SoCalJapan | Japan Hollywood Network

July 9th 2023 O.A.

Anime Expo 2023

Anime Expo LA was held for 4 days from Saturday, July 1st through Wednesday, July 4th at the LA Convention Center.

Anime Expo is the largest anime convention in North America held by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.
This year is their 32nd time with over 350 companies and vendors, and more than 500 artists participating.

Latest news of the newest series and exclusive goods were available.
Fans dressed in their favorite characters and went on a scavenger hunt to find that one special item they were looking for.

Booths promoting Japanese culture were also there.

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) participated for the first time selling goods and food unrelated to anime.
Customers made purchases via the Japan Store Amazon shop.
JETRO showcased the appeal of various aspects of Japanese culture beyond anime.

Special guests from all over the world attend every year.
This year, all eyes were on illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.

Amano started his career as a character designer.
He later became an illustrator and worked on many projects.
He is most known for designing the characters of “Final Fantasy” series, a popular game and has fans all over the world.

2 projects were announced at the panel discussion that Amano attended.
First one is a Greek mythology themed grand-scale artwork larger than 100 meters in size.
The entire process will be shown as a documentary.
The second project is the production of his animation movie, “ZAN”.

This movie is based on Amano’s “DEVA ZAN” which consists of more than 300 pieces that he made.
ZAN is a samurai spending his day in endless warfare.
One day, he is guided into another world by a mysterious girl and fights in a battle of light and dark as he searches for who he really is.
The illustrations were made into an artbook and sold in the US in 2013.

“Greek Mythology Project” will be released 2024 onward and “ZAN” will be released in 2025 onward.

Musician YOSHIKI attended the panel as a surprise guest.
This was made possible because Amano worked on the artwork for YOSHIKI’s newest song and surprised everyone who was there.

The four day event sold out every day, and more than 100,000 people attended this year’s Anime Expo.

Sakura Gardens’ Annual Residents Picnic

Friday, June 2nd was the Sakura Gardens’ Annual Residents Picnic, an event of a retirement home in Boyle Heights.

This is an annual event held for the residents of Sakura Gardens.
Staff and volunteers work together so residents can enjoy a picnic-like atmosphere.

There was entertainment on stage after lunch. It started with a group of residents performing their ukulele.

Then, Kotobuki no kai Minyo Group performed their Japanese dance.

Lastly, everyone exercised along with the radio calisthenics.

The event ended with the annual raffle, and 100 residents had a great time.

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June 25th 2023 O.A.

Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy Bazaar

Sunday, May 24th was the fundraising bazaar for Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy (KSCA) in Pasadena.

KSCA is a nonprofit organization with a mission of reintegrating the iconic Japanese American senior facility to the community.
40 organizations and businesses including the Southern California Gardeners Federation, Southern California Japanese American Medical Association, and Japanese Prefectural Associations participated in the event.

Members of each organization brought sundries, ceramics, electronics, and clothes that are looking for the next owner.
Community members that came to the event all took their time and looked for that special find.

KSCA was formed in response to the sale of a Japanese American senior facility by Keiro in 2016.

The organization aims at the reintegration of the service that provided care based on Japanese values, and also aims to establish a daycare center along with their ultimate goal.

A documentary of the organization was played at the event along with a tea ceremony demonstration. About 400 people came to the event and $11,000 were donated for the cause.

KSCA will continue to hold events so we can all understand the challenges Japanese American seniors are facing as a community.

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June 11th 2023 O.A.

Little Tokyo Sparkle!

Saturday, May 20th was the “Little Tokyo Sparkle! Nancy Kikuchi Volunteer Day” at Little Tokyo.

Cleaning the streets of Little Tokyo started in the 1990s by the Little Tokyo Public Safety Association.
Steve Nagano, a Little Tokyo resident took the post as the organizer in 2016.
He has dedicated his time to volunteering for the Japanese American community and spreading the activity of Little Tokyo Sparkle! Nancy Kikuchi Volunteer Day to honor the late Nancy Kikuchi’s achievement.

This is the 6th time for “Little Tokyo Sparkle” after coming back from the pandemic.
Volunteers from local businesses and organizations participated and gathered at the JACCC Plaza.

Volunteers were divided into 12 groups to pick up trash, scrape off gum, erase graffiti, and remove stickers.

After cleaning, participants were provided with sandwiches, onigiri, snacks, drinks, and other items from sponsors.There was also a raffle to thank everyone’s hard work.

