“Not Too Sweet” is a multimedia group art exhibition and series of community events, featuring 12+ artists of the AAPI diaspora, to be held on May 1-31, 2025 at the Koho Co-Creative Hub in SF Japantown. This exhibit aims to challenge traditional stereotypes and we invite our community to defy confines of expectation, rooted in our shared histories while opening doors to new possibilities. This body of work emphasizes experimentation and play.

Join us for the opening celebration on 5/3/25 6-9pm, and "Study Hall", a listening party and co-working session, on 5/18/25 12-4pm at @kohosf , in the heart of SF's Japantown.

Join us at the 21st Annual APA Heritage Awards & Gala Reception, San Francisco’s official AAPI Heritage Month celebration!

The APA Heritage Awards is a signature program of San Francisco’s celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Every year, the AAPI Heritage Celebration Committee honors civic organizations that have achieved significant milestones in serving the community.

Committee of 100, Council of Korean Americans, Japanese American Citizens League, Stand with Asian Americans, and The Asian American Foundation invite you to an important conversation:

Join us for a fireside conversation with Professor Franklin Tao, one of the first scientists charged — and fully exonerated after a prolonged legal battle — under the DOJ’s now-defunct China Initiative. Professor Tao will be joined by his wife, Hong Peng, and his attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, offering a rare and personal perspective on the human cost of misdirected national security policies.

Moderated by Charles Jung, President of the San Francisco Bar Association, the program will also examine the broader consequences of the Initiative with policy expert and civil rights advocate, Gisela Perez Kusakawa — from its impact on civil rights to lessons learned and ongoing concerns facing immigrant and Asian American communities in the United States. 

Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM PT
Location: Downtown San Francisco*

California Hana

Harriet Fukushima trained in the Ikenobo ikebana tradition in Kyoto, Japan and later explored Western floral design in the Bay Area. Her arrangements weave together the principles of Japanese ikebana with the textures and colors of California’s seasonal flowers and greenery.

In this introductory class, you’ll create a small, artful arrangement, guided by the fundamentals of Japanese design and the beauty of local materials.

Please bring your own flower scissors or garden pruning shears, available at local hardware stores, garden centers, or online.

Family Style is an art collective based in SF composed of multimedia artists from the Asian diaspora. We contribute to increasing Asian American representation, creative expression, and pride in being Asian American in the art community through community events, art exhibitions, and publishing zines.

KOHO is a dynamic, multi-disciplinary, cultural, non-profit arts organization developed for and by artists & creators, in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown.

All proceeds from this workshop will support Family Style’s upcoming showcase, ‘Not Too Sweet,’ at KOHO.

California Hana Workshop

Join us for an introductory flower arranging workshop using Japanese design.

California Hana

Harriet Fukushima trained in the Ikenobo ikebana tradition in Kyoto, Japan and later explored Western floral design in the Bay Area. Her arrangements weave together the principles of Japanese ikebana with the textures and colors of California’s seasonal flowers and greenery.

In this introductory class, you’ll create a small, artful arrangement, guided by the fundamentals of Japanese design and the beauty of local materials.

Please bring your own flower scissors or garden pruning shears, available at local hardware stores, garden centers, or online.

Family Style is an art collective based in SF composed of multimedia artists from the Asian diaspora. We contribute to increasing Asian American representation, creative expression, and pride in being Asian American in the art community through community events, art exhibitions, and publishing zines.

KOHO is a dynamic, multi-disciplinary, cultural, non-profit arts organization developed for and by artists & creators, in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown.

All proceeds from this workshop will support Family Style’s upcoming showcase, ‘Not Too Sweet,’ at KOHO.

Hello everyone! 😊

Kinmon Gakuen will be holding a Rummage Sale on Saturday, April 26th, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at our school (2031 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA).

🛍️ The items for sale have been generously donated by our community, and all proceeds will go towards supporting school operations. Please bring your family and friends and join us for this exciting event!

✨ Many items from the previous sale will be deeply discounted, and we also have plenty of new items available — don’t miss out on some great finds!

📦 Please note: We are not accepting new donations this time, as we still have many wonderful items remaining from the last sale. Thank you for your understanding!

🗓️ Event Details

Rummage Sale Day: Saturday, April 26th, 2025

Location: Kinmon Gakuen, 2031 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA

We look forward to seeing you at the sale!

