This was submitted by Coleen Uchida-Tamny from Los Angeles County, California, and Kassy Duran from Utah, for Discover Nikkei’s Nima-kai Traditions: Matsuri photo activity.

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Growing up in Burbank, my family often made trips to Little Tokyo for a Sunday dinner at Far East. However, we usually celebrated Obon in West LA since my parents grew up in West LA and Santa Monica where Sawtelle Boulevard was the local center of their Japanese American cultural experience. Since there were only a handful of Japanese American families in Burbank, I felt transported to Japan during these celebrations. My brothers and I especially loved the carnival and catching goldfish that we proudly brought back home in plastic bags.  As an adult, I cherish the continuation of these celebrations connecting me & the next generation (in this case my niece) to our Japanese American culture and to fond memories of my childhood.  It also gave me an opportunity to wear the yukata that I was given by my friend, Etsuko's family during my trip to Japan with her.

Photo credit: Mark Tamny