Past Events
2024 New Year Luncheon
January 28, 2024 (Sunday)
Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai celebrated its 2024 New Year's Luncheon on Sunday, January 28, 2024, at the Sea Empress Seafood Restaurant in Gardena, CA. A total of 45 Ehime family members, special guests, and friends attended the annual event. The afternoon program was opened with a greeting from the Advisor, Masao "Mike" Okamoto, who was also the MC of the lunch program, followed by New Year's greetings from Kihei Otani. President of Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai, and VIP guest Vice President, Mr. George Howard of the Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai. The MC read the New Year's greetings from the honorable Governor Tokihiro Nakamura of the Ehime Prefectural Government, and the introduction of the special guests was announced by a Board Member, Kimiko Fujita. The Ehime Senior Advisor, Bishop Emeritus Taisen Miyata, of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple of Los Angeles, delivered the customary lunch prayer before the serving of the food, and the lunch toast was delivered by the Senior Advisor, Shinya Ogasawara. Everyone who attended the event enjoyed the various Chinese dishes, which were delicious and plentiful for each of our banquet-style tables. One of the highlights of the lunch program included the presentation of the Japan Trip by the Kintetsu Travel Agency Service. Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai will be planning a group trip to Japan in the latter part of October 2024 for about an 8-day trip that will include a visit to Tokyo, Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture, Kyoto, and back to Tokyo. The reservations will be on a first-come, first-serve basis and the applications will be closed after a booking of 30 people. Gift Awards from the Ehime Prefecture Government Office were awarded to 4 Seniors, who reached the age of 80+ years old; Mr. Shinya Ogasawara, Mr. & Mrs. Kei Kondo, and Ms. Kumiko Kikuchi, and a Certificate of Appreciation was presented to a Board Member and Vice President, Ms. Michiko Suzumoto, who will be stepping down from her longtime volunteer service with Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai. The winners from the 2 bingo games were awarded Gift Cards from Trader Joe's, and many raffle prizes were distributed to the winning number holders. This year, the Grand Raffle Prize was a 2-night stay in a Suite at the Pechanga Casino and Resort, which was donated by Kimiko Fujita. The lucky winner of the Grand Raffle Prize was Shigemori Kawaguchi. The luncheon concluded with a closing message from the lucky winner and Advisor of Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai, Mr. Shigemori Kawaguchi, thanking the members and guests for attending the 2024 Ehime New Year's luncheon. Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai extends its deepest appreciation for all the generous donations that were issued to the Ehime General Account, and also, the kind and generous donations that were collected from the Ehime members and guests including a generous collection from the General Manager of the restaurant toward the recent Noto Peninsula Earthquake Relief Fund. Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai is spearheading this campaign fundraising effort for the relief fund, and all the proceeds will be forwarded directly to the Ishikawa Prefectural Government.
Ehime Furusato Tour #3
November 10, 2024
Our Ehime delegation of 10 persons from Southern California visited the Ehime Prefectural Government office building in Matsuyama City on Friday, October 25, 2024. We traveled to Ozu, Uchiko, and Imabari during our three-day stay in Matsuyama City. In Ozu, the Tobeyaki lunch experience was delicious and memorable. The leisurely stroll through the narrow old paths through the traditional town of Uchiko displayed many intriguing small family shops, hand-made candles, and original craft tools. The group had a challenging task of hands-on Soba making experience at Michinoeki Nakayama. We processed and prepared our stack of soba from scratch and the chefs cooked our actual handmade soba in the hot pots and we had it for lunch. The thickness of the soba varied, but it was delicious when dipped into the special soba sauce. Our itinerary also took us to the famous towel manufacturer of Imabari, where we experienced the beautiful museum and the huge Imabari towel store. When we visited the Ehime Prefectural Government office, we had the chance to meet with the staff of the Tourism and International Affairs Division. On the night of Saturday, October 26, Kimiko and I were invited to attend the dinner party for the Opening of the 2024 Cycling Shimanami event. There were many special guests including the Governor Nakamura of Ehime Prefecture Government and the Governor Yuzaki from Hiroshima Prefecture and local government officials. The Ehime Furusato Tour #3 was exciting and enjoyable, but especially a big thank you in memory of our organizer, the late Nancy Kikuchi, who initially organized this Furusato Tour in the late 2000’s. I hope everyone on this trip enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you for the participants who joined on this trip.
Irvine Global Village Festival (IGVF)
October 14, 2023 (Saturday)
For the past 22 years in the city of Irvine, this big festival has gathered and entertained the cultural diversity of the community for a once-a-year event. The fall festival was held at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, from 10 AM to 6 PM. This large outdoor entertainment center has been reported to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors to this particular event. The City of Irvine gathers organizations from all Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Japan, and the Mideast to represent each of their culture and customs in the various booths throughout the day’s event. This fall festival includes kids’ activities, local and global cuisine, a global marketplace, music, art, and exhibits. Our Japan booth this year was named as the ALL JAPAN EXHIBITION, which was planned and organized by the Consulate General of Japan in L.A., The Japan Foundation Los Angeles, and the Japan Business Association of So. California. Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai represented the Nanka Kenjinkai Kyogikai this year. For the past 2 years, Nanka Tokushima Kenjinkai and Nanka Gifu Kenjinkai participated in the festival. With their valued experiences, they were able to kindly guide us with our booth exhibition displaying many of the Ehime cultural products such as the famous Imabari towel, porcelain dish, Mican mascot dolls & T-shirts, and variety of Ehime Travel posters and tourist information.
