Happy New Year! 明けましておめでとうございます. May 2024 bring us all better days! Tomorrow is the deadline for the Children’s Art Contest — details below. Come to The Center for the 53rd Annual Oshogatsu Matsuri this Saturday! And, before that, join us Friday to honor Dean Ito Taylor, recipient of the 2024 Modern Day Abolitionist Award for Legal Services.

It’s not too late to submit your entry to for the Children’s Art Contest! Deadline is 5 pm TOMORROW, Thurs, 1/4/24. Winners will be announced at the Oshogatsu Matsuri/New Year’s Festival on Sat, 1/6/24, at The Center, 1840 Sutter Street. This event is sponsored by API Legal Outreach, the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California, the Japanese Community Youth Council, and Hamilton Senior Center.

Join the fun for the entire family! Enjoy freshly made mochi, games, performances! This is event is free and open to the public.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: Reimagine Japantown Framework, details here.

***DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FRI, 1/26/24***

The Reimagine Japantown Committee (RJC), composed of a group of Japantown community leaders, has partnered with the City to articulate a bold but realistic vision for the future of Japantown, while at the same time recognizing the critical role it has played in San Francisco for over 115 years. This vision will have a focus on the Japan Center Malls (JCM), and will engage representatives from the Japanese American, City, local business, development, cultural, historical and residential communities to ensure that Japantown thrives and successfully sustains its cultural and historic identity into the next century.

About the Reimagine Japantown Framework: The Reimagine Japantown Framework aims to produce a community vision statement for the future of the Japan Center Malls, site-specific goals, and an articulation of public benefits, derived from an analysis of community planning efforts to date, informed by financial feasibility. RFP details are available at this link.

Photo credit: Wally Gobetz.