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May 28th 2023 O.A.

LALALA Matsuri with Ramen Yokocho

Saturday, May 14th was the “LALALA Matsuri with Ramen Yokocho” celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Japanese free magazine/newspaper, Weekly LALALA.

Weekly LALALA is a free magazine that was established in 2003.
It introduces LA gourmet and entertainment as well as news information. May 14th was the day that they printed their 1,000th volume of the magazine.
Throughout the years, they have hosted many talking, concert, and food events as well.

Long lines were formed at the venue.
60 different booths participated from food, liquor, goods, games, and businesses.

At the area that was called “Ramen Yokocho”, 12 different ramen shops not only from LA but also from OC, Las Vegas, and even Japan served their noodles.
Special menu exclusive to this event were served and became one of the main attraction.

Various performances were done on stage and liven up the entire day.
After the Pom Pom Girls, a cheerleading group based in Torrance performed, their members that range from kindergarten to 8th grade gave flowers to their mothers as a Mother’s Day gift.

“Crossing Rain”, a musical group from Hawaii and “Chiken Blow The Idol”, a Japanese idol group also performed and met with their fans afterwards.

Terry Ito, a Japanese commentator who has his own column on Weekly LALALA also came from Japan to participate in this event, and the audience enjoyed listening to him talk.

Singer, Kenichi Mikawa also participated as guest.
He performed a total of 7 songs. 6 of his iconic songs including the famous “Sasoriza no Onna” and 1 chanson number which is his lifework.

Mikawa will celebrate his 60th year as a singer himself next year.

About 10 thousand people came to the event and celebrated LALALA’s 20th anniversary in a festive mood.

JFC Sake Expo

Saturday, May 13th was the JFC Sake Expo in Costa Mesa.

It is an event held by JFC International, an Asian food and beverage supplier.
The event is held aiming to expand the Japanese food market in North America.
It was an annual event where it introduced Japanese foods and sake to food businesses however, this is the first time in 3 years due to the impact of COVID.
The main focus was sake this time.

29 Japanese breweries, 6 American breweries, and 6 Japanese food manufacturers participated and promoted their products to businesses with liquor lisence that were invited to the event.

The same event was held in Hollywood on May 15th. A total of 500 food industry related individuals attended and deepened their knowledge in Japanese sake.

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May 14th 2023 O.A.

Sakura Gardens Sushi Day

Saturday, April 22nd was Sushi Day for the senior living community residents at Sakura Gardens in Boyle Heights with the help of the Japanese Restaurant Association (JRA).

JRA is a nonprofit organization with its members being Japanese restaurant individuals and food companies.

“Sushi Day” was held since Sakura Gardens used to be Keiro Retirement Home, making this the 21st time.

25 volunteers came from JRA, and sushi chefs of “Sushi Katsu-Ya” and “Sushi Gen” made 120 servings worth of sushi.

Then, the plates were served to each table by the JRA staff, chefs, and volunteers of Sakura Gardens.

The volunteers were introduced after the meal, and a plaque was given to JRA from Sakura Gardens. Potted flowers were sent to the residents from the participating restaurants: “Kagura”, “Sushi Katsu-Ya”, “Sushi Gen”, “Shin- Sen-Gumi”and “Ise-Shima”.

Nikkei Formal

Saturday, April 22nd was the graduation event “Nikkei Formal” held by the Southern California Intercollegiate Nikkei Council (INC) at Little Tokyo’s Terasaki Budokan.

INC is an organization formed by the Nikkei Student Union.
Japanese American student groups of 12 colleges are currently signed up as members.

They hold many events throughout the year and focus on networking students with one another, as well as providing opportunities for students and the Japanese American community to communicate with each other.
“Nikkei Formal” is held at the end of each school year, and this is the last year for Nicholas Kikuta of UC Santa Barbra as the president
since he is also graduating.

It was announced at the event that Asumi Shuda of UC Santa Barbra and Kalyn Wong of UCLA will be co-presidents starting next academic year.

Followed by the INC Showcase by the representatives of the 12 colleges.

Different performances like dance, singing, and fast mental math livened up the venue.

Lastly was the dance party with a DJ. Students from different colleges congratulated each other for their accomplishments.

Club Genki

Wednesday, May 3rd was the grand opening of “Club Genki”, a Senior Adult Day Program inside the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center (ESGVJCC).

