Posts Tagged ‘Japan’

How to Support the Asian-American Community in New York City

Struggles from the pandemic and overt demonstrations of hatred and anti-Asian sentiment have taken a toll on the AAPI community. You can start by showing your support for the AAPI community in New York City by frequenting the Asian communities in New York City and helping their businesses stay alive: Chinatown in Manhattan, Chinatown in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, Chinatown in Flushing in Queens and Koreatown in Manhattan, for example. That’s a very good start — there is a high concentration of AAPI businesses with a myriad of restaurants, shops and more, all ready to give you an immersive Asian experience with authenticity.

Courtesy Chinatown Partnership LDC

Outside of these areas, there are many options in other parts of the city where you can also partake of the AAPI experience. Show your support of NYC’s rich “melting pot” by patronizing local businesses and cultural events and volunteering to help those in need.

Koreatown © Meryl Pearlstein

Let’s recognize the history, culture and achievements of this community and make a statement that shows our unity.

Support Asian-American Artists

Yayoi Kusama’s “Cosmic Nature” © Meryl Pearlstein

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s “Cosmic Nature” exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden is a foray into color and form, with a mix of inventive polka-dotted organic forms, photographs, drawings, wrapped trees and garden arrangements. The installations and artwork reflect the artist’s time in New York City and Japan and her fascination with the natural world. The exhibit will evolve with new openings and seasonal changes through the spring, summer and fall. Tickets are available through October 31 for timed entry.

8 Deadly Shots by Linjie Deng Courtesy Linjie Deng

Chinese artist Linjie Deng adds to his showings at Carlton Fine Arts in Manhattan with “Asian Art SPA,” conceptual artwork inspired by the shootings in Atlanta and an unprovoked attack he suffered at a NYC subway station. All proceeds from sales of the artwork go to Think! Chinatown, a community-based organization that supports and amplifies the voices of Asians in New York City. The exhibit runs through May 24.

Courtesy Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Blending Chinese traditional and American modern dance, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company was founded by Taiwanese choreographer Nai-Ni. Tickets are currently available for performances online through the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC).

Courtesy Carnegie Hall

Through the end of April, Carnegie Hall’s multi-culture online festival “Voices of Hope” includes partnerships with China Institute and Japan Society.

Courtesy Pan Asian Repertory Theatre

Currently performing “The Emperor’s Nightingale,” a virtual family-oriented production set in 18th-century China, the 44-year-old Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a member of the National Asian Artists Project which promotes access for Asian American artists.

Support the Businesses that Help the Communities

Courtesy Hotel Kitano

The only Japanese-owned boutique hotel in NYC, Hotel Kitano is a beautiful if understated example of Asian style.

Ashley Lim of Mansa Tea © Tory Williams

Mansa Tea, offering brews from both China and South Korea, has increased awareness of tea culture at many of the city’s fine dining establishments including Per Se and the Baccarat Hotel and now through virtual tea workshops.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor © Meryl Pearlstein

Support the restaurants and food providers that contribute so much to the fabric of NYC’s culinary landscape. From Chinatown to Uptown, small to large, casual to fine dining, every meal that you buy is a sign of support. Make your Sunday night Chinese dinner a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday event as well, dining outdoors or indoors at 100-year-old Nom Wah Tea Parlor, or order takeout from Michelin-starred Jungsik (modern Korean) and Mifune (Japanese), both now offering striking meal sets for home dining.

Mifune © Meryl Pearlstein

New York-based Mansa Tea has increased awareness of Asian tea culture at many of the city’s fine dining establishments including Per Se and the Baccarat Hotel. With restaurant closings, Ashley Lim, the company’s founder and tea sommelier, is now scheduling virtual tea workshops.

Mochidoki Courtesy Andrew Bui

After years of having their ice cream creations displayed on dessert menus at Tao, Nobu and other top NYC restaurants, Mochidoki opened its first brick-and-mortar store. Committed to success despite their launch at the start of the pandemic, the Japanese-inspired SoHo shop has just had its first birthday, offering birthday cake mochi to celebrate. Also in SoHo with a second location in Chelsea, Japanese-owned Harbs closed its UES bakery/cafe but continues to mesmerize downtown with original cakes that qualify as works of art.

