September Volunteer Opportunities

Saturday, September 18th: National AIDS Memorial Grove Clean-up

The San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League has invited Nakayoshi to help clean up the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, September 18th. Volunteering runs from 9am-Noon. Bring comfortable clothes that you can get dirty!

Please e-mail Haruka Roudebush directly if you are available to volunteer at haruka.roudebush@gmail.com

What: National AIDS Memorial Grove Annual Cleanup w/SF JACL
Location: Golden Gate Park , Intersection of Bowling Green and Middle Drive East, San Francisco, CA
Time: 9am-Noon
RSVP: E-mail Haruka Roudebush at haruka.roudebush@gmail.com

Saturday, September 25th: JCCCNC's Annual Fundraiser: Tabemasho!

Come on out for Nakayoshi's official volunteer event for Q3 2010! We'll be helping out once again at the JCCCNC's annual fundraising event with shifts from 3-8pm. More details will be posted soon, but save the date! For more details on the event, go to: http://www.jcccnc.org/events/dinner.htm

Volunteers Needed at Day of Remembrance - 2/21/10

For any of you interested and available, Nakayoshi has been asked to provide volunteers to serve as VIP escorts at the Bay Area Day of Remembrance this Sunday, February 21 at the Sundance Kabuki Theater in San Francisco Japantown from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

The following is information for the volunteer shift:

11:00am - Volunteer Orientation @ Sundance Kabuki Theater

11:30am - VIP's arrive for program rehearsal, volunteer shift begins

12:00pm - Program Rehearsal

1:30pm - Theater door open to general public

2:00pm - Day of Remembrance Program Begins

4:00pm - Program ends, candlelight procession to reception and refreshments at JCCCNC

4:45pm - (optional) Assist with cleanup of reception

Dress code for volunteers is business casual. If you have questions or would like to volunteer, please e-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com by Friday, February 19, 2010. Thanks! Hope to see you guys there!

36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Festival - Volunteer with us!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Want to volunteer and do something that feels worth while? Want to see children laugh and have an amazing time as they play tons of fun games and activities?

If you've said "yes" to all the above, come out and volunteer this Sunday (Aug. 8th) with Nakayoshi as we volunteer at the 36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Festival in San Francisco's Japantown.

We'll be volunteering at Nihonmachi's Children's World section, helping children bounce around and play fun (cost affordable) games!

We're looking for amazing folks to come volunteer for the following shifts. Sign ups are going on until this Wednesday, August 5th. Email us at mailto:nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com with your name, desired shift, and phone contact (for the day of).

The following shifts are available and we would greatly appreciate it if you signed up for any of the following 2 hour shifts:

8am-10am (Set-up)
10am-12noon
12noon to 2pm
2pm to 4pm
4pm-6pm (Clean-up)

Come out and have some fun as Nakayoshi volunteers for our 2nd time at this year's Nihonmachi Street Festival. We look forward to seeing you there this Sunday!

Monthly Update - May 2009

Hey Nakayoshi! Time for another monthly update on all the fun we have coming up in May!

April was a busy month for many of us with the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, Nakayoshi’s first hiking trip at Purisma Creek, and more volunteering at the San Jose Nikkei Matsuri, where we helped the West Valley JACL chapter raise over $1800 at their strawberry shortcake booth! We’re off to a strong start to the month of May already, as our first volunteer event was on May 2 at the Kristi Yamaguchi Children’s Day Festival at the JCCCNC in SF Japantown. Our awesome volunteers made and sold enough spam musubi’s to raise $300 for the JCCCNC’s childrens’ programs after splitting the profits. A huge thank you to all our volunteers who have come out and contributed their time and effort!

Even if you didn’t make it to everything last month, we still have a lot coming up during the rest of May! It’s not too late to get tickets to the SF Giants Japanese Heritage Night baseball game this Friday, and there’s another volunteering opportunity coming up at the SF Asian Heritage Street Celebration this Saturday in honor of API Heritage Month. We’re finishing out the month strong with another fun nighttime outing in SF’s Marina district. As always, let us know if you’re coming out by e-mailing us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com or check the event listings at our Facebook group page!

In this update:
5/15/09 – JA Heritage Night w/the SF Giants
5/16/09 – 5th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration
5/29/09 - Nakayoshi Social Event: SF Marina District Crawl

Other Community Events in May:
5/17/09 – South San Francisco's Asian American Heritage Celebration
5/24/09 – Berkeley United Methodist Church 51st Annual Food Bazaar

Save These Dates – More information to come in Nakayoshi’s June Monthly Update!
6/7/09 – Nakayoshi’s 1st Birthday BBQ in Golden Gate Park!
6/20/09 – SF Mission District Crawl #2
6/27/09 - Volunteer @ SF JACL Chapter's Youth Fishing Derby
TBD – Nakayoshi Planning Retreat (July)
TBD – Napa Wine Tasting Trip (July)
8/22/09 – Tahoe Camping Trip

Friday, May 15: Japanese Heritage Night with the San Francisco Giants

Join us this Friday on May 15th at AT&T Park in San Francisco to celebrate Japanese Heritage Night with the Giants and watch infielder Travis Ishikawa take on the visiting NY Mets! Tickets are only $20, and include an authentic ceramic sake set with five free taste tests. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will also support the SF Hep B Free! Campaign. Also enjoy pre-game entertainment with your Nakayoshi friends in a special Japanese heritage section with hundreds of other Japanese Giants fans starting at 5:00 pm. Game start time is 7:15 pm.

