January 8th 2023 O.A.

Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo 2023

“Oshogatsu in Little Tokyo” was held at Little Tokyo on January 1st.

This event was held by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California where people can experience the Japanese New Year’s celebration.
The main venue was Weller Court this year.

This is the 25th event which began to spread Japanese culture and to boost business for Japanese-American communities such as Little Tokyo.

The president of JCCSC, Haruo Takehana, and the Consul General of Japan in LA, Kenko Sone stated their greetings at the opening ceremony.

Followed by the sake barrel ceremony, “Kagami-Biraki” with the organization representatives and mochi throwing.

The stage was also used for different demonstrations like shodo calligraphy and martial arts.

Various booths were lined up at the venue as well. There were food booths serving festive foods like amazake and mochi, to popular menus like takoyaki, yakisoba, ramen, and karaage. Other booths include a mini shrine and merchandise.
There were activities where kids enjoyed making origami and pounding on mochi, which also livened up the event as well.

Many people paid their first visit of the year to the Koyasan Buddhist Temple. People drew their fortune slips and bought good luck charms wishing it to be a safe year.

It rained from time to time, however, Little Tokyo was filled with many people enjoying their New Year’s Day.