Nichi Bei Foundation

Nichi Bei Foundation Japanese American news and culture
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The Nichi Bei Foundation is an educational and charitable nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping the Japanese American community connected, informed and empowered – primarily through a community newspaper (Nichi Bei Weekly) and Website (www.nichibei.org) as well as educational programming.

Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge plans to close at the end of the year despite supporters’ hopes that the long-time karaoke ...
08/27/2026

Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge plans to close at the end of the year despite supporters’ hopes that the long-time karaoke bar can remain on the second floor of the Kinokuniya Building in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Masae Matsumoto, owner of the local late-night favorite, told the Nichi Bei News she plans to close up shop at the end of the year after her landlord, the Kinokuniya Bookstores of America, declined to renew the lease for the location. The bar, which is one of the few establishments open late in the ethnic enclave, is a local favorite spot for karaoke.

Read more here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/08/karaoke-bar-festa-seeks-next-steps-as-closure-looms/

Ayami Sato wants to learn and teach during the inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League. She also wants to he...
08/26/2026

Ayami Sato wants to learn and teach during the inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League. She also wants to help establish the WPBL as a viable option for international players.

Widely considered the top female pitcher in the world, Sato was one of eight WPBL players born in Japan on the league’s rosters going into its opening weekend. The United States accounted for 33 of the league’s 65 players, followed by Canada (11), Japan, Mexico (five) and Australia (four).

Read more about Ayami here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/08/womens-pro-baseball-league-has-strong-contingent-of-international-players-for-inaugural-season/

BARBED WIRE BETWEEN USWritten by Mia WenjenIllustrated by Violeta EncarnaciĂłn (New York: Red Comet Press, 2026, 48 pp., ...
08/23/2026

BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US

Written by Mia Wenjen
Illustrated by Violeta EncarnaciĂłn (New York: Red Comet Press, 2026, 48 pp., $19.99, hardcover/paperback)

“Barbed Wire Between Us” is a profound and deeply moving story of two girls connected by their parallel experiences of unjust incarceration. Separated by 80 years, both find themselves behind barbed wire. The first narrative follows a Japanese American girl growing up in the 1940s. “In this land of promise, we hoped to find a place to belong,” she reflects. Instead, she and her family are forcibly removed from their homes, bringing only what they could carry, their family separated, and placed into an incarceration camp at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

The book then seamlessly segues into contemporary America. A second girl and her family come to the United States to start a new life “in this land of promise,” only to face the same fate: separation and imprisonment.

Read more here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/07/history-repeats-itself-in-a-stunning-story/

This Sunday in San Francisco’s Japantown!
08/22/2026

This Sunday in San Francisco’s Japantown!

THE JAPANESE PANTRY: FROM SAKE TO SOY, ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR JAPANESE HOME COOKINGBy Emiko Davies (Melbourne, Austra...
08/22/2026

THE JAPANESE PANTRY: FROM SAKE TO SOY, ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR JAPANESE HOME COOKING

By Emiko Davies (Melbourne, Australia: Smith Street Books, 2025, 272 pp., $40, hardcover)

Emiko Davies, an Australian-Japanese food writer who also runs her own cooking school in Tuscany, Italy writes her seventh cookbook, “The Japanese Pantry,” continuing to share her love of home cooking with the world.

Davies begins the book through sharing her own inspirations when building her own pantry, and then diving into what many consider essential flavors in Japanese cooking, such as sa-shi-su-se-so (sugar, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, miso) and ichiju-sansai (one soup, three dishes), and different suggestions on how to combine dishes together to plan a Japanese meal. Davies organizes her book by recipes surrounding her seven essentials for Japanese cooking: soy sauce, miso, seaweed, sake, rice vinegar, sesame and tea. At the beginning of each chapter, she goes into a deep dive for each ingredient, giving readers back history and context for how ingredients are developed and their cultural significance.