Call (415) 972-2298 to buy your tickets, and tell them you're with Nakayoshi! Look out for the Nakayoshi table at the park before game time! Tickets are only $20!! Buy them ASAP!!!

UPDATE: Nakayoshi has a limited number of discounted tickets available for $15! E-mail us ASAP directly at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com for availability. Please note that discounted tickets do not include the promotional SF Giants ceramic sake set and taste tests.

For more information on this month’s social or how to get involved with the Social Committee, email nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com

What: SF Giants Japanese Heritage Night
Date: Friday, May 15, 2009
Location: AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
Time: Festivities start 5:00 pm, game starts 7:15 pm
Price: $20 w/sake set (call 415.972.2298 to order tix); $15 w/out sake set (e-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com for discounted ticket availability)

Saturday, May 16: Volunteer at 5th Annual SF Asian Heritage Street Celebration!

This year’s festival held in conjunction with API Heritage Month will be in San Francisco Civic Center outside the Asian Art Museum and the Little Saigon neighborhood. The festival is expecting over 100,000 people and will feature two stages, arts and crafts, food, karaoke, traditional and pop culture, import cars, Thai kickboxing, carnival rides and games, as well as free Hep B screenings with the SF Hep B Free campaign.

Nakayoshi is taking signups for the 3-6pm shift, and could use as many volunteers as possible to help out! E-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you can make the shift! Nakayoshi will also be at the JACL information booth all day starting at 11am. Stop by and say hi while you check out the rest of the festival! More information on the AHSC is at http://www.asianfairsf.com.

What: Volunteer at the 5th Annual SF Asian Heritage Street Celebration
Date: Saturday, May 16, 2009
Location: SF Civic Center (On Larkin, between Grove and Ellis)
Time: 3:00-6:00 pm

Friday, May 29: SF Marina District Crawl

It's been a while since our last neighborhood crawl, but not to worry, the social committee has heard your requests for another nighttime outing! This time we'll be hitting up SF's Marina district, starting the evening off at Gravity and seeing where the night takes us from there. Come on out with your posse for some (21+) Friday night fun with Nakayoshi! Let us know if you're in by RSVPing at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com.

What: SF Marina District Crawl
Date: Friday, May 29, 2009
Starting Location: Gravity, 3251 Scott St (between Lombard and Chestnut), San Francisco, CA 94123
Time: 9:00pm - 2:00am

Sunday, May 31: Monthly Planning Meeting

Nakayoshi's core committee meets on the last Sunday of every month in SF Japantown to plan out the great volunteer opportunities and fun social events we put on for you all. Want to get more involved? Have some ideas or feedback of your own? We could always use another pair of hands and fresh minds to help out our committees! Let us know if you're coming by e-mailing us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com.

What: May Monthly Planning Meeting
Date: Sunday, May 31, 2009
Location: National JACL Headquarters, 1765 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Other Community Events in May
Here are a couple other API and Japanese American community events you might catch some us at this month:

Sunday, May 17: South San Francisco Asian Heritage Month Celebration
Co-Sponsored by South San Francisco Asian Social Club and Friends of Parks and Recreation
12 noon-3:00pm @ Joseph Fernekes Community Center, Orange Park, South San Francisco (on Orange Avenue between Tennis Drive and Memorial Drive)
$8 for adults, $3 ages 12 and under; $5 after 1:00pm for adults
RSVP: (650) 255-9974

Sunday, May 24: Berkeley United Methodist Church 51st Annual Japanese American Food Bazaar
Futomaki and inari sushi, curry rice, udon, and other delicious Japanese American food!
12 noon-4:00pm @ Berkeley United Methodist Church
1710 Carleton Street (at McGee), Berkeley, CA

Hope to see you all around!

All Nakayoshi events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested. Not on the Nakayoshi e-mail list? Click here to subscribe. Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com. For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog and website and http://www.nakayoshi.org, or find our group page on Facebook! Nakayoshi is a program sponsored by the Northern California Western Nevada Pacific District of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Tofu for Tykes

On Sunday, March 22, Nakayoshi will yet again be flexing a little of its volunteer muscle over in San Francisco's Japantown, this time in support of Nihonmachi Little Friends, a Japanese, bilingual and multicultural childcare organization committed to providing quality and affordable childcare services. Join us as we help raise funds for this vital community organization through a one-of-a-kind event: a tofu matsuri.

