I was the MC/Judge/Cosplay Coordinator for the cosplay contest at Shin Sen Gumi’s Summer Festival! Shin Sen Gumi is a Japanese restaurant chain here in Southern California located in Los Angeles and Orange County and are now celebrating their 30th anniversary! The summer festival was a great way to celebrate the momentous occasion. I have been a fan of Shin Sen Gumi for years now, so to be invited as a special guest was a huge honor. I also performed my own version of Japanese City Pop classic Plastic Love that was created with Japanese DJ/Producer Meirlin.
The summer festival had a plethora of Japanese food like the summer must haves such as Shaved Ice and the best yakitori around from Shin Sen Gumi. Their Tsukune is one of the best I have had outside of Japan. Tsukune is a savory chicken meatball yakitori stick that I fell in love with while I was traveling and performing out in Japan. This festival really felt like I was back in Japan. All of the staff and guests make sure to put their heart and soul into this festival while showing you beautiful aspects of Japanese culture.
The cosplay contest was a lot of fun to judge/MC. I was very happy and honored to have the IchiGoGo! Twins join me as judges. We all had a very hard time to choose the winners. The cosplayers were just so amazing! The grand prize was a thousand dollars that went to Joshua Simmons. I’m just so happy to see that anime is being embraced and featured in such a special way at this festival from the American Japanese community.
Shin Sen Gumi’s Summer Festival is a great way to celebrate Japanese culture and community. I’m very proud to be a part of this community and will continue to show my love and support for Japan.
『JAPANESE POP CULTURE NEWS THAT YOU MUST KNOW!!!』
Writer: Stephanie Yanez
Instagram @stephachu
Website https://direct.me/stephachu
(9/15/2022)
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