“Club Genki” is an ESGVJCC and Keiro partnered senior adult day program for Japanese American older adults, and is a daycare center that is formally approved by the state of California.

ESGVJCC Board President, Tim Itatani and Keiro President & CEO, Beverly Ito stated their greetings at the opening ceremony.

“Club Genki” is a paid service and is open on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm.
It is run by professional staff, and seniors can enjoy various activities as well as have daily meals and snacks served to
them at the lounge.

For more information about “Club Genki”, please visit the ESGVJCC website.

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April 23rd 2023 O.A.

Symbiosis: Living Island

“Symbiosis: Living Island” an exhibition focusing on art and nature living together with the community is now happening at JAPAN HOUSE LA.

It is an exhibition introducing the art project held by one of Japan’s publishing and education companies, Benesse.
It is called the “Inujima Art House Project” which launched in one of the isolated islands of the Seto Inland Sea.

The “Art House Project” is a project where abandoned houses and buildings of Inujima transform into galleries and become one big
piece of art by itself.

At the exhibition, the nature and houses of Inujima are recreated, and guests can learn which art pieces are placed in which area of the island.

At the entrance, there is a replica of an art piece created by a Brazilian artist that is placed in the center of the island.

The term “Symbiosis” used in the title of this exhibition refers to multiple organisms living together.

We cannot forget the subtheme “Living Island”.

“Symbiosis: Living Island” will be held at JAPAN HOUSE LA until July 5th. For more information, please visit the JAPAN HOUSE website.

“Bunka-sai Japanese Cultural Festival

“Symbiosis: Living Island” will be held at JAPAN HOUSE LA until July 5th. For more information, please visit the JAPAN HOUSE website.

This was held by The Torrance Sister City Association celebrating their relationship with Kashiwa City in Chiba Prefecture.

Torrance and Kashiwa City are celebrating their 50th anniversary of friendship, and delegates from Kashiwa City visited Torrance earlier this year. Both cities offer cultural exchange programs for high school students and this event is a fundraiser for the program.

At the event, The Torrance Sister City Association offered food booths and served foods like yakisoba, curry, and chicken.

A tea ceremony demonstration and a musical performance using the koto instrument were done on the stage.

At the hall, crafts like “Oshie” padded cloth pictures were available and flower arrangement demonstrations were also held with bonsai and flowers being displayed.
Families were able to experience origami and Japanese calligraphy at workshops. Kids also enjoyed entertainment like picture-show storytelling.

About 20 vendors lined up for the bazaar. Guests were able to have close look at Japanese clothes and merchandises and it was an event where adults and kids had a lot of fun learning about Japanese culture.

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April 16th 2023 O.A.

Emperor’s Birthday

March 16th was the reception to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan at the official residence of the Consulate General of Japan in LA.

This reception is held every year around the day of His Majesty’s birthday.
Local government officials, business community officials, and people of culture are invited as guests.

The ceremony began with singing the national anthems of both countries.
Followed by Consul General Kenko Sone stating his greetings and hopes for a stronger US-Japan friendship as well as cultural exchanges between local Asian and Latino communities as well.

Next, local government officials stated their congratulations and hopes for strengthening the friendship between the US and Japan.

Festive food was served at the reception after the ceremony and different booths were also available.
Local liquors and specialties promoted the area for tourism attraction as well.

Keiro Caregiver Conference

Saturday, March 18th was the Caregiver Conference at Santa Ana.

This conference was held by Keiro, a group that provides welfare services for older adults in the Japanese American community, and provided useful information on how to care for older adults requiring help.
It is an annual event however, an in-person session was held for the first time in 3 years.

Shannon Ingram of UC Irvine was invited as the keynote speaker where she talked about the issues that caregivers face and how to deal with them, as well as what kind of mindset one should have when caring for older adults based on her own personal experience.

After the keynote speech, 3 breakout sessions took place.
One sessions explained the different tools used for caregiving.

Another lectures on how to communicate with older adults with dementia, and provided other hands-on and useful information.

Booths of other nonprofit organizations and companies that support older adults were also at the event.

Beverly Ito has been a member of Keiro since 1974, and she took the position as the new president and CEO this January.

For more information about Keiro, please visit their website.

Pechanga Sushi and Sake Festival

Saturday, April 8th was the Sushi and Sake Festival held at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula.

This is the 3rd time of the all-you-can-eat-and-drink sushi and sake event.

