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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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