JASI hosted a welcome reception for the delegation from Des Moines’ Sister City Kofu, Japan. Kofu and Des Moines celebrated their 65th year of the sister city relationship. The proclamation was read and signed by the mayors of the two cities, in front of the Sister City Commission, and other supportive locals, who made the event possible.

The Tanabata event was fun with creating Tanzaku with wishes, making origami crafts and trying to catch somen noodles flowing down on the slides.

Thank you for visiting the Japan Village in CelebrAsian (May 26 - 27, 2023). We enjoyed so many new people visiting our village. Thank you to the volunteers for their tireless effort to make the event successful. The food tent was kept busier than ever, selling over 1600 pieces of Onigiri and Gyoza. Language tent and Pop culture tent also enjoyed mingling with visitors. We all hope to continue to stay in touch with new friends.

Despite the downpour that passed just when we were to start, people who like Japanese culture and language gathered at JASI. Getting to know each other’s interest in Japanese was so much fun. Traditional kid’s snack “Dagashi” added a little spice to our conversation. We will definitely do this again!

The City of Des Moines invited JASI to participate in the tree planting ceremony. The tree has been grown from the gingko trees that survived the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima and was placed to the north of the Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens. We are very honored to service in this historical moment.

Mai Mai Miracle was a good story. In the nostalgic Showa era setting, the human emotions are contemporary. Highly recommended.

JASI visited Spirit Lake Elementary School and Okoboji Elementary School and shared cultural presentations. Students were excited to see Taiko performance and other hands on presentations. We were so pleased to be able to meet those friendly smiling faces.

JASI’s first flea market was a big success. A lot of conversations, a lot of laughters and a lot of good findings. Many want to have the market come back soon. And it might.