October 28th 2018 O.A.
MTC Expo
Saturday, September 22nd was the Mutual Trading Japanese Food and Restaurant Expo
at Pasadena Convention Center.
This is an annual event held by Mutual Trading Company Inc. for the Japanese food industry and this year is the 30th year.
This year’s theme is “Shinpu-Kogen.”
Japanese sake has been both popularized and luxurized within these couple of years so quality is very essential.
A seminar for Japanese wagyu beef was held at the center stage.
And a maguro tuna filleting show was performed by the chef of Katsu-Ya Group, Katsuya Uechi.
133 business participated and 2700 people attended, the event ended in a great success.
Japanese Surfing Contest
The annual SoCal Japanese Surfing Contest was held at the Trestles Beach in San Clemente on October 7th.
This year is the 31st year. One of the reasons why this event is annually held at Trestles Beach is because a portion of the entry fee is donated, keeping the state beach clean. This year, contestants and spectators also cleaned the beach with the students at San Clemente High School.
One of the participants volunteer because they want to keep this beautiful beach for the future generation.
This event is supported by many surfers and volunteers ranging from 6 to 50 years old.
Mr. Aizawa, who has been the MC for over 25 years also hopes the event will continue with the beautiful beach for years to come.
JET Program Welcome Back Reception
The JET Program Welcome Back Reception happened on Wednesday, October 3rd at the
official residence of the Consulate General of Japan in LA.
JET Program is a government initiative that welcomes foreigners to Japan as an assistant language teacher.
This year is their 32nd year and became the largest international exchange program in the world with more than 68,000 participants from 73 countries signing up.
Participants who pass the screening will be sent to the local governments or private schools in Japan as an English teacher, interpreter or as a sports instructor for 1 to 5 years at most.
20 participants that came home this year attended the reception and were congratulated for their achievements.
Consulat Chiba stated his hopes for the participants to continue their relationship with Japan even after coming home.
Enka Show at Sakura Gardens
Saturday, October 20th was a mini concert by the Enka singer, Hitomi Idemitsu at the retirement home, Sakura Gardens in Boyle Heights.
This is one of many entertainments heid for the residents at Sakura Gardens.
Idemitsu visited the US for a charity fundraiser held by the Japanese Prefectural Association of SoCal, and she then visited the retirement home with the help of the association. This is her 2nd time performing at the facility.
Idemitsu sung songs from her greatest hits to the latest number for one hour. 100 residents enjoyed the enka by the professional singer from Japan.
More than half of the residents are Japanese speakers. The management changed from Keiro to North Star Senior Living from 2 years ago.