Mardi Gras is the last day before the fasting season of Lent. It's the french word for "Shrove Tuesday". Literally translated, it means "fat tuesday" and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for merry making and excessive indulgence in food and drink before the solemn season of fasting.

  In N'Orleans it is five days of the biggest party on planet Earth. Starting on friday of the Mardi Gras weekend and going on till fat tuesday, it is a carnival of music, dancing on the streets, parades and indulgence of every kind. There's parades every day, all kinds of colourful costumes and people generally havin fun everywhere. The amazing part of Mardi Gras is that allmost all the partying is done on the streets. The whole of French Quarter and the neigbouring Canal & Poydras streets are the venue for this huge outdoor party.

 In Tokyo, Bourbon St. throws a wild party on the Sunday of Mardi Gras weekend. The venue is the same every year - Sweet Basil STB139 in Roppongi, allmost about 600 people enjoy great N'Orleans music, food , drinks and atmosphere  every year. With the help of Louisiana board of Tourism and the Tabasco Co. there's tons and tons of beads, throws, masks, boas and other party favours distributed to the crowds. It has now become an annual event in Tokyo and is "sold out" every year.