Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Sushi place Shoku Next Door coming soon to Cranberry.


Shoku Next Door is coming soon to Cranberry Mall.
We’re your new neighborhood spot for quality sushi and casual dining. Grab a quick take-out on busy days or relax and dine in with friends — always delicious, always welcoming. Stop by and discover your next favorite sushi place, right next door!
Paperwork lists it as space 103 (map), which is currently occupied by the baby and kids clothing store Carter's.

#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR THE MOVIE in Pittsburgh, December 27 and 28.


The movie #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR THE MOVIE, following Jin on his 2025 world tour, will play in Pittsburgh on December 27 and 28.
“Dojeon! (Challenge!) Until the day I meet every ARMY.” Jin has embarked on his first journey to connect with ARMY, whether in person or online. Spanning 10 cities and 20 performances - from Goyang to Japan, North America, Europe, and back to Incheon - the most thrilling moments of the tour are now ready to unfold on the big screen. With "challenge" as its theme, the show sees "Worldwide Handsome" Jin brings his signature energy to the stage, laughing, singing, and completing missions with ARMY across five energetic rounds. From his first solo album, "Happy," backed by a live band, to his second mini album, "Echo," and a special medley of BTS songs, the concert unfolds as a panorama of diverse music and emotion, captivating both eyes and ears. Amidst that blazing energy, everyone becomes the star of the festival once again. Jin cordially invites you to a special year-end party in cinemas, as #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR THE MOVIE brings the vibrant stage that launched his first solo fan concert world tour to life, once again.
It is scheduled to play locally at the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Monday, December 22, 2025

Okane Sushi, featuring sushi tacos, opening downtown January 2.


Okane Sushi is set to open downtown on January 2, with a menu featuring set and customized sushi tacos. It will be located at 245 4th Ave. (map), repacing Sushi i, which opened there in April, and is from the team behind several new restaurants including Top Pot Hot Pot.

Poke Bowl Express & Asian Cuisine now open in Greenfield.


Poke Bowl Express & Asian Cuisine has opened in Greenfield, in the spot across from Giant Eagle most recently occupied by Gold Ladle. Signage first went up earlier in December for "a Chinese restaurant to a Poke Bowl-focused Asian fustion restaurant (Japanese & Chinese)." Gold Ladle was the latest in a line of Chinese restaurants occupying 4219 Murray Ave. (map), dating back to at least the 1980s, but it closed in April 2025 due to fire after just six months in business. It took over the spot after a few months of Wai Wai, which took over that spot after China Star was shut down in February 2024 due to repeated health violations.

Poke Bowl Express has posted its menu online, and it includes set and customized poke bowls, sushi and rolls, and an assortment of Chinese and Asian dishes like kung pao chicken, pad thai, sweet sour chicken, and more.


Saturday, December 20, 2025

2025 Chinese film Resurrection (狂野时代) in Pittsburgh, January 17 - 28.


The 2025 Chinese film Resurrection (狂野时代) will play in Pittsburgh from January 17 through 28.
Unfolding over five chapters that feature a dazzling array of styles, Resurrection is a cascade of imagery united by a luminous mythopoetic conceit: in a sci-fi-coded world where people have lost the desire to dream in the hopes of prolonging life, rogue “fantasmers” continue to stoke their imaginations and exist within unreality. From this magical premise, the film sends its ever-morphing protagonist (Jackson Yee) through a series of genres, from Méliès-inflected silent fantasy to wartime thriller to con-artist buddy picture to millennial vampire romance—the latter depicted in one of Bi’s customary, and ever astonishing, single takes. Even within genre parameters, the director never takes the road well-traveled, offering jolts and marvels around every corner. Resurrection is one of the most audacious and ambitious gifts for cinematic thrill-seekers in many a moon.
It plays at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

Upcoming Chinese film Gezhi Town (得闲谨制) in Pittsburgh, from December 25.


The upcoming Chinese film Gezhi Town (得闲谨制) will play in Pittsburgh from December 25.
The craftsman Mo Dexian settled down in the peaceful Gezhi town with his family, but the sudden arrival of an uninvited guest plunged their once peaceful and harmonious home into crisis.
It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront through the 30th, and tickets are available online.