This is also a part of Pechanga Resort Casino’s community activity supporting Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley, which is a nonprofit organization supporting affordable housing.

More than 20,000 sushi and sashimi were served at the event. Ramen, grilled food, and vegetarian dishes were also available.

Booths of more than 20 Japanese sake breweries were also at the event serving Japanese sake and beer. Guests enjoyed drinking different types of alcohol.

Different entertainment were also seen, like the Japanese taiko drumming and tuna filleting performances. More than 1,000 guests enjoyed this Japanese-themed festival.

Pechanga Resort Casino is one of the largest resort casinos in the US with facilities from hotels, casinos, restaurants, pool area, and spa.

Journey At Pechanga, a golf course next to the resort, hosted a Pro-Am Golf Tournament featuring LPGA golfers, and they focus on providing services for their Asian guests.

For more information about Pechanga Resort Casino and the events held there, please visit their website.

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March 26th 2023 O.A.

Nikkei Professionals

A networking event held by the Southern California Intercollegiate Nikkei Council (INC) happened on February 25th at the JANM in Little Tokyo, connecting Japanese American students with professionals.

INC is a coalition of collegiate Nikkei Student Unions and associations throughout universities in SoCal.
Japanese American student organizations from 12 different universities are joined as members.

This is an annual event that INC holds and is called “Nikkei Professionals” which gives students the opportunity to connect with professionals who are already active members of the workforce.
About 100 people participated this year.

Students first had an icebreaker with each other.

Followed by a panel discussion with 4 professionals working in marketing, social service, media, and design engineering.

Panelists asked questions to students and gave advice on how to look for a job as they gave examples from their own past experience.

Students were then divided into 4 groups.
1 group participated in a resume workshop.
Students learned how to write their resumes from a marketing perspective.

Meanwhile, other groups exchanged information with each other and talked to 25 volunteers who are all active in the workforce, and expanded their knowledge and network with different people.

OCJAA New Officers Installations

Sunday, March 5th was the Orange County Japanese American Association 2023 New Officers Installations and Community Service Awards Banquet at Anaheim.

OCJAA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986. It mainly provides cultural, educational, and welfare services in Orange County.

Yasuyuki Okazoe is taking over Kimiko Fujita, who was the president for 10 years.
The banquet began with the new members taking their oaths.

After lunch, current California State Assemblymember, Al Muratsuchi spoke as the keynote speaker.
Muratsuchi talked about the importance of associations like OCJAA for the Japanese American community to prosper in the US, and also the importance of young Japanese-Americans joining politics.

Followed by the greetings of Japanese American organizations.

Next, a Certificate of Appreciation were awarded to Mitsuwa Marketplace Costa Mesa Store Manager, Dwaine Yamasaki and United Airlines Key Account Manager, Toshiyuki Akamatsu for supporting OCJAA.
Community Service Awards were awarded to Red Shell Foods President, Hirohisa Watanabe and OCJAA New Senior Vice President, Kihei Otani.

Distinguished Service Awards were awarded to OCJAA Former President Fujita and OCJAA Executive Senior Vice President, Hiroyuki Kawachi.

Finally, raffles and a silent auction took place as a fundraiser, and the in-person event that happened for the first time in 3 years ended in great success.

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March 12th 2023 O.A.

Torrance/Kashiwa Golden Jubilee

Torrance celebrated its 50th anniversary with its sister city, Kashiwa in Chiba prefecture, Japan.

As a commemoration, delegates from Kashiwa visited Torrance from February 16th to the 20th.
A welcoming barbecue party was held on Saturday the 18th at Wilson Park.

The delegates first visited the farmers’ market held at Wilson Park.

Past participants of the cultural exchange program attended the barbecue party and socialized as friends reunited with each other after a very long time.
The mayor of Kashiwa City also came from Japan and participated in the event.

orrance became a sister city with Kashiwa in 1973.
Since then, the 2 cities have been strongly connected to each other through delegates and exchange student programs which are looked after by the Torrance Sister City Association.

Delegates visited different public facilities and participated in a festival celebrating the 50th anniversary of friendship during their stay, and safely flew home to Japan.

JRA New Year’s Reception

February 27th was the New Year’s gathering of the Japanese Restaurant Association of America (JRA) at Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance.

JRA is a nonprofit organization with its members being restaurant-related individuals and businesses.
They focus on spreading Japanese restaurants in the US and educating its members on the advancement of culinary techniques.

