Photos: 2014 Sakura Matsuri @ Brookline High School

The Genki Spark

Today was the third annual Sakura Matsuri at Brookline High School. For the past two years, The Genki Spark and the Brookline High School Japanese Program have presented this small community-oriented matsuri at the high school. The first year it was two hours long. Last year Karen convinced her counterpart at BHS to make it three hours. This year was the biggest ever - four hours long with performances from five New England taiko groups (The Genki Spark, ShinDaiko, Mountain River Taiko, Odaiko New England, Boston Miyake Taiko), a dance troupe (Takahashi Minyo Kai), and shishimai (Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko).

I have lived in New England longer than I've lived anywhere else and I can't say that I've ever really felt like I was part of the wider communities that I have lived in. I didn't realize until I worked for a summer program in California a few years ago what a huge difference it makes to see your culture reflected in the community around you. From the time I got off the plane at SFO, I was surrounded by reminders of the long history of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in California (many of them Japanese American) from the Asian-inspired art to the names of donors on the wall at a local clinic to the restaurants to the people on the street. Although I've spent a lot of time in Hawaii and experienced the same there when visiting family, it's so different from the East Coast it often feels like visiting another country. Somehow experiencing it in California when I wasn't on vacation was a revelation. Ever since then I've been making more of an effort to connect with Japanese and Japanese Americans in Boston. Unfortunately, since we have no community center or single clearinghouse organization, it's often difficult to do.

I don't remember attending any matsuris as a child but I did go to Japanese school and camp so I learned obon dance, played Japanese children's games, and heard traditional Japanese music. I can't remember if I ever saw taiko performed live but when I hear it, it's very familiar and it's music I connect with in my bones in a way I don't connect with American folk music. Thanks to The Genki Spark and BHS, I got to put on my yukata and spend an afternoon feeling like I was part of a community.

Red bean ginger mochi
dusted with cinnamon

They had plenty of activities and games for kids (including yo-yo, origami, face painting, design your own hachimaki) and a nice range of food. Sadly Ittoku ran out of yakisoba early and then sold out of okonomiyaki but there was sushi and edamame from Hana Japan and lots of fresh mochi from Mochi Kitchen. BHS students sold onigiri and baked goods. I spoke with Chiki-san afterwards and he said Ittoku would definitely be happy to be back next year!

Tewassa table

Tewassa, The Genki Spark, and some of the other taiko groups sold new and used Japanese and Japanese-inspired goods, some of which were handmade. BHS students were also selling handmade origami earrings.

Karen Young, founder and artistic director of The Genki Spark, said in her thank yous that this matsuri is community-driven and wouldn't happen without the help of all the participating groups, organizations, and businesses and the volunteers. This year's matsuri was staged in partnership with: The Japan Society of Boston, Showa Boston, the New England chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, and two other Brookline schools: the Amos A. Lawrence School and the William H. Lincoln School. Food vendors were: Hana Japan (Newburyport), Ittoku (Brighton), and Mochi Kitchen (Somerville). The matsuri was sponsored by the Brookline Commission for the Arts, Temple University Japan, The Japan Foundation, New York, and the Brookline High School PTO. If you're a member of a Japanese or Japanese American group and would like to participate next year or you'd just like to volunteer as an individual you should contact Karen!

Karen, Genki Spark members, Brookline High School teachers & students - otsukaresama desu!

Some photos below. Additional photos here.

Takahashi Minyo Kai

Miyano Takahashi, owner of Hana Japan, Newburport
and founder of Takahashi Minyo Kai

Right: Karen Young, founder and artistic director of The Genki Spark

Odaiko New England

Boston Miyake Taiko

Shishimai - Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko

The Genki Spark

Finale - all groups

Film: Vincent Who? @ Boston Public Library

I just heard about an interesting film screening next Thursday at the Boston Public Library. The Anti-Defamation League’s Asian-Jewish Roundtable will be screening Vincent Who?, a documentary about the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American man whose attackers mistook him for Japanese. The film features interviews with many well-known Asian Americans, including a number of Japanese Americans. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with writer and producer, Curtis Chin (no relation).

Date & Time

Thursday, May 15, 2014
6pm - 8:30pm

Location 

Boston Public Library, Rabb Hall
700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

Admission

Free

Registration
Registration is required. Please register by Thursday, May 15th at 5pm.

Vincent Who?

