Japanese classes welcomed the new year at the Japanese Cultural Center’s New Year’s Ohana festival.

The  fun-filled event featured food, crafts, entertainment and cultural demonstrations at a festival celebrating the New Year, an important event in the Japanese calendar.

Japanese teacher, Masa Yamaguchi, said, “Our students were assigned to take surveys from people who came to the festival. They were shy and hesitated to talk to strangers at first, but after a while, they understood their responsibility and got used to it. I was impressed to see our students talking to people with nice smiles on their faces.”

Sophomore Taryn Sagapolu said,”It was such a great experience volunteering at the festival since I was able to communicate with Japanese people, which  allowed me to use my social skills and Japanese.”

Twenty-five students volunteered at the event.