ò[I told him] this is my dream come true,Ó says Ueno of holding the competition in Tokyo. He met David Heilbrunn and David SchomerÑboth prom- inent figures in SeattleÕs colorful coffee cultureÑfive years ago, and since then, Ueno had been working on bringing the Coffee Fest Latte Art Open to Japan. And he was thrilled with the way it turned out. ÒItÕs a success Opposite page, at top: Lanterns glow a er dark in the historic Asakusa district of Tokyo. Bo om photo: The barista party brings out the coffee community for food, drinks, and of course a throwdown! This page: The top three in the Coffee Fest Lae Art World Open Tokyo competition: from le , Nobu Shimoyama, third place; Junichi Yamaguchi, first place; and Takahiro Ando, second place. 45 www.baristamagazine.com B o o k 1 - 4 6 . i n d d 4 5 Book 1-46.indd 45 5 / 1 5 / 1 4 1 0 : 3 8 P M 5/15/14 10:38 PM