The reception in honor of the birthday of his Majesty the Emperor of Japan

A reception celebrating the birthday of our majesty, the Emperor of Japan was held at the residence of the Japanese Consulate on December 4. This reception was attended by approximately 450 people, who enjoyed sushi, sashimi, Grilled King crab, Wagyu Beef Shabu Shabu, Tempura and other foods provided by the Japanese Restaurant Association, Hichimiaki (social club of Japanese food manufacturers) and others.
Also, campaign booths by Visit Japan were displayed inside the residence of the Consulate of Japan to introduce and promote tourism to various regions in Japan, along with exhibits promoting the theme of “Green Japan,” an environmental policy that is strongly supported by the Japanese government, and other exhibits promoting innovative green technology.
Long lines formed in front of the booths where Japanese dishes were offered, where participants enjoyed “traditional Japanese food” along with various Japanese sake and wines.
Takashi Hiranaka, Counsel, Consulate General of Japan at Los Angeles / The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said, “President Hara of Japanese Restaurant Association and a total of 13 chefs participated in this reception so our guests can enjoy the “traditional flavors of Japan.” The food was received very well by our guests.
We also served our guests Koshu Wine from Japan for the first time instead of California wine, and this was also well received by our guests. I look forward to seizing every opportunity I have to introduce more Japanese products to local citizens.”  
At the Environment and Economy exhibit, the Superconducting Transmission and Japanese Railway Technology garnered the most interest among the attendees. The “Shinkansen,” introduced as the High Speed Rail to attendees drew particular interest for its technology is currently being considered for implementation here in the U.S.



JNTO has now relocated their office to the “Little Tokyo”

If you decided you “want to go to Japan,” how would you obtain the information you need? While the internet is commonly used for research for its convenience, the information obtained is not necessarily reliable. Then where would you get the reliable information you need? I recommend you go to Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) for reliable information on Japan.
JNTO is a tourist information agency operated by the Japanese government for foreign citizens planning to travel Japan. JNTO is equipped to aid travelers with the map of Japan, videos introducing Japan and selections of photographs, along with brochures on tourist agencies for various regions in Japan and posters distributed at no charge. Friendly consultants are eager to answer your question and offer advice, which they do best. 
JNTO has now relocated their office to the “Little Tokyo” district of downtown Los Angeles. Their Open House was held at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Little Tokyo on November 21, attended by Junichi Ihara, Counsel General, Consulate General of Japan, who commented during the press conference, “While Japanese animation is popular here in the U.S., my favorite is DORAEMON. My favorite magical tool of his is the “The Door to Anywhere,” a door that opens to your place of choice when you announce your destination as you open this door. I feel that Little Tokyo is similar to this imaginary door, which is why we relocated our office here. I look forward to JNTO’s contribution to the prosperity of Little Tokyo.” 

We spoke to Hidenao Takizawa, Director of JNTO in Los Angeles.
SS: Why did you decide to relocate your office to Little Tokyo?
Takizawa: Little Tokyo is where people interested in Japan frequent, along with local American citizens, Japanese Americans and people of other ethnicities. Also, statistics show that many residents of other ethnicities have the opportunity to visit Japan as a stop-over destination during their flights home. Also, Little Tokyo is a place where we can target residents who are local citizens as well as immigrants from various racial groups. Since Little Tokyo is synonymous with Japan, we wanted to promote our business to these customers who might stop by our agency while they shop in Little Tokyo. We’re hopeful that the customers “getting information on tourism to Japan may lead to them actually visiting Japan.” 
SS: Please tell me about your latest promotions?
Takizawa: We provide information to people planning a visit to Japan. Since traveling independently is challenging for many, we partner with other travel agencies to propose enticing sightseeing tours of Japan for our customers.
Previously, tours to Japan was organized for the purpose of sight-seeing and did not include activities, which is no longer acceptable to recent tourists who want to ‘experience’ the country. We offer various activities in our tour packages, such as sake-tasting events on cruise ships and washi classes to teach the traditional Japanese technique of making paper. For example, we feel it’s challenging for many to understand the historical significance of kagura shrines or museums just by visiting them, so we offer tours with curators to provide commentary for these sights. We feel it’s important to have our tourists to get “hands on experience” of Japan and to enjoy it. JNTO strives to be the “face of Japan” to our tourists, and invite anyone to visit our office freely.
Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO)
340 E. 2nd St. #302, Los Angeles, CA 90012 213-623-1952 www.jnto.go.jp



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