Nisei Week Japanese Festival 2026

“See, the trick is to act like you wandered in…”

Somebody always starts the circle — the ones who know every song — and it grows all night as visitors fall in behind them, half a step late, until the steps finally take. Nobody teaches you. You just get pulled in.

Little Tokyo has held this ground since 1934, and for two weekends it turns itself inside out. The first weekend runs inside the cultural center; the second spills onto the plaza with outdoor stages, food booths, and demonstrations. The Grand Parade comes down the streets on a Sunday afternoon — taiko drummers, mikoshi shrines carried on shoulders, community floats, honorary royalty. Threaded through all of it is the Tanabata festival, bamboo stalks hung with paper wishes written by strangers standing right next to you.

Free, at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center on San Pedro Street, reachable on the Metro A and E lines.

Go with the person in your family who has been meaning to learn the dance.