Friday, December 19, 2025

Nami Japanese Kitchen & Bar, offering all-you-can-eat sushi, coming soon to Bridgeville.


Nami Japanese Kitchen & Bar, offering all-you-can-eat sushi, is coming soon to the Chartiers Valley Shopping Center in Bridgeville. The torii, and signage, is up in the former Vocelli Pizza spot.

A huge local restaurant trend in 2023 and 2024 was planning---and sometimes opening---all-you-can-eat hotpot and Korean-style BBQ places, while a trend for 2025 was opening all-you-can-eat sushi places: 8 Star in Gibsonia, Let's Sushi in Wexford, and Koi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Monroeville opened over the past year, and Oyoshi in East Liberty is still under construction.

2025 Park Chan-wook film No Other Choice (어쩔수가없다) in Pittsburgh, from January 15.


The 2025 Park Chan-wook film No Other Choice (어쩔수가없다) will play in Pittsburgh from January 15, after a one-day early access screening on December 8.
From director Park Chan-wook and based on Donald E. Westlake's novel THE AX, the story follows Man-su on his desperate hunt for a new job after his abrupt layoff from the paper company he served for 25 years.
It is scheduled to play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

Pittsburgh Japanese School to relocate to Point Breeze in January 2026.

Ceremony for the first day of school in April.

The Pittsburgh Japanese School, which was established in 1977 and has been operating at the Shady Side Academy Middle School in Fox Chapel since 2006, will be relocating to the Shady Side Academy Junior School in January 2026. The middle school's grounds were sold to the National Aviary in February 2025, with Shady Side Academy moving to a new campus across the golf course.

The Pittsburgh Japanese School offers education in the Japanese curriculum for Japanese and Japanese-American children from pre-kindergarten through high school, and, like many similar language and culture programs in the city, operates out of another building each week.
Located on the beautiful campus of Shady Side Academy, PJS is one of the three supplementary Japanese schools in Pennsylvania. We offer Japanese instruction for grades Pre-K - 12th in accordance with the guidelines and curriculum set by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.

The primary purpose of PJS is to provide a Japanese curriculum for children of Japanese families who have relocated to the Pittsburgh area so that their children may make a smooth transition back to the rigorous Japanese educational system upon their eventual return. The secondary purpose of PJS is to provide children who are fluent or proficient in Japanese with the opportunity to receive instruction in Japanese and to participate in the cultural traditions of Japan while residing in the Pittsburgh area on a long term basis.

The Pittsburgh Japanese School is grateful to the Japanese government and the Office of the Consulate General of Japan in New York for providing us with funding, invaluable advice, textbooks, and other educational materials which allow us to deliver quality education to our students. We are equally grateful for the continued support of our warm community, our dedicated teachers and staff, and our friends and families who all generously donate their time and energy into making our school a truly unique “home away from home”.
As detailed on its website, the Pittsburgh Japanese School has moved to increasingly large spaces after its formation, including Fox Chapel Area High School in 1994, before finally moving to Shady Side Academy in 2006. The present location offers classroom space for each grade level, a cafeteria, a Japanese-language library, a gymnasium, and outdoor spaces for classes and an annual sports day (運動会), and these amenities are expected to continue at the new campus.


Japanese ambassador and consul general Shinichi Nishimiya visits a pre-kindergarten class in August 2009, ahead of the G-20 summit. (Photo via August 31, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)

Thursday, December 18, 2025

2026 Japanese animated film All You Need Is Kill in Pittsburgh, from January 15.


The 2026 Japanese animated film All You Need Is Kill will play in Pittsburgh from January 15. A synopsis, from the distributor:
Set in the year 20XX, ALL YOU NEED IS KILL follows the story of Rita, a resourceful but isolated young woman volunteering to help rebuild Japan after the mysterious appearance of a massive alien flower known as “Darol.” When Darol unexpectedly erupts in a deadly event, unleashing monstrous creatures that decimate the population, Rita is caught in the destruction—and killed. But then she wakes up again. And again. Caught in an endless time loop, Rita must navigate the trauma and repetition of death until she crosses paths with Keiji, a shy young man trapped in the same cycle. Together, they fight to break free from the loop and find meaning in the chaos around them.
It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

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