Actually, a "Tofu Dessert Competition and Festival," to be exact. Organized by the Nichi Bei Times and held at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California (1840 Sutter Street), this extravaganza will run from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and include a tofu dessert competition, a tofu nutritionist talk show, tofu games, and a tofu haiku contest. That's a lot of tofu.

Nakayoshi is looking for volunteers to pitch in for one or more shifts (and anyone who covers all three gets lunch):
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Set up
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Event support
4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. – Clean up

Hit us up on Facebook or in the comments to let us know you're in.

Or, if you'd rather attend the festival as a regular guest, you can do so for $10 online or $12 at the door. Bring the little ones, too -- they get in free if they're 3 and under.

Nakayoshi Bi-weekly Update No. 3 - November 7, 2008

Hey kids, it's time for another update on Nakayoshi's upcoming events and activities in November! There are still a couple spots open for the Sushi-making class this Sunday as well as for the Nakayoshi Gokon dinner/mixer next Thursday for you single people, so e-mail us ASAP to RSVP. We also have another fun night out coming up on the 21st, this time to cruise around the Mission district in San Francisco. Don't forget to buy your tickets to the Warriors game on 12/12! Read below for details on all this and more. Hope we see you around this month!

In this update (new events in bold):
11/9/08 - Tabemasho! Nakayoshi Cooking Class Series: Sushi
11/13/08 - Nakayoshi Gokon (Singles Mixer)
11/21/08 - Monthly Social Mixer - SF Mission District
11/23/08 - Monthly Meeting
12/6/08 - SF JACL Spaghetti Crab Feed Benefit
12/12/08 Golden State Warriors Asian American Heritage Night

Sunday, November 9, 2008: Tabemasho! Nakayoshi Cooking Class Series - Food: Sushi


There are still a few open spots at our cooking class! Come on out this Sunday to learn the process of basic sushi-making, from preparing sushi rice to rolling techniques for that perfect and delicious hand roll! The class will be taught by Nakayoshi members Graig and Sean Inaba, with 12 years of professional experience of sushi-making instruction between the two of them. All materials and supplies will be provided by Nakayoshi. Space for this event is limited to the first 20 paid participants, so contact us ASAP to ensure a spot in the class! Price: $40 general public, $35 for JACL members (make checks payable to "NCWNP JACL")

Location: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of California (JCCCNC), Issei Memorial Hall, 1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA
Time: 1:30pm-4:30pm

Thursday, November 13, 2008: Nakayoshi Gokon (Singles Mixer)

There's still space for one more lucky lady and two single guys at the Nakayoshi Gokon! Come get to know other singles over food and drinks in a fun and relaxed setting. RSVP to nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com (be sure to include any dietary limitations). Single folks only!

What: A Konpa or Gokon is a Japanese gathering over drinks and food and could be described as a group blind date.
When: Thursday, November 13th, 6:30 pm
Where: San Francisco's New Pisco Latin Lounge (warning: website has embedded music) 1817 Market St. @ Octavia (map)
Why: Meet some new people and make some new friends (and potentially more!).
Cost: $20-$30 (price TBA) which will include food and drinks.

Friday, November 21, 2008: Nakayoshi Monthly Social Mixer - SF Mission District

If you missed out on last month's North Beach crawl, don't worry, we're doing it again! Bring your friends and join the rest of the Nakayoshi crew for another monthly nighttime prowl, this time in the Mission district in San Francisco! We'll be meeting at 9pm at Kilowatt on 16th Street, and move on to other spots and late-night burrito joints from there. The event is open to anyone 21+. E-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you're coming, have questions, or if requesting a particular place in the area for us to drop by.

Location: Start at Kilowatt 3160 16th Street (between Guerrero and Albion St.), San Francisco, CA map
16th Street BART Station nearby
Time: 9:00 pm

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008: Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting

Have ideas for fun activities Nakayoshi should be doing? Have a cause or issue you think we should get involved with? Come out and tell us at our next meeting! Please note the change in our usual meeting date/time this month, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Meetings are usually held on the last Sunday of every month from 1:00pm-4:00pm at the National JACL Headquarters building in San Francisco Japantown.

Location: National JACL Headquarters, 1765 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115 map
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Saturday, December 6th, 2008: SF JACL Spaghetti Crab Feed Benefit for Campaign for Justice: Redress Now for Japanese Latin American Internees

Join Nakayoshi as we volunteer at the San Francisco JACL chapter's annual Spaghetti Crab Feed on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 from 5:00 to 8:00pm at the Christ United Presbyterian Church in Japantown. The SF JACL will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Campaign for Justice, an organization committed to gaining redress to the remaining Japanese internees who were taken from Latin America and placed in US internment camps during WWII, but did not receive the full redress that other Japanese Americans internment camp internees received. Volunteers will assist with setup and cleanup of the event, as well as help prepare and serve food and drinks. Past beneficiaries from the SF JACL's annual Spaghetti Crabfeed include the American Friends Service Committee and the Nikkei Community Internship.

