Talk on Japanese gardens at Murrysville Community Center, June 7.

At Shofuso Japanese House & Garden in Philadelphia, 2013.

The Murrysville Garden Club will host professor Josh Belbo and his talk on Japanese gardening on June 7. From the Tribune-Review:

Adjunct professor Joshua Beblo , who holds a master's degree in landscape architecture from Penn State as well as a master's degree in education from Duquesne University, will present a program on Japanese gardens, which combine the basic elements of plants, water, and rocks with simple, clean lines to create a tranquil retreat, according to Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

The event starts at 10:00 am at the Murrysville Community Center (map) and is free and open to the public.

"Bubblepop: k-pop · j-pop · retro pop dance party," June 9.

Bubblepop, "a dance party for K-Pop, J-Pop, Mando-pop and everything else fun and cute," is back with its next event on June 9, the "K-pop, J-Pop, Retro Pop Dance Party."

Kawaii babes are playing your favorite international pop, disco and new wave at P-Town with psyched out karaoke-style visuals. Dress up is encouraged. Get weird and come dance your adorable asses off with us!

It runs from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am at P Town Bar in Bloomfield (map).

Spirited Away with Whiskey & Beer Tasting and Cosplay, June 23rd at The Oaks theater.

Oakmont's The Oaks Theater will play the Studio Ghibli classic film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) on June 23rd.

Join us for a great night of Anime and Cosplay!

Dress up and receive special prizes and specials at the bar.

This Show is all ages but you must have a valid ID to participate in the drink sampling

Construction underway on Philippine Nationality Room.

via Popi Laudico.

As reported in the Spring 2018 Nationality and Heritage Rooms News newsletter, construction began on the Philippine Nationality Room on May 3. And as reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday, it is planned for room 313.

Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (打ち上げ花火、下から見るか? 横から見るか?) at Row House Cinema, too, this July.

The 2017 Japanese animated film Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? (打ち上げ花火、下から見るか? 横から見るか?), which will play at the Cinemark Theaters in Monroeville and Pittsburgh Mills from July 3, will also play at the Row House Cinema from July 6 through 12 as part of an "In Case You Missed It" series. There will be a timely preview screening on the 4th as well.

Pitt hiring two student workers for "Japan support, website development" for Tale of the Heike (平家物語 ) site.

The University of Pittsburgh is hiring student workers to build a website in support of a class on the epic Japanese text Tale of the Heike (平家物語 ). The pay is $12 per hour and those interested should apply through Pittsource.

English dub of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) in Pittsburgh, June 5 and 7.

The English dub of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」), which will play locally at the Cinemark theater in Robinson on June 5 and 7.

EXO's Ko ko bop at this weekend's K-pop Class, June 2.

The weekly K-pop Dance Class at Yanlai Dance Academy will do EXO's Ko ko bop on June 2. The class is held each Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, and the cost is $18 for a drop-in session. Yanlai Dance Academy is located at 2260 Babcock Blvd. in the North Hills (map).

Charter flights between Shanghai and Pittsburgh to begin August 3.

by sama093 (Creative Commons)

According to an airport press release this afternoon, charter flights between Shanghai and Pittsburgh will begin August 3, pending government approval.

China Eastern Airlines will conduct nonstop seasonal charter services connecting Pittsburgh and Shanghai, China commencing on August 3, the region’s first nonstop air link with China.

The flights, pending government approval, are part of a partnership agreement with Pittsburgh International Airport, VisitPITTSBURGH, and Idea Foundry. Pittsburgh will be the arriving and departing gateway for hundreds of Chinese tourists who will visit the U.S. East Coast this summer.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our region to become the first medium-size city in the country as a destination for Chinese tourists,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said. “Our region’s businesses, the airport, and our tourism industry will be the primary beneficiary of this agreement.”

Miao Wang's Maineland in Oakland, June 7.

The 2017 documentary Maineland will play at a resuscitated 3 Rivers Film Fest on June 7.

Filmed over three years in China and the U.S., MAINELAND is a multi-layered coming-of-age tale that follows two affluent and cosmopolitan teenagers as they settle into a boarding school in blue-collar rural Maine. Part of the enormous wave of "parachute students" from China enrolling in U.S. private schools, bubbly, fun-loving Stella and introspective Harry come seeking a Western-style education, escape from the dreaded Chinese college entrance exam, and the promise of a Hollywood-style U.S. high school experience. As Stella and Harry’s fuzzy visions of the American dream slowly gain more clarity, they ruminate on their experiences of alienation, culture clash, and personal identity, sharing new understandings and poignant discourses on home and country.

It plays from 7:00 pm at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland (map). Ticket information has not been announced yet.