Feb. 10, 2013 was the Chinese New Year's Day in Japan's largest Chinatown in Yokohama. Lion dances and firecrackers abound during the late afternoon and early evening. My first Chinese New Year in Japan, called "shunsetsu" in Japanese (春節). New Year's events also held on a few weekends after the Chinese New year's. Glad to see that China-Japan relations are alive and well here, regardless of political differences.

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The annual Noge Daidogei street performance festival was held on April 24-25, 2010 near Sakuragicho Station. Street performers included topless butoh dancers painted in gold, incredible Chinese acrobats, street jugglers, and Japanese belly dancers.

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Japan's largest museum dedicated to the nikkei experience. There are permanent exhibitions explaining the immigration to Hawai'i, continental USA, and other countries especially South America. There are also changing or special exhibitions so it's worth visiting more than once. Besides exhibition rooms, the museum has a reference library (closed on Sun.) with a collection of 20,000 books and materials about Japan's immigration. It even has kami-shibai (picture card stories). You can browse through recent Japanese novels such as "Japanese-Americans 99 Years of Love." The museum also has a restaurant with an outdoor terrace (open 11:30 am - 1:30 pm, 5:30 pm - 9 pm). The museum is operated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which is Japan's version of the Peace Corps.

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The Japanese Overseas Migration Museum (JOMM) in Yokohama held a special exhibition titled, "Hawai’i's Nikkeijin Matsuri—Oshogatsu and Bon Dance" (ハワイの日系人のまつり －お正月とボンダンス－) from Dec. 23 to Feb. 12, 2017.
It's about New Year's and bon dance in Hawai’i. (Open 10 am–6:00 pm, enter by 5:30 pm, closed Mon.). Free admission. The museum is a 10-15 min. walk from JR Sakuragicho Station or 10-min. walk from Bashamichi Station (Minato Mirai Line).

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Near Sakuragicho Station, Kamonyama Park features a statue of Lord Ii Naosuke of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture. He was the Chief Minister in the Tokugawa Government and the key person to open up Japan to the world in the late 19th century. Yokohama was one of the ports opened to foreign trade as a result.

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Hawaii's most famous canoe named Hokule'a departed Hawaii in Jan. 2007 and sailed to Micronesia and arrived in Japan in April. It visited Okinawa, Kyushu, Shikoku, Hiroshima, and other places until arriving in Yokohama on June 9, 2007, the final stop. I went to see the Hokulea canoe arrive in Yokohama. Like at its other stops in Japan, Hokule'a offered free onboard canoe tours to the public during its one-week stay in Yokohama. We could see the top deck, rudder, masts, cramped sleeping quarters, food pantry, and more of this legendary canoe named after a star named Hokulea in Hawaiian.

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What may be Japan's largest Hawaiian festival was held in two locations in Yokohama during July 25-27, 2008. The main venue was at the huge Osanbashi Pier normally used to receive large passenger ships. It is cavernous hall used by the three-day festival to set up four stages and numerous booths selling Hawaiian goods and food. The other location was Landmark Plaza in Minato Mirai.

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Yokohama Port was opened to the world in 1859, making 2009 the 150th anniversary of the port's opening. To celebrate, Yokohama held EXPO Y150 during April 28 to Sept. 27, 2009, a modest-scale expo featuring pavilions, theaters, and performances. The expo has three areas, with the Bayside Area being the main one at the waterfront area next to the Red Brick Warehouses. Also see my video at YouTube.

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Photos of the 1st and 2nd CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show held in Yokohama. The 1st CP+ was held during March 11-14, 2010. The 2nd CP+ was held on Feb. 9-13, 2011. It replaces the old photo expo held in Tokyo called Photo Imaging Expo (PIE). Over 41,000 people attended CP+ in 2010.

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