Don't feel like volunteering? You can still support by buying tickets to the event and having a delicious crab/spaghetti dinner for $20/person! E-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you're interested in volunteering or purchasing tickets. To learn more about the Campaign for Justice and the plight of Japanese Latin American internees, go to: http://www.campaignforjusticejla.org/

When: Saturday, December 6, 2008
Where: Christ United Presbyterian Church, 1700 Sutter Street (At intersection of Sutter and Laguna in SF Japantown), San Francisco, CA
Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm (volunteer shifts start earlier and are available throughout the day)
Cost: $20/ticket, $10 for children under 12

Friday, December 12, 2008: Golden State Warriors Asian American Heritage Night

For all you ballers and fans out there, come watch an NBA game at the (ROAR)acle Arena as Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets step up to the Warriors for Asian American Heritage Night with the Golden State Warriors! Tickets to the Golden State Warriors Asian American Heritage Night will also include a commemorative t-shirt and access to an exclusive pre-game mixer! Nakayoshi will receive $5 for every ticket sold, so come out to support your team and Nakayoshi!

Purchase tickets at the special $40 rate for Nakayoshi online at Ticketmaster at https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=warriors&o=8444506&g=716 and enter special offer code nakayoshi, then create an account or login with your existing Ticketmaster account to purchase tickets. Have questions? Contact Nakayoshi member Emily Leach at emily [dot] leach [at] gmail [dot] com for additional information.

Price: $40/ticket (purchase online here, special offer code: nakayoshi).
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Time: 7:30 pm

All events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested. Not on the Nakayoshi e-mail list? Click here to subscribe. Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at: nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com. For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog at http://www.nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/ or find us on Facebook!

Get Involved: NJAHS Day Of Remembrance 2009

Nakayoshi received an email notification that the National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) is having their first Planning Session for their Day of Remembrance 2009 this Sunday. If you can and want to get more involved, stop on by or contact Executive Director Rosalyn Tonai at rtonai@njahs.org for more information.

Planning Session for Day of Remembrance 2009 Program:

When: Sunday, November 2nd
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 PM
Where: NJAHS
1684 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115-3604

Send RSVP to: NJAHS Executive Director Rosalyn Tonai at rtonai@njahs.org

Weekend Recap: North Beach Crawl and Volunteering at Sansei Live!

Nakayoshi had quite the fun weekend this past Friday and Saturday. Were you in on it too?

We started out with our crawl through North Beach on Friday night. I arrived promptly at 9pm at the SF Brewing Co., but just as I suspected, Nakayoshi members all knew to arrive fashionably late. Luckily that gave me time to nurse my diet coke as Nakayoshi members started to trickle in the door. By the time we were ready to move on to the next spot, our group was close to 30 strong. Nakayoshi proceeded to take over 15 Romolo later in the night and finally finished the night off at Rosewood on Broadway.

It was great seeing you all come out! We really hope that we see even more faces the next time around. If you missed this month's social, make sure you and your friends are free on Friday, November 21st when we go out for another night on the town.

Make sure to check out more pictures from Friday night on the Nakayoshi online photo gallery!

While Nakayoshi spent Friday night out on the town, a handful of us also found the time on Saturday night to volunteer at the 25th Annual Sansei Live! benefit at the Presidio Officer's Club in San Francisco. The annual fundraiser for Kimochi, Inc. featured lots of live music, hors d'oeuvres, culinary demonstrations, and plenty of dancing. Kimochi, Inc. provides many valuable services to the aging nisei generation in Japantown, so we felt like this was a great event to support another organization that serves our community in countless ways.

A big thanks goes out to Tamiko Wong, Kimochi, Inc.'s volunteer coordinator for the event. Thanks also go out to our volunteers, including Graig, Emily, Atsushi, Matt and Jessica, as well as to our lovely friends (and members!) from this year's Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Court. Nakayoshi also had a great time meeting other volunteers from UC Davis JASS. Make sure you guys join Nakayoshi when you graduate, ok?

For those of you who can't wait for the next Nakayoshi event, come on out to our next meeting, this Sunday, October 26th from 1:00-4:00pm at the JACL HQ in Japantown. E-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you need more info!

Nakayoshi Bi-weekly Update No. 2 - October 15, 2008

Nakayoshi Bi-weekly Update No. 2 - October 15, 2008

Nakayoshi is implementing a biweekly update on upcoming Nakayoshi events that we will send every two weeks to all members of our e-mail list, Facebook group, and post on the Nakayoshi Blog at http://nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/.