Shop and Support

You can support the AAPI community and at-risk workers by patronizing their various businesses that add to the cultural fabric of the city.

Mitsuwa © Meryl Pearlstein

Two notable markets in Brooklyn and New Jersey will improve your awareness of the Asian community. Sunrise Mart sells all things Asian from skincare to fruit and seafood at Japan Village in Industry City, Brooklyn, and in various locations in Manhattan. The enormous Mitsuwa Marketplace market in Edgewater, NJ is a mix of Japanese grocery store, food court and pharmacy.

Courtesy Mi Jong Lee

Uniqlo, the go-to for reasonably priced outerwear, has its roots in Japan and a flagship store on Fifth Avenue. If you’d prefer something more bespoke, Emmelle Boutique on Madison Avenue has been a standout among women’s shops since 1982. Founded by Korean-American fashion designer Mi Jong Lee, the store features the Emmelle and Mi Jong Lee collections as well as select lines from both established and emerging designers. Designing out of a tiny studio in New York, Japanese-American Trisha Okubo creates the popular selection of earrings known as the Ear Bar for Maison Miru. Beautiful eveningwear from fashion designer Tadashi Shoji from Sendai, Japan is available at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Learning Is Understanding

Even more important today, AAPI organizations offer online learning that fosters cooperation and understanding among countries.

Courtesy Asia Society

Robust scheduling from Asia Society includes discussions, performances and family programming with a multi-cultural emphasis. Japan Society offers year-round events dedicated to Japanese art, theater, film, language and culture. Virtual classes in Mandarin and Chinese culture are now being offered at China Institute.

Volunteer to Make a Difference

In additional to national organizations like Stop AAPI Hate, there are numerous NYC-centric ones with a mission of supporting AAPI-owned businesses and protecting Asian Americans.

Courtesy Welcome to Chinatown

Sign up for the newsletter from Welcome to Chinatown for news and a resource guide to help preserve NYC’s Chinatowns. Think! Chinatown welcomes all volunteers to assist with projects helping the Asian community.  Show your conviction at Protect Chinatown where you can volunteer to help those suffering from both the pandemic and hatred against the community. Through Heart of Dinner, you can deliver care packages or meals to Asian elders in need, while also supporting local food providers.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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9 New Year’s Eves That Make New York City’s Look Kind of Quaint

In New York City we watch the Ball Drop in Times Square, sing Auld Lang Syne and party until the wee hours on New Year’s Eve to signal that the year is over. In normal years, we also have a chance to watch the fireworks, cheer on the Midnight Run and enjoy live music in Central Park.

New York City - Photo Credit: Colin Miller

Other countries think differently with a variety of traditions to say goodbye to the past and ensure a good year ahead.

Japan

Yahiko Shrine, Niigata, Japan, credit: Meryl Pearlstein

Japan is very serious about celebrating with religion and food.Rather than heading to Shibuya Crossing for a Times Square-like experience on New Year’s Eve, many Japanese observe a tradition of Hatsumōde, the first Shinto shrine visit of the New Year. At the shrine, a talisman with the previous year’s zodiac sign is burned in a ritual called Otakiage and replaced with the zodiac animal of good fortune for the year ahead.

108 rings of the great bell at a Buddhist temple

Listening to Joya-no-Kane, 108 rings of the great bell at a Buddhist temple, is another New Year’s tradition with each peal “ringing away” an evil passion or desire for a clean start to the year. The celebration continues with slurping bowls of toshikoshi soba or “the end-of-the-year-and-into-the-next” soba noodles, symbolizing the bridge between the “old year” and “new year.” In New York City, you can experience the ringing of the bells at the New York Buddhist Church on the Upper West Side.