Thank you for supporting Kinmon Gakuen! 🙏

Trump is signaling a return to one of his most devastating policies — the travel ban — and immigrant communities around the world are bracing for impact. But this time, it’s not just about who he’s letting in, it’s about who he’s kicking out. Speakers include:Kanwalroop Kaur Singh, Staff Attorney, Asian Law Caucus, Yasmine Taeb, Legislative and Political Director, MPower Change Action Fund, Sumayyah Waheed, Senior Policy Counsel, Muslim Advocates.

KOHO’s Matsuri House: Japanese Festival Fashion Pop-Up & Fundraiser: Experience the joy of wearing 浴衣 Yukata, the summer festival kimono, during the Cherry Blossom Festival! KOHO aims to transform and educate our visitors on Matsuri festival fashion and energize Sakura Matsuri though fashion and visual displays. We hope audiences walk away with knowing more about this tradition as an artisan medium. We will have a few Yukata and accessories for sale. On most days, we will conduct a workshop on how to fold and store your yukata and how to dress. Bring your own Yukata, and sign up for a limited slot for us to help dress you! RSVP to get notified as soon as we release the timeslots!

4/12 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/12 Sat, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/13 Sun, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/13 Sun, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/19 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/19 Sat, 3pm Yukata Workshop

4/20 Sun [Parade day], 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase only

Grand Parade

Sunday, April 20, 2025

The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Grand Parade brings color and cheer to the streets of San Francisco and Japantown! At a future in-person festival, the Grand Parade will occur on the final Sunday of the Festival. A lively procession of taiko drummers, dancers, and decorative floats will celebrate the Festival and the Japanese traditions that thrive here in Northern California.

Streams of colorful floats will be carrying individuals of Japanese American and other Asian American communities. Japanese classical (Buyo) and folk (Minyo) dance groups from around the U.S. and Japan will perform throughout the parade route like a myriad of floating butterflies. Highly honored Boy Scout Troops from the Japanese American communities will march proudly along the streets. The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen and her Court, as well as sister festival courts will cascade their way to Japantown in beautiful floats. Anchoring the parade is the hoisting of the San Francisco Taru Mikoshi by over one hundred strong individuals. It is a spectacle not to be missed, so be sure to come on out to cheer on the hundreds of participants!

KOHO’s Matsuri House: Japanese Festival Fashion Pop-Up & Fundraiser: Experience the joy of wearing 浴衣 Yukata, the summer festival kimono, during the Cherry Blossom Festival! KOHO aims to transform and educate our visitors on Matsuri festival fashion and energize Sakura Matsuri though fashion and visual displays. We hope audiences walk away with knowing more about this tradition as an artisan medium. We will have a few Yukata and accessories for sale. On most days, we will conduct a workshop on how to fold and store your yukata and how to dress. Bring your own Yukata, and sign up for a limited slot for us to help dress you! RSVP to get notified as soon as we release the timeslots!

4/12 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/12 Sat, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/13 Sun, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/13 Sun, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/19 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/19 Sat, 3pm Yukata Workshop

4/20 Sun [Parade day], 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase only

Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

April 12-13 & 19-20, 2025

Welcome to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival®, one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions and the largest Cherry Blossom Festival on the West Coast. All are welcome to join in the festivities as we celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture with you, live and in Person again!

Support our Festival by becoming a sponsor, volunteer, and/or attendee of this popular Japanese American community event. This event is free and open to the public.

Since 1968, the Festival serves to cultivate the continued alliance between Japan and the United States, using culture as its bridge. Each year, over 220,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the vibrant colors and grace of the Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community.

This year, we are excited to announce that while the Peace Plaza is undergoing renovations, our Festival is not scaling back and in fact, we are expanding! On the first weekend (April 12-13), we will be adding a block of Sutter Street, bringing our Festival to even more parts of our beloved Japantown community.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In recognition of this, our Community Marshal will honor the Hibakusha—survivors of the bombings—and their descendants. It is a meaningful moment to reflect on history and to reaffirm our commitment to peace.

Whether you are here to enjoy cultural performances, savor delicious food from our nonprofit food vendors, or cheer on the Grand Parade, we hope you will take a moment to appreciate the spirit of this Festival. There is something for everyone, and we cannot wait to share this special time with you.

Japan Society of Northern California Online Program: 5-6:10 pm, Wed, April 16. Experience the essence of Japanese aesthetics through art, architecture, and gardens. From the refined rusticity of wabi-sabi to an air of suggestive mystery, from the freedom and spontaneity of artistic expression to the elegance and grace of ritual and etiquette — join special guest Steve Beimel for a rich exploration of these timeless principles. Steve and his team at JapanCraft21 are deeply dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Japan’s traditional arts. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to discover the foundations of Japanese aesthetic sensibility. Reserve your spot today!