Hey Nakayoshi members! Here's the second bi-weekly update for the month of October. Our North Beach Crawl social event is coming up this Friday, so be sure to bring your (21+) friends for a fun night out on the town! Check out our volunteering opportunity if you're free on Halloween, and mark your calendars for our upcoming events in November and December, including the start of our cooking class series, group dating, and a Warriors NBA game!

In this update (new events in bold):
10/17/08 - North Beach Crawl
10/18/08 - Sansei Live! Volunteer Event
10/26/08 - Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting
10/31/08 - Trick or Vote Volunteer Event
11/9/08 - Nakayoshi Cooking Class Series: Sushi
11/13/08 - Nakayoshi Gokon (Group Blind Date)
12/12/08 - Golden State Warriors Asian American Heritage Night

REMINDER: CA mail-in voter registration deadline is Oct. 20, 2008. Go to http://www.maps.google.com/vote for voter registration information.

October Events
View Nakayoshi's online event calendar here.

Friday, October 17 Social Event: Nakayoshi North Beach Crawl
Join Nakayoshi as we traipse around San Francisco's North Beach district and sample the area's lively night life. The evening will start off casually at the San Francisco Brewing Co. on Columbus at 9:00pm, then we'll move on and see where the night takes us! Dress to anticipate meeting possible dress codes. The event is open to anyone 21+. E-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you're coming, have questions, or if requesting a particular spot in the area for us to drop by.

Location: Start at San Francisco Brewing Co., 155 Columbus (cross street: Jackson), San Francisco, CA 94133 map
Time: 9:00pm

Saturday, October 18 Volunteer Event: Sansei Live!
- Volunteer Sign-ups CLOSED
Thank you to those who signed up to volunteer! Nakayoshi will be volunteering at the 25th Annual Sansei Live!, an annual benefit that supports Kimochi, Inc., an organization that provides various programs and assistive services to senior citizens in San Francisco Japantown.

Location: Presidio Officer's Club, 50 Moraga Ave, San Francisco, CA 94129 map
Time: 5:30pm-11:30pm (actual volunteer shift info to be e-mailed to volunteers)

Sunday, October 26 Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting
As always, we'd love to see new and old faces at our monthly meetings to give us feedback and help us plan future Nakayoshi events and activities! Meetings are held on the last Sunday of every month from 1:00pm-4:00pm at the National JACL Headquarters building in San Francisco Japantown.

Location: National JACL Headquarters, 1765 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115 map
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Friday, October 31 Volunteer Event: Trick or Vote!
Nakayoshi members will be helping out Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) put on their afterparty in Oakland for the high school students who participate in their Trick or Vote event. Volunteers will be organizing games and activities for the party. For more information on the event, click here. To get involved please contact Amanda Wake at amanda [at] reproductivejustice [dot] org or 510-434-7900 x302.

Location: East Side Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd. at 23rd Ave, Oakland, CA map
Time: 7:00-9:00pm

November Events: Save these dates!

Sunday, November 9 - Tabemasho! (Let's Eat!) Nakayoshi's Cooking Class Series Kick Off
Food Topic: Sushi
Come out to mingle with other Nakayoshi members and learn the process of basic sushi-making, from preparing sushi rice to rolling techniques for that perfect and delicious hand roll! The class will be taught by Nakayoshi members Graig and Sean Inaba, with 12 years of professional experience of sushi-making instruction between the two of them. All materials and supplies will be provided by Nakayoshi. Space for this event is limited to the first 20 paid participants, so contact us ASAP to ensure a spot in the class!

Price: $40 general public, $35 for JACL members (make checks payable to "NCWNP JACL")
Location: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of California (JCCCNC), Issei Memorial Hall, 1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA
Time: 1:30pm-4:30pm

Nakayoshi Gokon!
Who: First 5 ladies and 5 fellas to RSVP to nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com (be sure to include any dietary limitations). Single folks only!
What: A Konpa or Gokon is a Japanese gathering over drinks and food and could be described as a group blind date.
When: Thursday, November 13th, 6:30 pm
Where: San Francisco's New Pisco Latin Lounge (warning: website has embedded music)
1817 Market St. @ Octavia (map)
Why: Meet some new people and make some new friends (and potentially more!).
Cost: $20-$30 (price TBA) which will include food and drinks

Looking forward to some good grub and good times!

Other dates and events:
Saturday, November 15 - Nakayoshi Thanksgiving Potluck
Friday, November 21 - Nakayoshi Social Event
Sunday, November 23 - Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting

December Events:

Friday, December 12 - Golden State Warriors Asian American Heritage Night
Are you a basketball fan? Want to go to an NBA game? Come watch our boys on the Warriors take on Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets and help raise money for Nakayoshi at the same time! Tickets to the Golden State Warriors Asian American heritage night will also include a commemorative t-shirt and access to an exclusive pre-game mixer!

