They've had Hokkaido Fairs, Okinawa Fairs, even an Aomori Fair, next weekend Mitsuwa will have their first Kyoto Fair: http://www.mitsuwa.com/ai1ec_event/kyoto-fair-torrance-new-jersey-stores/?instance_id=2032&lang=en

This Sunday, April 12th, and it's free!!: http://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/_calendar/index.aspx

gaijinmark wrote:

They tried this last year and came up pretty short but they're going to try again this year. If you're in the L.A. area on April 18th and not doing anything else, bring your ukulele: http://www.jaccc.org/laukuleleexpo

And they didn't make it:


LOS ANGELES (AP) — What do you get when more than 1,100 ukulele (OO'-koo-leh-leh) enthusiasts gather and begin playing their instruments?

Lots of noise, but not a new world record.

Crowds gathered Saturday in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles in a second annual attempt to set a new mark for the largest ensemble of ukuleles, the Hawaiian instrument that looks like a mini guitar.

The ensemble played the same song for five minutes, but the Los Angeles Times reported (lat.ms/1JUwbXr) that 1,102 participants fell short of the official Guinness record of 2,370, set in England.

Meanwhile, a recent gathering in Tahiti said it attracted an as-yet-unverified 4,750 participants.

Mitsuwa Torrance, Hawaiian Fair, May 22nd-24th: http://www.mitsuwa.com/ai1ec_event/hawaiian-fair-torrance-store/?instance_id=2126&lang=en

Torrance Mitsuwa, Gourmet Fair from June 12th to 22nd: http://www.mitsuwa.com/ai1ec_event/japanese-gourmet-fair/?instance_id=2154&lang=en

That time of year, kids. This year's Nisei Week Queen candidates: http://www.niseiweek.org/2015-nisei-week-queen-candidates/

I gotta go with Sara.

gaijinmark wrote:

That time of year, kids. This year's Nisei Week Queen candidates: http://www.niseiweek.org/2015-nisei-week-queen-candidates/ I gotta go with Sara.

I don't see a clear-cut winner.

This exhibit starts today at JANM and its only running until the end of the month, looks interesting: http://www.janm.org/exhibits/jidai/

gaijinmark wrote:

That time of year, kids. This year's Nisei Week Queen candidates: http://www.niseiweek.org/2015-nisei-week-queen-candidates/ I gotta go with Sara.

I think this is the first time I ever guessed right: http://www.rafu.com/2015/08/sara-hutter-crowned-nisei-week-queen/

And one of the worst Nisei Week t-shirts ever, IMO:http://www.niseiweek.org/2015-nisei-week-merchandise/

75th anniversary I was expecting something special, this is pretty plain and ordinary.

Short video of the Nebuta float from last night's parade. It looks better if you watch it on full screen, they you get a better idea of how big it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7dyPkVLsTI

gaijinmark wrote:

And one of the worst Nisei Week t-shirts ever, IMO:http://www.niseiweek.org/2015-nisei-week-merchandise/ 75th anniversary I was expecting something special, this is pretty plain and ordinary.

Yeah, a pretty disappointing design.

I thought the 2013 design was really good, but t-shirt itself was one step above being tissue paper.

Tohoku Fair at Torrance Mitsuwa starting this Thursday: http://www.mitsuwa.com/ai1ec_event/the-second-rising-tohoku-food-fair-part-i-torrance-store/?instance_id=2284&lang=en

If triky is still around he really needs to pick up some of that Sendai Kuroge Wagyu. At $49.99 a pound should be able to make some decent burgers from that.

gaijinmark wrote:

Short video of the Nebuta float from last night's parade. It looks better if you watch it on full screen, they you get a better idea of how big it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7dyPkVLsTI

The Nebuta floats from Aomori are quite spectacular.

I saw one of those floats in Hawaii this past March; it was shipped there to participate in the Honolulu Festival parade. But it was spelled "Neputa" in romaji. When I wondered if that was a misspelling, I was told that this float came from Hirosaki in Aomori prefecture and there it is called Neputa.

Another example of dialectal differences.

Hokkaido Fair, Torrance Mitsuwa, September 11-21:https://www.mitsuwa.com/ai1ec_event/hokkaido-torrance-2/?instance_id=2296&lang=en

The Marukai's in Gardena and Costa Mesa are now Tokyo Central:http://www.rafu.com/2015/09/pre-opening-in-pacific-square/

I think the big Marukai further down on Western is still a Marukai but I haven't been down there to check yet.

gaijinmark wrote:

The Marukai's in Gardena and Costa Mesa are now Tokyo Central:http://www.rafu.com/2015/09/pre-opening-in-pacific-square/ I think the big Marukai further down on Western is still a Marukai but I haven't been down there to check yet.

The main Marukai on Artesia Blvd. is still a Marukai; I was there a couple of weeks ago.

The new Tokyo Central on Redondo Beach Blvd. used to be called Pacific Market. I liked shopping there; it often had deals separate from the regular Marukai stores and also had a nice selection of goods from Hawaii. The only drawback was it was always really cold in there; great during the summer, not comfortable at all the rest of the year.

The West Covina Marukai has also been converted to a Tokyo Central.

shin2 wrote:

The new Tokyo Central on Redondo Beach Blvd. used to be called Pacific Market. I liked shopping there; it often had deals separate from the regular Marukai stores and also had a nice selection of goods from Hawaii. The only drawback was it was always really cold in there; great during the summer, not comfortable at all the rest of the year.

And that place has the worst parking lot IN THE WORLD! I've never seen a parking lot with more bumps and dips. You could probably make a smoother parking lot on top of the La Brea Tar Pits.

If anybody thinks being part of the Nisei Week Court is just a matter of smiling and looking good in a kimono, think again. Camryn Sugita, who is part of this years Court has a blog describing what it was like. This is part 3 but there are links at the top to parts 1 & 2:http://blog.janm.org/index.php/2015/09/08/diary-of-a-nisei-week-princess-part-3-the-big-event/

Progress is not always good:http://www.rafu.com/2015/09/last-call-at-oiwake/

Kokekokko over on Central has closed as well.

This weekend, L.A. Eigafest: http://www.laeigafest.com/

gaijinmark wrote:

Kokekokko over on Central has closed as well.

It moved over to Weller Court, I believe.