Susuwatari - a Shakuhachi Recital, October 28 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh will host Devon Osamu Tipp and "Susuwatari - a Shakuhachi Recital" on October 28.

Please join Devon Osamu Tipp for a recital of contemporary and traditional shakuhachi music. Featured on the program are new multimedia compositions by Pitt alumni Cullyn Murphy, and Devon Osamu Tipp, and current grad students Luis Miguel Delgado Grande and Jay Rauch. Rauch's work features an experimental film that mixes elements of Japanese aesthetics, noise, and improvisation.

It starts at 5:00 pm in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (map) and the suggested donation is $10.

"Stories from Pittsburgh’s Chinatown," free at Heinz History Center, October 29.

The Heinz History Center will present "Stories from Pittsburgh's Chinatown" on October 29.

Join the History Center for a rich celebration of stories from Pittsburgh’s Chinatown.

Featuring two short film screenings and a panel discussion, this event will vividly explore family and communal narratives from this long-overlooked neighborhood. Panelists (including community members, artists, and experts) will share their memories and research reflections on the history and legacy of Pittsburgh’s Chinatown.

Attendees will learn how Chinese Americans established businesses, started families, and created community despite the racism and discrimination that they faced. Participants will also garner insights into the decades-long partnerships and advocacy within the Chinese American community that has resulted in broader recognition of this history.

It runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm and is free with advance registration. More information about the presenters and the films is available on the Heinz History Center's hompeage. The Heinz History Center is located at 1212 Smallman St. at the western edge of the Strip District (map).

Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver in Pittsburgh, March 14.

The Japanese punk band Otoboke Beaver will perform at Spirit Hall on March 14. Tickets are now available online; PennsylvAsia will be doing a ticket giveaway on social media as the concert gets closer. Spirit Hall is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

2017 Japanese zombie film One Cut of the Dead (カメラを止めるな!) at Row House Hollywood, October 28.

The 2017 Japanese zombie film One Cut of the Dead (カメラを止めるな!) will play at the Row House Hollywood in Dormont on October 28, part of the theater's Zombiefest.

Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie in an abandoned Japanese World War II facility, when they are attacked by real zombies. Or, that’s what it says on the tin, but this is the story of how it really happened.

Tickets for the 4:30 show are available online. The Row House Hollywood is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. (map).

2023 Japanese + Wim Wenders film Perfect Days at Three Rivers Film Festival 2023, November 11 and 12.

The 2023 Japanese film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, will play in Pittsburgh on November 11 and 12 as part of the Three Rivers Film Fest 2023.

Who knew Japan has the most elegant public restrooms in the world? Wim Wender’s Perfect Days is a poetic reflection on finding the simple beauty that surrounds us in our everyday world. Kôji Yakusho delivers an award-winning performance as Hirayama, a quite-contented man who spends his days working as a cleaner of public toilets in Tokyo. His thoroughly structured daily routine reveals his passion for music and books and his love of the trees he photographs. As we are immersed in his daily life, a series of unexpected encounters gradually expose more of his past.

It plays at the Waterworks Cinema on the 11th at 7:30 pm and at the Harris Theater in Downtown's Cultural District on the 12th at 4:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

Studio Ghibli Week, November 17 - 23 at Row House Lawrenceville.

The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville will present its annual Studio Ghibli Week from November 17 through 23, featuring 2008's Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ), 1997's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), 2005's Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城), 1986's Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ), and 2023's Spirited Away: Live on Stage. Tickets are available online.

Little Viet Kitchen soft opening in Wexford.

Little Viet Kitchen is in the middle of a soft open in Wexford. It is the first Vietnamese place to open in the North Hills, located in the Pine Creek Shopping Center in McCandless (map). The menu includes customizable banh mi, rice bowls, vermicilli bowls, and pho, in addition to bubble tea and an assortment of Vietnamese coffee.

English Mandarin Language Social Hour, October 25 at Pitt.

Credit:  LRB: 安平影像 (风光), via @tongbingxue

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the English Language Institute will present an English Mandarin Language Social Hour on October 25.

A language and cultural exchange between Pitt language learners and international speakers. Lunch provided.

The event runs from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Global Hub on the first floor of Posvar Hall (map), and is open to members of the Pitt community. Registration is required.

English Korean Language Social Hour, November 1 at Pitt.

via @VisitSeoul 

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the English Language Institute will present an Korean-English Language Social Hour on November 1.

A language and cultural exchange between Pitt language learners and international speakers..

The event runs from 12:00 to 1:00 pm in the Global Hub on the first floor of Posvar Hall, and is open to members of the Pitt community. Registration is required.

Moving closer to new Korean BBQ place in Oakland.

More signage is up at the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place under development in Oakland, this time featuring new photos of menu items and new blue lighting on the windows. The yet-unnamed restaurant will be in the spot formerly occupied by Korea Garden at 414 Semple St. (map). The menu advertises $27.99 for adults with over 30 types of meats; Korean dishes like bibimbap, jjajangmyeon, ramyeon, and bulgogi; Korean appetizers like mandu, japchae, and gaeranjim; and a selection of other Asian items like sichuan noodles, Chinese-style jajangmen, orange chicken, and fried rice.

Korea Garden closed in June in preparation for a new restaurant at Novo Asian Food Hall in the Strip District Terminal, which is set to open any week now according to social media posts today. Signage for this new BBQ place went up in September, after the building was bought by Jiyan An of Dormont in March.