This is the first in-person New Year’s gathering that was held in 3 years due to the impact of COVID-19.
About 80 members and guests gathered together and were happy to see each other.

Consul General, Kenko Sone was appointed as the honorary president and stated his greetings.
He spoke about the measures the Japanese government is taking for exporting Japanese ingredients overseas.
Followed by stating his high hopes for Japanese food to spread in the state of Arizona, which is the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Japan in LA with the support of JRA.

Next was the sake barrel breaking ceremony with a guest.
Participants then socialized and caught up with each other.

A certificate of appreciation was sent to Yoshimitsu Kikuchi of the Senfuku Restaurant, Minoru Motoyama of Restaurant Komasa, Toshiaki Toyoshima of Sushi Gen for their years of contribution towards spreading Japanese food, and Kota Kimura of JETRO for continuously sharing restaurant-related information during the pandemic.

JRA will continue to support Japanese restaurants that are impacted by COVID-19, and work hard on spreading Japanese food in the US with the Japanese government.

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February 26th 2023 O.A.

Regenerative Urbanism

An exhibition introducing disaster-resilient environments,”Designing with Disaster“ is now happening at JAPAN HOUSE in Hollywood.

This project was launched iin response to the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 to prevent and reduce risks of disasters worldwide.

This exhibition presents proposals of UCLA and Tohoku University with 11 Pacific Rim universities that collaborated on a new initiative.
7 fictitious areas with different natural environments from island countries, deserts, and woodland areas were made and introduced “Regenerative Urbanism,” an anticipatory approach to urban design that is disasterresilient.

There are 7 “wells” at the exhibition. Visitors are provided with an immersive experience of possible natural disasters and an urban design that is disaster-resilient.
For instance, this Pyroactive City is prone to wildfires.

”Designing with Disaster“ will go on until April 2nd at JAPAN HOUSE in Hollywood with free admission.
Please visit the JAPAN HOUSE LA website for more information.

disaster-resilient city. Please visit the JAPAN HOUSE website to watch the forum.

Also, the annual Global Japan Forum was held in conjunction with JAPAN HOUSE at Terasaki Center on January 28th. Renowned experts like Professor Fumihiko Imamura of Tohoku University joined as speakers and discussed the importance of building a disaster-resilient city. Please visit the JAPAN HOUSE website to watch the forum.

Taiko Artists from Gifu

A Japanese Taiko artist came from Japan to the US with his family wanting to spread Japanese culture and peace through Taiko drumming.

Takumi Kato is a Japanese Taiko artist who won the top prize at the Tokyo International Wadaiko Contest in 2008.
He has been active in his hometown of Ena City in Gifu Prefecture.

He obtained a green card and came to the US with his family last October.
He made money by selling all of his personal property.
Since then, he has made California his base of operation as he travels to homes, schools and community centers nationwide with his family to perform.

Kato wants to spread the importance of peace through his drumming because of the 9-11tragedy that happened in 2001 when he was studying in West Virginia as an exchange student.

That is when he hoped to heal people through his performance.

Kato and his family are planning to stay in the US for 5 years. His dream is to play 1,000 individual concerts across the US.
He is looking for any individuals or organizations that would like for him and his family to perform.

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February 12th 2023 O.A.

JBA New Year’s Party 2023

Japan Business Association of Southern California had their New Year’s Party in Torrance on January 20th.

JBA is a nonprofit organization with about 500 Japanese companies that are doing business in SoCal as their members.
Their goal is for mutual understanding between US-Japan businesses and contributing to local communities.

The New Year’s Party was an annual event where members were able to socialize, but it happened for the first time in 3 years due to the impact of COVID-19.

In their speeches, President Kobayashi and invited guests celebrated the event coming back in-person, and how businesses are much smoother now that COVID-related restrictions have easen up in the US.

Consul General Kenko Sone also talked about having high hopes for US-Japan economic activities, as well as how Japanese companies can uniquely approach the water shortage and homeless issues that LA is currently facing.

After the toast, about 500 attendees enjoyed their Japanese New Year’s dish prepared by Ise-Shima Restaurant in Torrance.
They exchanged their New Year’s greeting along with their business cards.

This year’s theme for the New Year’s party is “Restart.”

The event concluded with their annual raffle, and winners won prizes like a roundtrip ticket to Japan or a gift card that covers gasoline money for the entire year.

