Work progresses on second KuJiRa location in Bridgeville, after briefly taking "Nami" name.

Work progresses on a second KuJiRa restaurant, coming soon to Chartiers Valley Shopping Center in Bridgeville. KuJiRa is an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Shadyside.

This was first teased in an October 2025 social media post by Legacy Realty, but when I visited the spot in December signage was up for Nami Japanese Kitchen & Bar. However, maybe the Nami signage was a ruse to keep the location partially hidden until more permanent signage could go up; the banner features a whale--kujira is Japanese for whale--and the same font as the temporary Kujira signage from 2023.

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. KuJiRa will be located in the former Vocelli's Pizza (map).

Chinese Culture Summer Camp with Yanlai Dance Academy, August 3 - 7 and August 17 - 21.

Yanlai Dance Academy in the North Hills will host two sessions of Chinese Culture Summer Camp for kids ages 5 - 11. One session will span from August 3 through 7, another from August 17 through 21, and both run 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The camps "include Chinese folk dance, paper crafts, art and more!"

Those interested in registering should contact PACCL.edu at gmail.com. Yanlai Dance Academy is a dance school in the North Hills that has long specialized in traditional and contemporary Chinese dances for all ages, as well hosting as Kpop sessions and adult dance troupes. It is located at 2260 Babcock Blvd. (map).

Bombing Pot coming soon to The Waterfront.

Bombing Pot, an all-you-can-eat sush, Chinese-style hot pot, and Korean-style BBQ place, is coming pretty soon to the Waterfront, according to the shopping center's social media. When it was announced for the area in September 2024 it was known as Running Dish, a concept with a Sterling, VA location from the team behind Sushi Bomb in Robinson. It is listed in the directory in the spot across from Starbucks formerly occupied by Versona, Charming Charlie, and American Eagle.

1985 Jackie Chan movie Police Story (警察故事系列) in Pittsburgh, from April 10.

The 1985 Jackie Chan movie Police Story (警察故事系列) will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from April 10, part of its Live Action Cartoons film series.

Jackie Chan plays a Hong-Kong cop, who scores his first big hit by single-handedly capturing and arresting a big drug- lord. When he’s framed for murder, he has to clear his name, whilst keeping himself from getting killed or arrested, and keeping his girlfriend from leaving him.

It plays from April 10 through 16, and tickets are available online. The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, March 13 through 26 at Row House Lawrenceville.

The annual Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival will run from March 13 through March 26 at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. This year's festival is comprised of 12 films around the theme of Cult Cinema of Japan.

• Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル) - March 20 through March 26
• Burst City (爆裂都市 BURST CITY) - March 26
• Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列) - March 20 through March 26
• His Motorbike, Her Island (彼のオートバイ、彼女の島) - March 15 through March 19
• House (ハウス) - March 14 through March 19
• Kokuho (国宝) - March 14 through March 19
• Lady Snowblood (修羅雪姫) - March 14, 16, 17, 18, 19
• Scarlet ( 果てしなきスカーレット) - March 14 through March 19
• Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space - March 13
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man (鉄男) - March 14
• The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (夜は短し歩けよ乙女) - March 20 through March 25
• Yukiko a.k.a (雪子 a.k.a) - March 21, 22, 25

There are a number of special events these two weeks as well:

• Watermelon and Banana Night w. House - March 14
• Kokuho w. Sake Tasting - March 15
• Gari Shoyu Sando Company Pop Up - March 17, 21, 22
• Japanese Snack Pack with Scarlet - March 17
• Battle Royale w. an Intro - March 20
• Cult-O-Rama Secret Cinema: JFF Edition! - March 20
• Pittsburgh Kyūsha Japanese Car Show - March 21
• Closing Night with Burst City - March 26

The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

"Haunted Play: Memory and Resistance in Taiwanese Horror Games," March 17 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Chee-Hann Wu and her talk "Haunted Play: Memory and Resistance in Taiwanese Horror Games" on March 17.

Taiwanese horror is a rising genre that has claimed an important space in Taiwanese popular culture, particularly in the video game industry since the debut of Detention in 2017. Video games associated with such aesthetics often incorporate elements of Taiwan's local religions, cultures, and mythologies. Furthermore, such horror is evoked not only by fear of the unknown, but also by the unsettling feeling of being forced to live under duress. Although mostly implicit, many Taiwanese horror games contain hints of historical references to the 228 Incident and the White Terror under Martial Law. Malevolent monsters and ghosts become physical incarnations of state-sanctioned violence perpetrated by perpetrators, dehumanized accomplices, and those who were arrested, executed, or silenced.

AAPI Heritage Night, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, June 10.

June 10 is AAPI Heritage Night with the Pittsburgh Pirates versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Experience a celebration of AAPI pride and Pirates baseball at PNC Park on June 10 as the Pirates take on the Los Angeles Dodgers!

Join us for a game filled with excitement as we honor the AAPI community in Pittsburgh and beyond. This ticket package includes an exclusive co-branded Pirates AAPI themed jersey and loaded value to use on concessions and merchandise during the game. A portion of each ticket purchased through this offer will benefit a local AAPI charity.

As with previous years, there will likely be local Asian and Asian-American associations organizing their own groups. The Dodgers currently feature several of the game's best Asian players, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Hyeseong Kim.

Screening of Korean film 3760, with director Q&A, March 19 at Carnegie Mellon.

Carnegie Mellon University's Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics Department will present a 3670 Film Screening with Director Q&A on March 19.

Join the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics for a special screening of 3670, a 2025 South Korean film directed by Park Joon-ho.

3670 tells the powerful story of Cheol-jun, a North Korean defector living in Seoul, as he struggles to find his place within the city’s gay community. Through an intimate and deeply human lens, the film explores themes of identity, belonging, displacement and resilience.

This is a rare opportunity to experience 3670 on the big screen. The film is not yet available on any streaming platforms in the United States and is currently only being shown at select movie festivals.

Following the screening, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a live Zoom Q&A session with director Park Joon-ho, offering insight into the filmmaking process, the story behind the film and the themes it explores.

Don’t miss this exclusive event — an evening of meaningful cinema and conversation.

The event runs from 3:30 to 7:00 pm in Hamerschlag Hall B103 (map) and is free and open to the public.

1997 Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) in Pittsburgh, from April 3.

The 1997 Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) will play at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville from April 3 through April 9, part of the theater's Girls Gone Mad film series.

This creepy and mind-bending thriller from Satoshi Kon follows a pop star who looks forward to a bright new career as an actress when she quits her chart-topping trio. Her first role in a sexually charged murder mystery blurs the lines of her reality and upends her once wholesome life.

Tickets and showtimes are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Lucy Chen's Dress in Red at Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, April 3 and 4.

The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater will present Lucy Chen's Dress in Red on April 3 and 4, part of its Freshworks series.

Femininity. Sexuality. Perception. Expectation. Dressed in Red explores these ideas and our shifting self and social identities through a blend of movement and video performance. Inspired by Classical Chinese dance and contemporary movement, Dressed in Red reflects on Lucy’s experience of the complex relationship between how we see ourselves, how we present ourselves, and how others see us. 

Utilizing video media and a costume that transforms throughout the performance, the dancers explore self-expression and connection/tension with their communities, within the lens of what it means to be feminine. Audiences witness an evolving narrative of feminine identity and are encouraged to contemplate their own experiences with their image, and how we perform our gender and sexuality.

The performances run 7:30 to 9:00 pm and include a post-show discussion. Tickets are available online. The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater's Alloy Studios is located at 5530 Penn Ave. in East Liberty (map).