Directed by Tony Lam
2009 | 40 mins | Documentary

In 1982, at the height of anti-Japanese sentiments arising from massive layoffs in the auto industry, a Chinese-American named Vincent Chin was murdered in Detroit by two white autoworkers. Chin's killers, however, got off with a $3,000 fine and 3 years probation, but no jail time. Outraged by this injustice, Asian Americans around the country united for the first time across ethnic and socioeconomic lines to form a pan-Asian identity and civil rights movement.

Among its significant outcomes, the movement led to the historic broadening of federal civil rights protection to include all people in America regardless of immigrant status or ethnicity.

VINCENT WHO? explores this important legacy through interviews with the key players at the time as well as a whole new generation of activists whose lives were impacted by Vincent Chin. It also looks at the case in relation to the larger narrative of Asian American history, in such events as Chinese Exclusion, Japanese American Internment in WWII, the 1992 L.A. Riots, anti-Asian hate crimes, and post-9/11 racial profiling.

Ultimately, VINCENT WHO? asks how far Asian Americans have come since the case and how far they have yet to go.

For in spite of Vincent Chin’s monumental significance in both the Asian American experience and the civil rights history of America, the vast majority of people today (including most Asian Americans) have little or no knowledge of him.

By sparking interest in Vincent Chin with this film, we hope to contribute toward the day when "Vincent Chin" becomes a familiar name not only among Asian Americans, but all Americans. We believe that the Vincent Chin case and the resulting Asian American civil rights movement should assume an important place in this country’s history.

via Vincent Who? - The Film
See also: Director's Statement 

Upcoming festivals

Darn, I meant to get this up much sooner. May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month so there's a lot going on. Unfortunately, I missed Arlington's Ottoson Middle School's Cherry Blossom Festival which was on Friday.

In addition to the Japan Festival @ the Cambridge River Festival in June, we have a number of other Japanese festivals in the next couple of weeks.

Today, Sunday, May 6th, Kaji Aso Studio in Boston is having a Japan Festival from 1 - 6pm. Admission is $10 (students and seniors $8, children $4).

On Wednesday, May 7th from 5 - 7pm, the MFA is hosting the Gion Festival in Boston, celebrating Boston and Kyoto's 55th year as sister cities. Admission to the festival is included with museum admission. On Wednesdays after 4pm, admission to the MFA is by voluntary contribution ($25 is suggested).

Next weekend on Saturday, May 10th from noon - 4pm, the Brookline High School Japanese Program and The Genki Spark present their third annual Sakura Matsuri (scroll down for event details). This is a very reasonably sized family-friendly matsuri with great entertainment (there will be six groups performing). Last year they had lots of activities for children. This year they've stepped things up in the food department. Three popular Japanese businesses will be vending - Mochi Kitchen (Somerville), Ittoku (Brighton), and Hana Japan (Newburyport). Admission is free, however, a $10-$20 donation is suggested. Food and other items will be for sale. I will be there at the Tewassa table!

Hopefully Hana Japan will have their annual Natsu Matsuri again in August, but no info on that yet.

Totto Ramen opening soon in Allston

Photo courtesy Pete Lazar (aka CrazyPete)

My first hint that Totto Ramen from NYC was coming was when a friend texted me the photo to the left. He wrote "(Not the van…) :0" under the photo, but it made no sense and I got distracted and forgot to ask him why he was texting me a photo of a sketchy white van outside Inaka where he'd told me he was. When we met up for dinner later in the week he asked me if I saw the photo of the white van. At that point I'd completely forgotten about it and said no, you never sent me that. After finding the photo and zooming in I discovered I'd missed the most important part of the photo - the new Totto Ramen sign!

3/18/14

I didn't think Totto would open soon because the first time I went by in March there was a months-old layer of dust on everything and they hadn't started renovations.

3/18/14

When I went by three weeks later it looked much the same except for a few ladders, additional tables and chairs, and some shelves.

4/10/14

Then I saw that they were hiring. It seems they decided not to renovate. When I stopped by tonight it was too dark to take pictures but they look like they could open any day now. There were tables with flowers on them and it's all cleaned up. Unfortunately, no sign indicating an opening date, hours, or a menu. Some quick research turned up Boston Restaurant Talk reporting an opening date of Saturday, May 3rd. This is great news for those who love ramen but don't or can't eat pork. Totto's ramen broth is chicken-based and pork-free.

So, it seems that Camberville and Allston are battling it out to be the ramen capital of Boston. Who will win? It'll be interesting to see where Santouka Ramen lands. They might jump into the fray or they might decide these areas are too saturated with ramen and opt for another neighborhood.

