April 7th 2024 O.A.
#SupportSAKE
An award ceremony for Seafood X Sake Pairing Instagram campaign held by #SupportSAKE happened on March 18th in Hollywood.
#SupportSAKE is a community space started by JETRO where those interested in sake come together to support the shrinking Japanese brewing industry.
They are mainly active on Instagram however, they also participate in various events through booths and are expanding their community.
For this campaign, participants shared photos of their favorite seafood and Japanese sake pairings on Instagram.
Different prizes went to the winners chosen based on the number of likes and the selection committee.
March 10th was the deadline. Winners and influencers were invited to the awarding ceremony introducing the winning photos.
A brewery in Wajima city, Ishikawaprefecture that underwent devastating damage in this year’s Noto earthquake was connected live during the event.
The brewery stated how drinking sake supports the industry but also how they are currently unable to make any at the moment.
Restaurants and businesses were awarded with a certificate of appreciation for working with the campaign as they shared different ways of enjoying Japanese sake.
Lastly, the grand prize winner was announced, and they received an airline ticket to Japan.
Several Japanese sake and food using Japanese ingredients were served.
There also were demonstrations for cocktails using Japanese sake, and the event was filled with many attractions of Japanese sake.
Shohei Ohtani Mural
MLB baseball is in season. Fans are excited for Shohei Ohtani who just joined the LA Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In the meantime, a mural of Ohtani in Little Tokyo was unveiled, and a ceremony was held on Wednesday, March 27th.
It is a huge mural drawn on the wall of Miyako Hotel Los Angeles that is about 150 ft tall and 60 ft wide.
Muralist, Robert Vargas from Boyle Heights finished it in 20 days.
The mural is also very unique. If you put your smartphone to the mural after scanning a QR code placed next to the entrance of Miyako Hotel, Ohtani gets animated along with the voice of Dodgers’ sportscaster, Vin Scully.
Takoyaki in Dodger Stadium
The following day, March 28th was the Dodgers opening day, and Gindaco opened at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
Gindaco is a takoyaki franchise with about 500 locations globally. The Dodger Stadium food stand will be their 2nd location in the US.
4 kinds of takoyaki are available at the Dodger Stadium location, including exclusive menus like “Cheese & Guacamole” and “Tempura & Sweet soy sauce.”
Consul General Kenko Sone, Dodgers officials, and Morio Sase, president of Hotland Co, a parent company of Gindaco attended the ceremony and stated their greetings.
Gindaco was awarded with a certification of Japanese Food and Ingredients Supporter Stores Overseas by Executive VP, Nakazawa of JETRO.
This is a certification program established by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries which certifies restaurants and retail stores overseas for using Japanese ingredients.