Final SF Performance! KINTSUKUROI follows members of the Ito family from their pre-war life in San Francisco’s Japantown to the concentration camps of the American West to the battlefields of Europe as they struggle to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

KOHO’s Matsuri House: Japanese Festival Fashion Pop-Up & Fundraiser: Experience the joy of wearing 浴衣 Yukata, the summer festival kimono, during the Cherry Blossom Festival! KOHO aims to transform and educate our visitors on Matsuri festival fashion and energize Sakura Matsuri though fashion and visual displays. We hope audiences walk away with knowing more about this tradition as an artisan medium. We will have a few Yukata and accessories for sale. On most days, we will conduct a workshop on how to fold and store your yukata and how to dress. Bring your own Yukata, and sign up for a limited slot for us to help dress you! RSVP to get notified as soon as we release the timeslots!

4/12 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/12 Sat, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/13 Sun, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/13 Sun, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/19 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/19 Sat, 3pm Yukata Workshop

4/20 Sun [Parade day], 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase only

Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

April 12-13 & 19-20, 2025

Welcome to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival®, one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions and the largest Cherry Blossom Festival on the West Coast. All are welcome to join in the festivities as we celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture with you, live and in Person again!

Support our Festival by becoming a sponsor, volunteer, and/or attendee of this popular Japanese American community event. This event is free and open to the public.

Since 1968, the Festival serves to cultivate the continued alliance between Japan and the United States, using culture as its bridge. Each year, over 220,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the vibrant colors and grace of the Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community.

This year, we are excited to announce that while the Peace Plaza is undergoing renovations, our Festival is not scaling back and in fact, we are expanding! On the first weekend (April 12-13), we will be adding a block of Sutter Street, bringing our Festival to even more parts of our beloved Japantown community.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In recognition of this, our Community Marshal will honor the Hibakusha—survivors of the bombings—and their descendants. It is a meaningful moment to reflect on history and to reaffirm our commitment to peace.

Whether you are here to enjoy cultural performances, savor delicious food from our nonprofit food vendors, or cheer on the Grand Parade, we hope you will take a moment to appreciate the spirit of this Festival. There is something for everyone, and we cannot wait to share this special time with you.

Music for the Ocean is a set of new compositions and improvisations by violinist/composer Chad Cannon, accompanied by pianist Hui Wu. The program builds empathy with and concern for the ocean by telling science-based stories about sound and marine life through music. Sounds from the ocean (such as hydrophone recordings of whale song from 6000m below the surface, and coral reef recordings), watery electronic soundscapes, and projected imagery (including underwater photography and abstract art) all come together to form an immersive, unforgettable experience. Audience members learn about human-created sounds and their effect on marine life, and hopefully come away from the performance eager to contribute to ocean and marine life conservation projects.

Chad Cannon is a composer interested in the intersection of history, cultures, and human stories. Recent credits include the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary film American Factory, Sony PlayStation's Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut (Iki Island Expansion), and HBO's Night is Not Eternal.

In 2023 he received a News and Documentary Emmy nomination for Exposing Muybridge. He is the arranger and orchestrator for the world-traveling Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki, and is the co-founder of Asia/America New Music Institute (AANMI). He is a graduate of Harvard, Juilliard, and the Sundance Composer Labs.

• This is a free community concert. Attendees are encouraged to reserve tickets here. Unticketed walk-ins are permitted based on availability, but ticketed patrons will be seated first. Unclaimed tickets will be released 10 minutes before the start time. Seats are unassigned.

• Performances and screenings in Tateuchi Hall are suitable for ages 7 and up. To ensure the best experience for all guests, children should be able to sit quietly during the performance (approx. one hour).

• CSMA’s 2024-25 Community Concert Series is supported by the Applied Materials Foundation and the Rotary Club of Los Altos. Thank you to our sponsors!

The Japantown Cultural District Scavenger Hunt kicks off at the JCD Visitor Center on April 12! How to participate:

1. Pick up a flyer at the Visitor Center.

2. Visit the above 5 stores/restaurants and take pictures of their storefronts or signboards.

3. Return to the Visitor Center and upload your photos to social media.

4. Receive Limited Edition Myaku Myaku stickers as a reward!

Reserve your seat at the Spring Tea Ceremony! This traditional event is held annually to celebrate the transition of the beautiful seasons and to enjoy a peaceful moment with friends and family.