Cambridge and Somerville have four Japanese-owned ramenyas, though two are the same business.

Davis Square

Snappy Ramen, 420 Highland Ave.

Owner: veteran restauranteur Kazu Aotani

Porter Square

Sapporo Ramen's original location, 1815 Mass Ave.

Owners: Manabu Ito and Taiji Mineo

Yume Wo Katare, 1923 Mass Ave.

Owner: Tsuyoshi Nishioka

Central Square

Sapporo Ramen's second location inside H Mart, 581 Mass Ave.

Owners: Manabu Ito and Taiji Mineo in partnership with José Garcia of Ebi Sushi

In Allston, if you get out at the Packard's Corner stop on the B Green Line, you'll find three ramenyas on Brighton Ave. Pikaichi and Totto are Japanese-owned. Inaka is owned by a Taiwanese-Japanese-American. 

Pikaichi, 1 Brighton Ave. 

Owners: Taka & Ritsuko Akatsu

Inaka, 72 Brighton Ave.

Owner: Jim Chen

Totto Ramen, 169 Brighton Ave.

Owner: Ryuichi "Bobby" Munekata (5/4/14: I'm actually no longer sure who owns the Allston Totto. Eater reported that the person behind the restaurant is Nghi Nguyen, a former lawyer.)

Curry Pan @ Ebi Sushi

Chef Sean Ikeda at Ebi Sushi tipped me off earlier in the week that he was introducing a new menu item last night. He's making a curry pan (curry patty covered in panko and deep fried) that he thinks will be a weekend-only item. The pan contains Ebi Sushi's house curry, beef, potatoes, and onions. They're currently slightly larger than a Jamaican patty and are priced at $5.50 but Chef Sean is still playing around so they may decrease in size. He noted that they were quite filling but my three friends and I managed to eat 6 before we even got to the sushi. My friend sartak said to tell everyone that he gives it, "2 thumbs up!" He's a huge fan of their curry. I prefer Pikaichi's curry but I enjoyed this deep fried variation on Ebi's curry. It came with mayo and shichimi which was attractive but unnecessary. The pan is plenty flavorful on it's own. The outside was crunchy and the filling was chunky and generous, though one may wish for more curry sauce. I'm actually a little surprised that sartak didn't order curry to go with his curry pan.

If you've been missing Japonaise Bakery's curry donuts (their deep frier broke months ago and they never managed to get another one up and running) these are not quite the same but might satisfy. I found it to be less rich than Japonaise's donut and was able to eat an entire pan myself. If you manage to get one, let me know what you think!

H Mart Japanese groceries

I made it back to H Mart tonight around 8pm to check out the grocery side. I take back what I've said about Ebisuya not needing to be worried about H Mart. It's been a long time since I went to the Burlington H Mart but my impression is that Cambridge has a much larger selection of Japanese groceries than I saw at Burlington. The only advantages Ebisuya has are proximity to 93 and the Saturday Japanese school, free parking, native Japanese-speaking staff (actually, I don't know whether H Mart has Japanese staff but I would think the likelihood is low), pre-made Japanese food (bento, onigiri, etc.), and a shopping experience that doesn't feel like a roller derby. I really hope that H Mart Cambridge won't drive them out of business since they're the last remaining exclusively Japanese store in the area.

Personally I'll continue to shop at Ebisuya and Reliable because I don't like a stressful shopping experience. Going through H Mart tonight was a lot like going to Market Basket in Somerville, although less rude.

I didn't take a very close look at the produce. I saw gobo and nagaimo that looked fine (the gobo was reasonably priced but my friend thought the nagaimo was expensive). We also spotted very mouldy Driscoll strawberries as soon as we entered the grocery side. They were on top of the stack - kind of surprised they didn't pull it since it was impossible to miss.

I didn't make a careful study of prices but most things seemed reasonable. Their snack selection seemed to be about on par with what you'd find at Hong Kong Supermarket (formerly Super 88) in Allston.

The store was packed but I think a lot of people may have just been window shopping because the lines at the checkouts were not as bad as what I saw on Wednesday.

Some surprises:

• more natto than I can recall seeing in my entire life
• a very large Spam selection
• a large matcha selection (compared to other local stores)
• a lot of mochi ice cream (I don't think I managed to get pictures of all of them - they had multiple brands)
• a wider variety of American groceries than I was expecting (perhaps they're hoping to compete with Whole Foods and Shaws)

I took as many pictures of the Japanese groceries & products as I could with a few other random photos like Spam. There was a lot of fresh & frozen raw meat but that section was too mobbed to get photos. I also didn't bother with photos of rice cookers and other kitchen and household products.  A lot of them are hanging above your head so don't forget to look up. I didn't intentionally take any photos of Korean groceries. I know very little about Korean food so I have no comments. Photos begin here.