OAA New Year’s Party

The New Year’s Party for the Okinawa Association of America and its inauguration ceremony happened on January 15th at Carson.

OAA is a nonprofit organization with a rich history of over 110 years.
Their mission is to connect their members together and helping each other through contributing to the community.

They also focus on spreading Okinawan culture in the US as well as entertainment. In-person event happened for the first time in 3 years.
Traditional Okinawan music and dance started off the New Year’s celebration.

Newly appointed board members took their oath at the event, and Edward Kamiya will continue to work as the president. It will be his 7th year.

Sake Barrel Ceremony took place after the guests stated their greetings.
Many Okinawan dances and songs were performed on stage as members enjoyed their meal.

About 250 people attended the event and celebrated the New Years together as a large group for the first time in very long time.

Mitsuwa Northridge Store Grand Open

A grand opening ceremony for Mitsuwa Marketplace Northridge was held on January 21st for their new Northridge location.

Mitsuwa Marketplace is the largest Japanese grocery chain in the US that is open nationwide. Northridge is their 12th location.

Mitsuwa’s parent company, Kamei Corporation’s Director and Senior Adviser, Junichi Kamei, LA City Council member, John Lee, and Consul General Kenko Sone attended the ceremony.
Many are hoping that Mitsuwa will help spread Japanese culture in the Valley area.

The doors opened after the Sake Barrel Ceremony with the invited guests. Customers that waited in long lines enjoyed their grocery shopping.

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January 22nd 2023 O.A.

Asian American Expo 2023

Asian American Expo exhibiting Asian products and businesses happened on January 14th and 15th at Pomona.

The event initially started off as the Chinese American Expo in 1982 since it always happened around Lunar New Year, and this year is the 41st time.

At the pavilion, many Asian and Japanese companies promoted their number one products.

Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula promoted their annual Lunar New Year Drawings.

There will be a free lion dance show on January 28th.
Lunar New Year Dining Specials will also be offered at the restaurant inside the resort.

At the venue, different companies and services also promoted their business to win Asian customers.

Although it was raining on the first day, many guests lined up at the outdoor food booths to eat their favorite dishes and everyone enjoyed the annual event.

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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.

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December 25th 2022 O.A.

Plant-Based Products

Next Meats, a company specializing in plant-based meat announced its new product line on December 14th in LA.

Plant-based foie gras, caviar and shelf-stable wagyu beef was announced. Next Meats and its subsidiary, Dr. Foods will begin manufacturing and selling the products.

At the event, dishes using the products were served by chef, Reina Montenegro who is known for her vegan recipes.
The products were tasted by restaurant individuals who were invited to the event and opinions were exchanged.

The products that were introduced at this event will be available for business and retail in the US starting next year.

Sushi Katsu-ya 25th Anniversary

Japanese restaurant group, Katsu-ya Group celebrated the 25th anniversary for their very first restaurant location, Sushi Katsu-ya and had a party.

Sushi Katsu-ya opened in 1997 at Studio City.
Along with their authentic Japanese sushi, the restaurant became famous for Chef Katsuya Uechi’s unique original menu like the “Spicy tuna with crispy rice”, and became a renowned restaurant group having 9 different locations in LA and Seattle.

At the party, Chef Katsuya stated his gratitude to the invited guests and filleted a tuna himself.
The tuna was then served as both sushi and sashimi at the party.

About 100 guests enjoyed the all-you-can-eat-and-drink party and celebrated Sushi Katsu-ya’s 25th anniversary.

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(日本語) 2022年12月11日放送

December 11th 2022 O.A.

Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy Flea Market

A flea market happened on Saturday, October 22nd at Gardena.

It was held by the Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy (KSCA) as a fundraiser to rebuild a nursing home for the Japanese and Japanese American communities.

23 organizations and businesses participated, like the Southern California Gardeners Federation and the Japanese Prefectural Association.
The bazaar had a variety of goods including second-hand items and precious goods.

Different booths like clothing, miscellaneous goods, bonsai, ceramics, textiles, traditional Japanese dolls, and crafts were at the event, and visitors enjoyed their shopping.

KSCA was founded in 2016 after the sale of Keiro Senior Facilities and is currently on a mission to open a new nursing home.

About 200 people attended the event. Silent auctions were also held and a total of $12,000 were raised.

The money raised will all go towards rebuilding a Japanese American nursing facility.

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