Who: George Takei, Sandra Endo, many others
What: Japan Day celebration of the friendship between the United States and Japan
Where: Central Park West between Sixty-Eighth & Eighty-First Sts.
When: Saturday, May 14, free, 12:30 – 4:30
Why: In May 2021, the annual Japan Day festival took place online; you can check out highlights here. This year the festival is anchored by the inaugural Japan Parade, featuring floats, live performances, and more, led by Grand Marshal George Takei and emceed by LA news correspondent Sandra Endo. The parade was supposed to take place in 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic. This year’s event honors the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Japan’s mission to the United States and the US introduction of baseball to Japan. “To see the Japanese community in New York celebrated is a beautiful thing and it will be exciting to see Japan’s friendship with New York on full display,” Takei said in a statement.
Alexandra E. Tataru won the Japan Parade grand prize for the above artwork (courtesy Alexandra E. Tataru and Japan Parade)
The opening ceremony will take place at 12:30 on Central Park West and Seventieth St., followed by the parade, which kicks off at 1:00 from CPW and Eighty-First. Among the many participants in the parade will be the cast of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon The Super Live, Hello Kitty, drummers Cobu and Soh Daiko, Japanese Folk Dance of NY, Kazanami Yosakoi Dance Project, Young People’s Chorus of New York City, sword fighters Tate Hatoryu, International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan, and Anime NYC. In addition, there will be a street fair from 1:00 to 4:30 on Sixty-Ninth St. between CPW and Columbus Ave., offering such food and drink as BBQ chashu bowl by Nakamura, hojicha panna cotta by Abe’s Kitchen and Mt. Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, fried chicken and onigiri by Tori-Bien, ramen by Ramen Kings, mochi donuts by Kai Sweets and Mt. Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, okonomiyaki by Otafuku, noodles by Soba-Ya, and tea from Ito En, along with a Hello Kitty photo booth, the portable Mikoshi shrine by Samukawa Jinja, origami by the Origami Therapy Association, a charity supporting the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, Japan tourism info, and more.