Purchase tickets at the special $40 rate for Nakayoshi online at Ticketmaster at https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=warriors&o=8444506&g=716 and enter special offer code nakayoshi, then create an account or login with your existing Ticketmaster account to purchase tickets. Have questions? Contact Nakayoshi member Emily Leach at emily [dot] leach [at] gmail [dot] com for additional information.

Price: $40/ticket (purchase online here, special offer code nakayoshi).
Location: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Time: 7:30pm

All events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested. Not on the Nakayoshi e-mail list? Click here to subscribe. Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at: nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog at http://www.nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/

Nakayoshi in Hokubei Mainichi

Looks like we got a photo and a brief article in the Hokubei Mainichi newspaper highlighting our contributions at the past National AIDS Memorial Grove volunteer workday! Here's the link to the online edition: http://www.hokubeionline.com/en/news/2008/10/Making-Difference-AIDS-Memorial-Grove

Nakayoshi Bi-weekly Update No. 1 - Oct 2, 2008

Nakayoshi Bi-weekly Update No. 1 - October 2, 2008

Nakayoshi is implementing a biweekly update on upcoming Nakayoshi events that we will send every two weeks to all members of our e-mail list, Facebook group, and post on the Nakayoshi Blog at http://nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/.

Hey Nakayoshi members! We've come out of our planning meeting this past Sunday with a bunch of stuff for you guys this month. We've put together a couple volunteer opportunities for you, and be sure to make it out to this month's social event, Nakayoshi's night out in North Beach in San Francisco! See you guys out there!

October Events
View Nakayoshi's online event calendar here.

Friday, October 17
Social Event: Nakayoshi North Beach Crawl
Join Nakayoshi as we traipse around San Francisco's North Beach district and sample the area's lively night life. The evening will start off casually at the San Francisco Brewing Co. on Columbus at 9:00pm, then we'll move on and see where the night takes us! Dress to anticipate meeting possible dress codes. The event is open to anyone 21+. E-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you're coming, have questions, or if requesting a particular spot in the area for us to drop by.

Location: Start at San Francisco Brewing Co., 155 Columbus (cross street: Jackson), San Francisco, CA 94133 map
Time: 9:00pm

Saturday, October 18
Volunteer Event: Sansei Live!


Join Nakayoshi as we help out at the 25th Annual Sansei Live! event. The event is an annual benefit that supports Kimochi, Inc., an organization that provides various programs and assistive services to senior citizens in San Francisco Japantown. The event will feature hors d'oeuvres, drinks and live music from the Kimochi All-Star Band, Full Circle, DJ John Jow and Kimochi Seniors. Artwork created by the Seniors will be on display. Sansei Live! will also feature culinary demonstrations, emceed by chef Ming Adler.

Location: Presidio Officer's Club, 50 Moraga Ave, San Francisco, CA 94129 map
Time: 4:00pm-Midnight (actual volunteer shifts TBD)

Sunday October 26
Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting
Come hang out with the Nakayoshi Core Committee, give feedback and help us plan future Nakayoshi events and activities! Meetings are held on the last Sunday of every month from 1:00pm-4:00pm at the National JACL Headquarters building in San Francisco Japantown.

Location: National JACL Headquarters, 1765 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115 map
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Friday, October 31
Volunteer Event: Trick or Vote!
Nakayoshi members will be helping out Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) put on their afterparty in Oakland for the high school students who participate in their Trick or Vote event. Here's more information on the event from the ACRJ website (http://www.reproductivejustice.org/):

ACRJ is joining the nation wide Trick or Vote day of action on Halloween 2008 to educate voters on Proposition 4, the Parental Notification Initiative, and other ballot initiatives that affect reproductive justice and that young people care about. ACRJ’s Youth Organizer and Election Team will mobilize youth organizations from the Bay Area to use Trick or Vote as a way to inform their neighborhoods and communities. Although most youth can not yet vote themselves, this event will demonstrate how they can still make a difference in the November elections by mobilizing those who can vote against ballot initiatives that negatively affect their lives. This event is a fun, engaging, and creative way for youth to plug into get-out-the-vote work. For more information click here. To get involved please contact Amanda Wake at amanda [at] reproductivejustice [dot] org or 510-434-7900 x302.

Location: Oakland (exact location TBD)
Time: TBD

November Events: Save these dates!

Sunday, November 9 - Nakayoshi Sushi-making Class
Saturday, November 15 - Nakayoshi Thanksgiving Potluck/Bowling Night
Friday, November 21 - Nakayoshi Social
Sunday, November 23 - Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting

All events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested.

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Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at: nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com
For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog at http://www.nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/

National AIDS Memorial Grove Volunteer Appreciation Day

On Saturday, September 20th, Nakayoshi members joined the San Francisco JACL Chapter in volunteering at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park to plant over a thousand donated plants (a variety of grasses and lavender) on their Volunteer Appreciation Day.