Osechi

The New Year in Japan is also celebrated with foods associated with good luck, good harvest and other positive outcomes. A traditional Osechi Ryori meal is served in a special jubako box. Consisting of multiple colorful dishes, the meal is eaten with special chopsticks rounded on both ends, one end for human use and the other for the gods. Each dish represents a symbol or wish for the coming year. Dishes include kazunoko, pacific herring roe marinated in salt (abundant harvest and fertility); kuromame, sweet black soybeans (hard work and good health); tazukuri, dried young anchovies (a strong and abundant crop) and kuri-kinton, candied chestnut with sweet potatoes (economic fortune and wealth). Manhattan’s MIFUNE turns Japanese for New Year’s with a 21-course Osechi Box Set. The beautifully composed takeout meal includes like the likes of Miyzazki Wagyu A5 Rank , lobster and uni.

Osaki Hachiman Shrine in Sendai City

In the Miyagi prefecture in the Tohoku region, the largest Dontosai Festival is held at the Osaki Hachiman Shrine in Sendai City where people come to burn their previous year’s New Year’s decorations in a massive bonfire. Seen as a purification ritual to get rid of bad luck as well as a way to pray for health and good fortune, the bonfire is accompanied by hadaka-mairi, a pilgrimage of men dressed only in white boxers, loincloths, a straw belt and straw shoes who ring a hand bell to herald the coming year while cleansing themselves of the previous year.

South American and European countries seem to have the most fun (or insanity) on New Year’s Eve.

Peru

Peru

To ensure good luck and positive energy, Peruvians don yellow clothing, wearing the color of Peruvian positivity. For double assurance, many put on yellow underwear and even start their New Year’s Eve celebration wearing their underwear inside out. After the clock strikes midnight, they turn it back to the right side, symbolizing changes to be made in the coming year.

Colombia

Colombia

Then there are the Colombians who take an empty suitcase on New Year’s Eve and run around the block as quickly as possible to ensure a year full of travel, an admirable aspiration especially this year.

Mexico

Mexico

The way to say goodbye to the old year in Mexico differs by area. In some regions, a doll made of old rags is set on fire to symbolize the burning of the previous year’s bad memories or deeds. In Veracruz, popular music floods the streets and children celebrate El Viejo, disguising themselves as elders as a representation of the end of the previous year. In Oaxaca, breaking crockery as a symbol of getting rid of the old is a New Year’s Eve tradition. In the heart of Jalisco, the town of Tequila fêtes the end of the year by eating 12 “lucky” grapes, one for each chime of the clock, as they do in Spain. With an appropriate Mexican twist, the town welcomes the New Year with a secret wish and a toast of tequila rather than Spanish cava. For extra good luck, locals drop a gold jewel inside their tequila glass as a harbinger of luck and abundance. Toast as they do in Spain and Mexico with festive dinner parties to go from New York City restaurants Boqueria, Socarrat and Mole.

Iceland

Iceland

Community bonfires are a New Year’s Eve event throughout Iceland. These massive fires attract friends and family to reflect on the year past and spread well wishes for the one ahead. Locals sing traditional songs about elves, the secret creatures of Icelandic lore, before scurrying indoors at 10:30pm to watch Skaupið, a satirical TV show shown only on NYE. No one in Iceland would dream of missing it!

Denmark

Denmark

In Denmark people smash plates against their friends’ and relatives’ front doors on New Year’s Eve.  They believe that the person with the largest pile of broken plates will have the most luck.

Greece

Greece

Ironically, the Greeks don’t smash plates on New Year’s as they often do in the Plaka in Athens. Rather, homemakers hang pomegranates outside their front door and smash them. The number of seeds that fall determines your fate for the New Year. The bigger the pile, the better your luck will be.

Russia

Russia - Herring under the Fur Coat” salad

The Japanese definitely don’t have a lock on celebrating NYE with a major food feast. On December 31, Russians party at home with an elaborate food spread with mandarins, Russian salad (Olivier salad) and the wonderfully named “Herring under the Fur Coat” salad (shuba). And, because there are nine time zones in Russia, New Year is celebrated nine times starting from Vladivostok from East to West. For a local taste of the Olivier and Shuba salads, Russian Samovar in Manhattan’s Theater District offers a “Bourgeois Holiday Banquet” to go.

Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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It’s NYC Must-See Week (in addition to NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Broadway Week)

There’s no such thing as the January or February Blues in New York City. New York City’s Must-See Week really isn’t a week — it’s a couple of weeks with exciting programs, all happening at once and offering 2 for 1 tickets for dining, theater and iconic NYC activities. Must-See Week lasts through February 10, giving you at least a week to figure out everything you want to do and connect with your friends. Think 2-for-1 tickets to attractions, museums, tours and more. Now that you’ve made all your Restaurant Week reservations, here’s the next bit of planning that you need to do. Better still, combine these with a dinner reservation or a theater ticket — it’s Broadway Week, too, and tickets at 21 shows including Beetlejuice, Dear Evan Hansen and To Kill a Mockingbird are two-for-one. But, hurry, theater tickets, in particular, are selling quickly.

Bethesda Fountain Central Park NYC

Thanks to NYC&Co. you can overcome your FOGO (Fear of Going out when it’s cold) at least through the first week of February. This is something that will actually give you a case of FOMO (Fear of Missing out), so don’t wait. Do it all. Get your calendar ready.  Pretend you’re a tourist here. Or, if you are a tourist here, revel in the fact that these wonderful programs exist. And INDULGE.

Here are some of the wonderful attractions offering BOGO options this winter:

Mrs. Maisels Marvelous Tour of NYC - photo by Meryl Pearlstein

On Location Tours is offering all of their TV and movie tours at half price.  Their newest and, in my opinion, one of their best is the Mrs. Maisel’s Marvelous Tour of New York City. Led by an actress in perfect 50s Midge Maisel hair, attire and makeup, the tour takes you through the city to visit quite a number of locations seen in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Do you remember where Midge joined in the protest against the new highway in the park? Or where Joel and his buddy Archie commiserated at the bar? Yes, you’ll head to Washington Square Park and then to nearby Old Town Bar and have a drink there, or you can grab a pint at McSorley’s where Midge went after her date at the art gallery. You’ll also visit the diner where Joel proposed to Midge and they danced in the street — it’s in the West Village. I don’t want to spoil all the surprises, but you’ll see actual TV footage to show you the scene as you pass the filming location. You’ll spend a wonderful two a half hours by bus and walking, covering the areas where the Maisels and the Weissmans lived.  The tour is offered Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at noon. Dress warmly in your 50s colorful best and be prepared to walk. Wear a cool hat, and you’ll fit right in!

https://www.nycgo.com/must-see-week/browse/on-location-tours

New York City Photo Safaris

To prepare for your Mrs. Maisel tour, you might want to sign up first with New York City Photo Safaris. Covering the city from Times Square to Central Park, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Battery Park, the safaris are designed for those who want to learn how to capture the essence of the Big Apple. On these tours, led by photography professionals, you’ll get hands-on instruction to help you sharpen your photography skills, whether you use an iPhone or a DSLR. Bring whatever camera you use and be prepared to view the city from a different perspective. When you’re done, you can sign up for a one-on-one tutorial in Lightroom or Photoshop.

https://www.nycgo.com/must-see-week/browse/new-york-city-photo-safari

Central Park Zoo

Would you rather spend your day communing with nature? Animal lovers will get a chance to visit The Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium for half price. I didn’t get to see the snow monkeys in Japan, but you can see them in Manhattan! Enter password MXW20 at the website below.

https://tickets.wcs.org/affiliate/password.

To add to these, a CityPASS for NYC, might just be the admission ticket to help you cover the truly iconic NYC bases in one discounted package. Don’t be shy — be a tourist. You know haven’t been to these in a long time.

CITYPASS Admission includes:

  • The Empire State Building
  • American Museum of Natural History
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Top of the Rock Observation Deck OR Guggenheim Museum
  • Ferry access to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island OR Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum OR Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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