Over at Sapporo & Go Go Curry ramen & curry were entirely sold out as was much of the sushi menu. Paris Baguette also looked very well picked over. I did talk to José Garcia (partner in Sapporo Central) when I had dinner at Ebi Sushi tonight and he said they're going to figure that out. Sapporo and Go Go Curry's hours are officially 11am to 9pm. I'm going to guess tomorrow may be worse. If you want to go, go early.

4/26/14: I completely forgot to talk about parking last night. I got really lucky that seconds after I pulled in to Lot 5 and was wondering what to do because it looked full, a woman was walking to her car and waved indicating she was leaving. While I waited for her and her husband to put their child and groceries in the car, she came back and handed me her parking slip that she'd paid for until 9pm! I just love random acts of kindness. By the time I left though things were craaaazy in the parking lot. I tried to offer my space to someone in the same way the shopper before me had but somewhere in a crazy shuffle of 6 cars he disappeared, possibly because someone had come from the other side to steal the spot I was vacating.  I can't stress enough that if you can leave your car at home, you'll definitely want to do that.

See also: H Mart Cambridge is finally open!

H Mart Cambridge is finally open!

H Mart Cambridge Grand Opening

Much to my surprise, H Mart Cambridge opened on schedule today. It's been a long wait for H Mart fans and people waiting to try Sapporo Ramen's new Central Square menu and Go Go Curry. The rain may have kept some people away but when I got there around 1pm, it was a madhouse.

This line wraps around the corner

Things are pretty disorganized on the Sapporo/Go Go Curry side - there is only one cashier for both so you have to stand in the epicly long line* whether you're ordering ramen, curry, or grabbing take-out sushi. I'm told that the cashier is provided by H Mart so hopefully they'll figure out that doesn't work at all. (Update 4/28/14: H Mart has added an additional cashier although if you go at peak times the line is still long. I'm told that those buying only take out sushi can skip the line.) Oddly enough Paris Baguette had 2 dedicated cashiers & registers though they weren't always there. When I got to the front of the line at Paris Baguette, one cashier wandered away briefly.
* (The line was not as epic as Yume Wo Katare's often is, but it was longer than Sapporo Porter's usually is.)

I didn't have time to stay for lunch or fight the crowds to explore the grocery store so I just took a few pictures, bought a pumpkin cream cheese pastry at Paris Baguette (which sadly, isn't that great) and left. I think it'll be a while until I get there to try Go Go Curry and Sapporo's new menu. Next time I'll have to try the fake Cronut™.

Imitation Cronut™

Grocery store

I was surprised that parking wasn't as hard as I expected although I may have just gotten lucky. I found an open spot on Bishop Allen Drive as soon as I crossed Norfolk Street and one empty parking space in the lot. When I left there were several empty spaces in the lot and on the street. If people don't stay long then there will be turnover in spaces, although if you can leave your car at home and take the T that's probably better, especially on weekends. You definitely don't want to drive there on Mondays before 6pm when the Central Square Farmers Market takes over most of Lot 5 (May - November). You can also try Lot 4 at the corner of Bishop Allen and Essex Street but it's really small as is H Mart's private parking lot off Essex Street. There's also Lot 6 near Columbia Street. Note that all pay-by-space parking lots in Central Square require you to pay until 10pm. Meters have to be paid through 6pm.

H Mart's grocery store hours are 7am to midnight but I don't believe the food court will have the same hours. Sapporo and Go Go opened at 11am today, although I don't know if that will be their opening time every day. Neither Go Go Curry nor Paris Baguette have updated their websites with info on the Cambridge location and Sapporo doesn't have a web presence so I couldn't look up the hours. Paris Baguette also serves coffee and other drinks so they may be open all day. (Update 4/25/14: José Garcia of Sapporo Central told me that Sapporo and Go Go Curry's hours are 11am to 9pm daily.  I've heard that both have been running out of food early though hopefully they'll sort that out soon.)

Update 5/8/14: I'm told that Sapporo will be reconfiguring their kitchen to make room for another broth pot so hopefully they won't be out as early as they have been since the opening. That will unfortunately result in no more tempura for the maki.

Did anyone get to eat there today? How was it?

Photos from today begin here.

Update 4/25/14: I made it back to explore the grocery store.