Los Angeles Cosplay Contest at Nagoya Day

The 2014 Los Angeles Cosplay Contest was held on Sunday, August 10, 2014 at The Grove in Los Angeles, as part of "Nagoya Day" to celebrate the 55-year anniversary of sister city relations between Los Angeles and Nagoya. Emcee Ivan Van Norman, a Season One Contestant from TBS television's King of the Nerds hosted the contest which featured over 40 cosplayers from the Los Angeles/Southern California area. The judges of the event were Cosplay/Video Game Journalist Paola Alejandra, Designer/Professional Seamstress Kristine "Space Invader" Carr and Makeup / Special Effects Artist KC Mussman. The 2013 winner of America's Got Talent Kenichi Ebina entertained the crowd during the event with his amazing dance performance. The contest was produced for the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation (LANSCA) by Tokyo Journal / Authentasia. The Nagoya Day event was presented by the City of Nagoya and LANSCA.

INTERMEDIATE Vocabulary Game

Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics

(An article regarding the Tokyo bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics originally appeared in Tokyo Journal Issue #272 Pg 9-11) Test your vocabulary with this interactive online word search puzzle about sports that are part of the Summer Olympics!

Click here to try the Word Search Puzzle

Home Makeover Spotlight II

Interior: Sharp Shades and Beautiful Blinds

As this California home has large windows with views of the pool in the front and a hilltop scenery at the side and back, the owners faced the challenge of selecting window coverings that would restrict direct sunlight during peak hours without blocking the magnificent views.

Travel to Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon

TJ’s hotel reviewers headed to Las Vegas and Portland to experience the best places to stay and most entertaining things to do. Here are a few of our favorites.

The complete article can be found in Issue #275 of the Tokyo Journal. Click here to order from Amazon.

Meet Hikari Takara

Actress develops her career by learning English in Southern California

Tokyo Journal has zeroed in on eighteen-year-old actress Hikari Takara as a rising star in the international movie scene. Beginning her acting career at the age of twelve, Hikari has appeared in movies, TV dramas, and commercials. Following the release of her movie “Innocent Lilies,” Tokyo Journal first interviewed Hikari in fall of 2013 when Hikari moved to California to study English and do a homestay with an American host family. After a year in California, Tokyo Journal caught up with Hikari again. Hikari has her sights on being in a Hollywood movie and becoming a global star. Although she still has a long way to go, she has her acting experience complimented by her stunning appearance, height, newly founded English ability, dance skills, and some impressive martial arts moves. Prior to returning to Japan to resume her acting career, Tokyo Journal followed Hikari as she shows us some of her favorite hangouts and attractions in Southern California.

Cosplay Conventions in Los Angeles, Seattle & London

Photos from Anime Expo 2014 July 3rd to 6th, 2014 in Los Angeles, California; Sakura-Con 2014 April 18th to 20th, 2014 in Seattle, Washington and MCM London Comic Con 2014 May 23rd to 25th, 2014 in London, England

Formerly Kenya’s ambassador to Korea and Japan (2004-2009) and now representing Toyota Tsusho Corporation as chairman in 13 African states, Dennis Awori knows a thing or two about Japan and its commercial links to the world. Tokyo Journal met up with Awori to find out more.

The Man Who Brought Sushi to America, Part IV

Introducing Sake to America

This is the fifth in a series of interviews with Noritoshi Kanai, chairman of Mutual Trading Co., Inc. and the man who coined the phrase “sushi bar.”

ADVANCED Listening, Comprehension & Vocabulary Exercise

Hanjo

German Photographer, Yoram Roth, Pays Tribute to Yukio Mishima’s Noh Opera Adaptation

(Article originally appeared in Tokyo Journal Issue #274 Pg 84)

A sullen geisha sitting alone at a station, Hanako waits, For years, she has waited every day in the same place, gripping a treasured fan in her hand.

Such an exquisite beauty, she was noticed by all. The world wondered how she could be so passively obsessive. The conclusion was that she must be mad.

What her spectators didn’t know was that the fan she held was the embodiment of a vow she had made to the man who possessed her heart. Hanako had promised to love Yoshio eternally. When he had to depart, he had given her a fan to represent their love, which would be requited upon his return. And so she had sworn that she would wait.