Gray and overcast, it was a typical San Francisco morning when Nakayoshi members found themselves at the sign in table at the Grove's work day. Thinking we were going to be picking up trash all day, many of us were puzzled when were were handed gardening gloves.

Following the volunteer coordinator down a dirt covered stairway, we found ourselves in an open field of lush green carpet and a hillside sprinkled with potted plants set meticulously in sections marked by colored flags. We were instructed to help dig holes for the new plants and safely plant them into the ground.

With such a great turnout of volunteers, the entire plotted garden was done in a little over 3 hours.

The staff then took us within the "circle of friends", and asked first time volunteers to assist in the planting of a new magnolia tree in appreciation of all of the Grove's volunteers.

Sitting there, I grew to appreciate the beauty of such a communal sanctuary where people could come, reflect, mourn and heal. It also made me appreciate the hard work of community volunteers who come on a regular basis to retain the Grove's beauty.

The National AIDS Memorial Grove is truly a special place in San Francisco, with a history that began with a community that was devastated by the AIDS epidemic and found a way to build a space where they could find peace and serenity. The Grove is a place dedicated to all who were affected by AIDS. A historical monument that was established in 1966 when Congress and the President approved the National AIDS Memorial Grove Act.

The true beauty of the Grove is the love and dedication of all those who believe in the space and continue to support it.

It's great to know that we'll be able to return to the Grove year after year and see the difference it made to plant these new flowers. To see the tree we planted together grow stronger and taller, and remember that we were fortunate to be part of resting its roots.

We really had a great time volunteering at the Grove and appreciate the SF JACL Chapter for allowing us to join them and commend them on their continual participation in this annual event.

Getting down and dirty was a lot of fun, and how did we end such a perfect day? In full Nakayoshi style, we treated ourselves to delicious bowls of ramen! Yum!

"Salute to a Vision" JCCCNC Annual Event Recap

Nakayoshi members suited up last Saturday night to volunteer at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of California's annual fundraiser at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square in San Francisco. The event, titled "Salute to a Vision," commemmorated the 35th anniversary of the community center in Japantown, and featured a roast/toast to the 20 years of service and work the center's Executive Director, Paul Osaki, has given to the JCCCNC and the community.

The event was attended by hundreds of members of the community as well as several very prominent figures, including Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Congressman Mike Honda, CA State Assemblymember Warren Furutani, San Francisco Consul General of Japan Yasumasa Nagamine, TV broadcasters Wendy Tokuda and Jan Yanehiro, civil rights attorney Dale Minami, and everyone's favorite Olympic Gold Medalist and celebrity dancing champion, Kristi Yamaguchi!

Nakayoshi volunteers teamed up with other volunteers from the Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Program, Asian Americans for Community Outreach and the UC Berkeley Nikkei Student Union to help raise $5,760 in the JCCCNC's sweepstakes fundraiser, with a total of $22,760 being raised from the sweepstakes ticket sales alone. The JCCCNC also raised additional funds with their silent auction as well as the live auction, with some of the bidding going for over $10,000 for an item! Crazy!

The roasting of Paul Osaki was pretty funny, if not slightly awkward, with embarrassing stories and good-humored jabs being thrown out to the audience. Not to be outdone, Paul fired back when it was his turn to speak, including some jokes at the expense of the old Nisei and his own mother. The night was definitely filled with a lot of laughter, close ties and good memories. I know I'm not alone when I say this, but looking at how much the JCCCNC and its staff has done for the community and the role it has played in so many lives, you can't help but feel appreciative for being able to take part in an event like this. On a personal level, the JCCCNC has always been one of the most welcoming community spaces in the JA community I've been to, and has provided me with countless opportunities to connect with Japantown and all the people who make it the special place that it is. As was mentioned during the night's program, the Center really has become the heart of Japantown.

You can be sure that Nakayoshi will be doing more with the JCCCNC in the future. Before we forget, a big thanks to Ken Maeshiro and Ali Kagawa of the JCCCNC staff for coordinating volunteers for the event! The next Nakayoshi event will be another volunteer service event this Saturday, September 20th from 9am to 1pm to help clean up the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park with the San Francisco chapter of the JACL. Hope we see you there!

September Events

Wow… September is a pretty busy month for Nakayoshi! Those of you in our Facebook group have been sent invitations to our events, but for everyone else, here’s what we have going on:

9/13/08: Volunteering at JCCCNC’s Annual Event, “Salute to a Vision”

Nakayoshi will be joining other volunteers at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California’s annual fundraising event on Saturday, September 13th at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in Union Square, San Francisco. The event will commemorate the JCCCNC’s Executive Director Paul Osaki for his 30 years of service to the community and 20 years as a leader at the JCCCNC. Unfortunately we have already finalized our list of volunteers for the event. Thank you very much for everyone who is volunteering! We’ll see you on Saturday!