There will be 4 tea ceremony sessions on April 12th, 2025 (Sat) at 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm at the historical Kanso-An tea room in Hokka Nichibei Kai Building.

We will be serving traditional Japanese Green Tea and Sweets at the ceremony. You will have the opportunity to experience the Tea Ceremony and learn about its Rich History and Cultural significance. Participants can choose to sit on the Tatami floor or bench seat.

Each session is about 45 minutes. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before the event. We can not guarantee your attendance at the ceremony if you are late.

SOCKS REQUIRED. White color is preferred per the examples of traditional Tabi socks.

RSVP by April 11th, 2025. If you have any questions or special requests, please do not hesitate to contact us at hokka.nichibeikai@yahoo.com

We look forward to sharing this special occasion with you!

Online Reservation: $28 + fees (Credit card)

Nichibei Kai Member: $18 (w/Promo Code) + fees

Walk-in: $33 non-members, $23 members (Cash only) *Based on availability, first-come, first-serve

KOHO’s Matsuri House: Japanese Festival Fashion Pop-Up & Fundraiser: Experience the joy of wearing 浴衣 Yukata, the summer festival kimono, during the Cherry Blossom Festival! KOHO aims to transform and educate our visitors on Matsuri festival fashion and energize Sakura Matsuri though fashion and visual displays. We hope audiences walk away with knowing more about this tradition as an artisan medium. We will have a few Yukata and accessories for sale. On most days, we will conduct a workshop on how to fold and store your yukata and how to dress. Bring your own Yukata, and sign up for a limited slot for us to help dress you! RSVP to get notified as soon as we release the timeslots!

4/12 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/12 Sat, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/13 Sun, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/13 Sun, 3pm Yukata workshop

4/19 Sat, 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase and Dressing

4/19 Sat, 3pm Yukata Workshop

4/20 Sun [Parade day], 11am - 3pm Yukata Purchase only

Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

April 12-13 & 19-20, 2025

Welcome to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival®, one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions and the largest Cherry Blossom Festival on the West Coast. All are welcome to join in the festivities as we celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture with you, live and in Person again!

Support our Festival by becoming a sponsor, volunteer, and/or attendee of this popular Japanese American community event. This event is free and open to the public.

Since 1968, the Festival serves to cultivate the continued alliance between Japan and the United States, using culture as its bridge. Each year, over 220,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the vibrant colors and grace of the Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community.

This year, we are excited to announce that while the Peace Plaza is undergoing renovations, our Festival is not scaling back and in fact, we are expanding! On the first weekend (April 12-13), we will be adding a block of Sutter Street, bringing our Festival to even more parts of our beloved Japantown community.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In recognition of this, our Community Marshal will honor the Hibakusha—survivors of the bombings—and their descendants. It is a meaningful moment to reflect on history and to reaffirm our commitment to peace.

Whether you are here to enjoy cultural performances, savor delicious food from our nonprofit food vendors, or cheer on the Grand Parade, we hope you will take a moment to appreciate the spirit of this Festival. There is something for everyone, and we cannot wait to share this special time with you.

Free livestream via Zoom

3 films + discussion with filmmakers

Murder in the High Desert (20 min) by Emiko Omori

Wakasa Spirit Stone (7 min) by Glenn Mitsui

Spirit Rock (4 min) by Claudia Katayanagi

James Wakasa was shot and killed by a guard on April 11, 1943 at Topaz concentration camp during WWII. Join us to discuss buried history, his WWII monument, and the Wakasa Spirit Stone, a washi sculpture made by camp survivors and descendants that is being taken in remembrance to the places where camp inmates were shot and killed by the military.

The J-Town Community Clean-Up has been a very successful effort led by the Japantown Community Benefit District. The J-town Community Clean-Up is also a great opportunity for groups and organizations to get involved in Japantown!

In order to provide all participants tools needed to clean our neighborhood we are limiting the number of volunteers to 30 for each Community Clean-Up date. This number will allow us to effectively use the volunteers time to clean our community.

Throughout the cleaning we will have community photographers taking photos of all the hard work. These photos will be shared on our social media as well as our Keeping Japantown Connected e-news that goes out to the community, City agencies/departments and to the general public. By signing on to this Google Form you have given us permission to use the photos taken during your volunteer time.

Bay Area Convening: connecting our history of Japanese American WWII incarceration to the current moment and uniting against mass detention and deportation @ KOHO

2 - 4PM