Read more about the book here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/07/traditional-japanese-home-cooking-shines/

JAPANESE COOKING WITH KIDS: 50 KID-TESTED RECIPES TO MAKE TOGETHER!By Debra Samuels and Mayumi Uejima-Carr (North Claren...
08/21/2026

JAPANESE COOKING WITH KIDS: 50 KID-TESTED RECIPES TO MAKE TOGETHER!

By Debra Samuels and Mayumi Uejima-Carr (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 2025, 128 pp., $19.99, hardcover)

“Japanese Cooking with Kids” is not just a cookbook, it’s a step into Japanese-style food education for children, with the intent to help you connect and be a part of your child’s shokuiku, or food education. Debra Samuels and Mayumi Uejima-Carr are part of a nonprofit organization originally from Japan that addresses hunger and health issues across the globe. Taking a cue from a Japanese food education program, Samuels and Uejima-Carr consider food education as part of whole child development, an important way to encourage children to become more aware of nutrition and increase their interest in food preparation, cooking and trying new foods. Their framework shapes this book, making it more than a collection or recipes, but more of a guide for helping children create a stronger connection to food through making food, and building a healthy relationship with the food they eat.

Read more here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/07/cooking-with-intention/

08/20/2026

Nichi Bei Café: Season 5, Episode 8 — Food
Premieres Thursday, July 16, 2026, 6 p.m.
On the Nichi Bei YouTube channel: youtube.com/nichibeifoundation

Pastry:
Tokyo Fish: Still serving fish to the local Berkeley community

Salad:
Yaoya-san Japanese Grocery Store: Supplying El Cerrito with Japanese provisions

Chef Special:
Last Manju Shop in the Bay Area: Shuei-do continues to serve the community

Dessert:
Healthy Japanese Cooking for Kids: Table for Two USA award-winning cookbook for kids

Tips:
Community Events

For info and past episodes and segments check out:
nichibei.org/cafe

CONVERSATIONAL JAPANESE: A PRACTICAL COMMUNICATION GUIDE FOR VISITORS TO JAPAN �By Anne Kaneko (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tu...
08/20/2026

CONVERSATIONAL JAPANESE: A PRACTICAL COMMUNICATION GUIDE FOR VISITORS TO JAPAN ďż˝

By Anne Kaneko (North Clarendon, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing, 2025, 352 pp., $15.99, paperback)

While most people can look up basic translations on their phone to get by, if you need a guide that goes beyond the basic greetings and salutations (which this book also includes), this could be the book that you read before your next trip to Japan.

Read more here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/07/a-thoughtful-tourists-guide-to-speaking-japanese/

EVERYDAY SAKE: THE GO-TO GUIDE FOR CHOOSING, PAIRING, AND SERVINGBy Yoko Kumano and Kayako Akabori (Danvers, Mass.: Clar...
08/19/2026

EVERYDAY SAKE: THE GO-TO GUIDE FOR CHOOSING, PAIRING, AND SERVING

By Yoko Kumano and Kayako Akabori (Danvers, Mass.: Clarkson Potter, 2026, 224 pp., $26.99, hardcover)

I am a big fan of Umami Mart. The blog helped me research sake and as a Sake Gumi (Umami Mart’s bottle club) member, I learned the amazing background stories of several craft sake brewers. So it should be no surprise that I am ecstatic that Yoko Kumano and Kayako Akabori released a new sake book this May. Their first print publication, the “Sake + Shochu Talk” zine, charmed its way into many sake lovers’ hands because of its informative graphics and illustrations. I’m thrilled that they are sharing even more of their knowledge and recommendations in this fun and practical 226-page sake guide. The book’s colorful illustrations provide a playful presentation that is reflected in their brick-and-mortar store in Oakland, Calif. If you love all things “Japandi,” this is a great addition to the kitchen or food bookshelf.

Read more here: https://www.nichibei.org/2026/07/a-fun-guide-to-sake/

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