FREE ALL DAY!
Ring in the Year of the Rooster with food, crafts, cultural activities, and performances!
- Join author Sonoko Sakai for a hands-on onigiri (Japanese rice ball snacks) workshop
- Watch a rainbow mochi demonstration by Brian Kito of Fugetsu-Do Confectioners
- Watch Kodama Taiko’s unique mochitsuki (rice pounding) demonstration
- Japanese drumming performance by TAIKOPROJECT
See below for complete schedule or download the flyer!
Special perks available for JANM Members! Be sure to check in at the front desk to get a member sticker so you can take advantage of the perks highlighted below.
Time After Time Capsule—Special to this year’s Oshogatsu Family Festival
Help kawaii artist Sebastian Masuda fill two gigantic time capsules—one shaped like Hello Kitty and another like Domo, the official mascot of NHK! Bring a cherished personal item or write a letter to your future self, to be placed in one of the capsules. Masuda is traveling ten time capsules around the world, to be assembled for a major display in Tokyo in 2020 and then reopened in 2035.
Presented in collaboration with The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles.
Sponsored by: 
Media Sponsor: 
Take advantage of free museum admission all day to view:
- Uprooted: Japanese American Farm Labor Camps During World War II (through January 8, 2017)
- Tatau: Marks of Polynesia(through January 22, 2017)
- Only the Oaks Remain: Stories of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station (through April 9, 2017)
- Common Ground: The Heart of Community (ongoing)
Activities
Nerdbot Photo Booth
Pose for a souvenir photo to take home. Special appearances by Domo at 11 a.m.–11:20 a.m., 12 p.m.–12:20 p.m., 1 p.m.–1:20 p.m., and 3:15 p.m.–3:35 p.m. Express Line for members!
Make Your Own Rooster
Cut and decorate a bouncy paper rooster.
Kagami Mochi Craft
Using clay and beads, make your own replica of a kagami mochi—a decorative rice cake arrangement traditionally used to commemorate the New Year in Japan.
Ruthie's Origami Corner
Learn how to fold a paper rooster.
Coloring Station
Get to know the qualities of people born in the Year of the Rooster, as well as the 11 other signs of the Asian zodiac.
Explore Japanese American History and Win a Prize
Visit our core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community, and take a “selfie” with an artifact you find interesting. Show it to staff at the information table and explain why you liked that artifact or what you learned about it, and receive a prize! Prizes courtesy of Bandai, while supplies last.
Omikuji
What does the future hold? Find out through this Japanese fortune-telling method.
Toddler Room
Bring your toddlers here to relax, play with other toddlers, or watch the animated Disney film Chicken Little, which will be playing continuously all day. NOTE: All children must be supervised by an accompanying adult at all times.
Fukubukuro Sale
Our eagerly awaited fukubukuro (lucky grab bags) will be back and available for purchase at the JANM Store.
Schedule
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Live Chicken Petting Zoo
See several different varieties of chicken—such as miniature Seramas, Silkie Bantams, Polish Bantams, and Giant Cochins—up close! Couresty of Farm Friendz. Express Line for members!
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Lucky Soba Noodles
Kidding Around the Kitchen will offer sample bowls of lucky zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles) to bring good health in the New Year. Kids can top the soba with their choice of tofu, vegetables, and nori. While supplies last.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Storytime With Kizuna's Thank You Very Mochi
Join us for a reading of Thank You Very Mochi, a delightful children’s book written by Paul Matsushima, Sophie Wang, and Craig Ishii and published by Kizuna, a Japanese American youth organization. A signing will follow the reading. Copies of the book are available at the JANM Store. Reserved seating for members!
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Rooster Candy Sculptures
Shan Ichiyanagi will demonstrate the ancient, and now rarely practiced, Asian folk art of candy sculpting, as he makes candy in the shape of roosters and other animals of the Asian zodiac. Finished pieces will be raffled off throughout the day. Members get double raffle tickets!
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Mochitsuki Demonstration by Kodama Taiko
Making fresh mochi is a beloved Japanese new year tradition. Join Kodama Taiko for their unique mochitsuki (rice pounding) demonstration, which incorporates taiko drumming, and enjoy delicious mochi samples while supplies last.
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Mochitsuki Demonstration by Kodama Taiko
Making fresh mochi is a beloved Japanese new year tradition. Join Kodama Taiko for their unique mochitsuki (rice pounding) demonstration, which incorporates taiko drumming, and enjoy delicious mochi samples while supplies last.
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
MEMBERS ONLY Onigiri Workshop
In this workshop open to JANM members only, learn to make a variety of onigiri (Japanese rice ball snacks) with Sonoko Sakai, author of the new cookbook Rice Craft (available for purchase in the JANM Store). Rice for this workshop is generously donated by Koda Farms, California’s oldest family-owned and operated rice farm and mill.
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Mochi Demonstration
Brian Kito of the renowned Fugetsu-Do Confectioners will demonstrate the fine art of making rainbow mochi. Reserved seating for members!
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Talk by Kawaii Artist Sebastian Masuda
Hear Sebastian Masuda, creator of the Time After Time Capsules, talk about his work, which will be on display all day.
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Onigiri Workshop
In this drop-in workshop open to everyone, learn to make a variety of onigiri (Japanese rice ball snacks) with Sonoko Sakai, author of the new cookbook Rice Craft (available for purchase in the JANM Store). Rice for this workshop is generously donated by Koda Farms.
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM
Taiko Drumming Performance
Bring the day to a rousing close with a dynamic performance by the Los Angeles-based group TAIKOPROJECT.
