Nakama voted "Best Japanese" by Pittsburgh City Paper readers again.

Today the Pittsburgh City Paper released the results of their 2013 "Best of Pittsburgh" readers' poll, with Nakama winning in the "Best Japanese" category.

The art of hibachi has taken off in Pittsburgh, thanks in no small part to Nakama. Diners sit grill-side as chefs prepare shrimp, chicken and delicacies like Kobe beef and chateaubriand. Also on the menu is a selection of sake, noodles and starters. If you want to avoid the show, you can order the full menu at tables by the bar.

Nakama won last year, too, and in 2008, 2009, and 2011. Little Tokyo and Fukuda came in second and third place, respectively. Nakama was also voted "Best Sushi". Kiku, Chaya, and Teppanyaki Kyoto---favorites of this blog and among local Japanese---didn't place in any category. Nicky's Thai Kitchen was voted Best Thai and Sesame Inn was voted Best Chinese, those two also repeat winners from 2012.

Maz receives enthusiastic welcome.

연광적환영 받는 결승.

The Dong-A Ilbo covers the Pittsburgh Pirates' World Series victory on October 15, 1960. If you are interested in 20th-century Korean history but are easily prone to getting lost for days in old newspapers, avoid Naver's "News Library" archive.

Squirrel Hill Magazine profiles Chaya.

The Fall 2013 issue of the quarterly Squirrel Hill Magazine has a profile on Chaya, a restaurant on Murray Ave. considered by Japanese in Pittsburgh to have the best Japanese food in the city. In addition to the usual background information, the piece alludes to owner Fumio Yasuzawa's hobby of collecting material for a Japanese cultural center here.

Yasuzawa is now focused on building his Japanese book collection. Hundreds of volumes, along with Japanese movie DVDs, line rows of metal shelves in Chaya’s basement. He hopes to someday make the collection widely available, perhaps as part of a Pittsburgh Japanese cultural center.

Yummyholic's Bukimi: An Asian Horror Event, October 24 in Strip District.

Yummyholic will host "Bukimi: An Asian Horror Event" on October 24 at CAVO in the Strip District (map). It's the second installment of the "Cupcakes and Culture" series, put on by the local sweets-slash-entertainment start-up. From the event's Facebook page:

With the help of an Awesome Pittsburgh grant, this time we are delivering a night of haunted delight with features that will not only make this event the first of its kind in the city but one of the most amazing nights all around:

- FREE nomicakes by Yummyholic ("What's a nomicake?" You have to come and fall in love for yourself!)
- Trick-or-Treating
- Mini Night Market
- Asian Horror Gallery
- Haunted Photobooth

Featuring music by DJ Duo Tracksploitation

21+ ONLY
Dress Code: Black and/or Red Colors. Keep it classy please, no jeans. Dress to kill..

General admission is free, though $25 VIP tickets are available. Advance registration is required, and can be done so online.

Third Madoka Magica movie to make Pittsburgh debut at Hollywood Theater on December 6.

The third movie in the three-part Madoka Magica series will premiere in Japan on October 26. U.S. showtimes for Rebellion (叛逆の物語) were announced yesterday, and Pittsburgh is one of several cities to have December 6 screenings, the second-earliest date in the country behind the December 3 premiere. Rebellion will debut in the area at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont (map) on the 6th, with initial screenings at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm.

The Hollywood Theater also held the regional debuts of parts one and two in December 2012, and will show both again on December 5 at 7:30 pm, according to the movies' U.S. distributor's website.

Japanese Wagashi Sweetmaking & Tasting Workshop in Butler, October 18.

Via alde (Creative Commons).

This month there are two Japanese Wagashi Sweetmaking & Tasting Workshops being held in the area. Registration for the one in Oakland on the 19th is closed, but space is still available for the one held at the Maridon Museum in Butler on Friday the 18th. From the museum's website:

In this year's annual cultural program from Handa City, Aichi prefecture, Japan, participants will work with a master wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) maker Masahiro Koie to learn how to make artful sweets and the history and culture of Japanese sweet makers.

It will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Asian art museum located at 322 N. McKean St. in downtown Butler, some 40 miles north of Pittsburgh (map). Registration is required and can be done by calling 724–282-0123 or by signing up with the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania.

International Family Day at Carnegie Library, October 13.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Oakland will host International Family Day on October 13 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.

Chinese movie Ocean Heaven (海洋天堂) to open Reelabilities: Pittsburgh Disabilities Film Festival, October 26.

Chinese-language film Ocean Heaven (海洋天堂) will open the Reelabilities: Pittsburgh Film Festival on October 26. The film stars Jet Li as the father of a young man with autism. Wikipedia provides a summary:

Ocean Heaven is about a terminally ill father, Sam Wong (Jet Li) as he works his job in an aquarium and struggles to look after his 21-year-old son Dafu, who has autism (Wen Zhang). Sam has single-handedly brought up his son since his wife died 14 years ago and looks after him day and night attempting to help him learn basic tasks in order to care for himself, as well as searching for a home for his son before he passes away. As the story progresses, the growing relationship between father and son as well as the community around them become clearer. Ling ling (Gwei Lun-mei) plays the role of a clown who is part of a small traveling circus (they perform in the aquarium for a short period of time) and who gets on well with Dafu, leading to a close friendship between them.

The movie plays at 7:00 on the 26th at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the Northside (map). Tickets are available online for $25 for adults and $15 for students, though films not part of opening night are $10 and $5, respectively.

Reelabilities is a multi-city festival

dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities

Clara C at Pitt, October 15.

Via the Facebook event page.

Singer-songwriter Clara C (Clara Chung) will perform at the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union on October 15, between dates on her current tour. The flyer has details, and her Youtube channel has songs.

Lao-language The Rocket among Three Rivers Film Festival openers, November 8.

Australian film The Rocket is one of four movies to open the Three Rivers Film Festival on November 8, writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In "The Rocket," a boy believed to bring bad luck leads his family and a couple of ragged misfits through Laos to find a new home. After a calamity-filled journey through a land scarred by war, he tries to prove he's not cursed by building a giant rocket and entering the most lucrative and dangerous competition of the year, the Rocket Festival.

In Lao with English subtitles, "The Rocket" is Australia's submission for consideration in the foreign language film category for the 86th Academy Awards.

The Rocket will play at Waterworks Cinemas (map) at 7:15 pm. A complete list of films will be announced on October 21.