9/20/08: National AIDS Memorial Grove Cleanup

Join Nakayoshi and the San Francisco chapter of the JACL as we help clean up the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park on Saturday, September 20th from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

The AIDS Memorial Grove is located at the intersection of Bowling Green and Middle Drive East. Make sure you come in clothes you don’t mind getting a little dirty! Please RSVP at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com to let us know if you’re coming.

More information on the National AIDS Memorial Grove, including directions, is available at: www.aidsmemorial.org



9/20/08: Oakland A’s Japanese Heritage Day

Are you a baseball fan? Watch Kurt Suzuki and the Oakand A's play against Ichiro Suzuki and Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners as they celebrate Japanese Heritage Day. On-field pre-game including traditional taiko drummers and the San Francisco 2008 Cherry Blossom Queen. Tickets are $30 each. $6 for each sold ticket will benefit Japanese American communities, youth baseball, bay area Parks and Recreation and Education. Game time is 1:05pm.

Due to low response from our members, Nakayoshi will not be attending the game. If you still are interested in going to the game on your own, you have until Friday, September 12th to order your tickets. Ticket order forms for the game can be downloaded from the JCCCNC here.


9/27/08: Karaoke Social at Gamba in Cupertino

Karaoke… I heard somewhere that it means tone-deaf in Japanese. But then I looked it up and Wikipedia tells me that it means “empty orchestra.” Who knew? In any case, if you love to sing and are looking for a fun night out, come with Nakayoshi to Gamba in Cupertino on Saturday, September 27th at 8:30pm. You will definitely: a) be amazed by how talented some of your fellow Nakayoshi members are; b) woo that Nakayoshi hottie with your smoldering rendition of the cheesiest love ballad you know; or c) look back on the experience years later, laugh awkwardly and hope nobody else really remembers how you just missed those high notes.

Time/Date: 8:30pm, Saturday 9/27/08
Location: Gamba
10990 N. Blaney, Cupertino, CA 95014
In Oakmont Square (On Homestead Rd., between De Anza and Wolf)

RSVP at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com
Let us know if you are interested in carpooling.

We’ll see you guys out there!

Nihonmachi Street Fair Recap

First off, a big THANK YOU!!! for those of you who came out to volunteer in the Children's Village at the Nihonmachi Street Fair this past Saturday, including Graig, Lisa, Emily L, Naomi, Aileen, Megumi and Daniel. We had a great time helping out JCYC with the game booths and seeing all the cute kids come out to play at the Street Fair. The event was a great way to be out helping directly in the community. We'll definitely be looking for more volunteer opportunities like this in the future. Check out more photos of volunteering at Nakayoshi's Facebook Group Page.

Nakayoshi members were also out and about helping sign and distribute the JCCCNC's petition to save our Japantown festivals. While it's only been a couple of days since the festival, I haven't heard of any complaints following the festival from the developer or HOA at 1600 Webster Street. So far so good. Here are some links from around the interwebs discussing the complaints that we posted about last time:

Aaron Kitashima's blog: http://www.akit.org/2008/08/japantown-festivals-threatened.html

Yelp! discussion board: http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-japantowns-nihonmachi-streetfair---community-threatened-by-a-tenants-association

Curbed SF: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2008/08/11/throwdown_in_japantown_developer_threatens_festivals.php

Nakayoshi's next event will be a record release party for local singer/songwriter Goh Nakamura's new album "Ulysses" at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco on Wednesday, August 20th. E-mail Nakayoshi at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you would like more information. We hope to see you there!

Nakayoshi volunteering event at the Nihonmachi Street Fair!

For those of you who wanted to see more opportunities to volunteer at community events, here's Nakayoshi's first volunteer event!

Thanks to Lenna Onishi at the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC), we've been asked to help out in the children's area during the Nihonmachi Street Fair in Japantown the weekend of August 9th and 10th. Let us know at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you can come out to volunteer at one of the shifts. More details are below:

35th Annual Nihonmachi Street Fair

On August 9 & 10, the Nihonmachi Street Fair will take place in San Francisco's Japantown! Celebrating its 35th year, the first Nihonmachi Street Fair was a meeting ground for Asian American youth to address issues that were taking place in SF Japantown at that time. Today, the event is an opportunity for community groups, artisans, and local artists to come together to celebrate diversity and culture.

This year, the Nihonmachi Street Fair will run from 12noon - 6pm.

We are currently looking for volunteers to work in the Children's Village area of the event! Volunteers are needed on both Saturday (August 9) & Sunday (August 10)!

Volunteer shifts:

Shift 1: 9am -12 noon (set-up)

Shift 2: 12noon-3pm

Shift 3: 3-6pm

Volunteers will be asked to monitor game & crafts booths.

If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please contact 415 202 7909 or info@jcyc.org. Your help is greatly appreciated!

For more information on the Nihonmachi Street Fair, please visit www.nihonmachistreetfair.org

Thank you!

As always, we'd love to see you as well as some new faces come out to lend a hand. Let us know if you're coming out!