Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish of Chinese origin. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including sliced pork, nori, menma, and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes and is a part of Japanese Chinese cuisine. Nearly every region in Japan has its own variation of ramen, such as the tonkotsu ramen of Kyushu and the miso ramen of Hokkaido.
Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at 12,584.18 km2 (4,858.78 sq mi). Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture to the southwest, Gunma Prefecture to the south, Fukushima Prefecture to the east, and Yamagata Prefecture to the northeast.
Japantown, also known historically as Japanese Town, is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. Japantown comprises about six city blocks and is considered one of the largest and oldest ethnic enclaves in the United States.
Japantown, commonly known as J Town, is a historic cultural district of San Jose, California, north of Downtown San Jose. Historically a center for San Jose's Japanese American and Chinese American communities, San Jose's Japantown is one of only three Japantowns that still exist in the United States, alongside San Francisco's Japantown and Los Angeles's Little Tokyo.
Japantown (日本人街) is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or Nihonmachi (日本町), the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
Genshiken (げんしけん) is a Japanese manga series by Shimoku Kio about a college club for otaku and their lifestyle. The title is a shortening of the club's official name, Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai (現代視覚文化研究会), or "The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture". The series has also been adapted into an anime directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. The manga originally ran in Kodansha's magazine Monthly Afternoon from April 2002 to May 2006, and has been reprinted in nine bound volumes.
The Alternative Press Expo (APE) was a comic book festival and alternative comics convention that operated from 1994 to 2017. Founded by Slave Labor Graphics publisher Dan Vado, APE focused on self-published, independent, and alternative cartoonists and comic publishers.
The Kinmon Gakuen (金門学園) or Golden Gate Institute is a Japanese language school in San Francisco, California, located at 2031 Bush Street. It was established in 1911 with 133 students. They currently offer programs to children from kindergarten to high school.
Baby, The Stars Shine Bright is the name of a Japanese clothing brand created in 1988 by Akinori Isobe and his wife, Fumiyo. Baby, The Stars Shine Bright specializes in Lolita fashion. The company's flagship store, opened in 1999 in Daikanyamachō, Shibuya, was relocated to Omotesandō in 2012. The company produced the wardrobe for a main character in the 2004 film Kamikaze Girls. International store locations include San Francisco.
Otakuthon is Canada's largest anime convention promoting Japanese animation (anime), Japanese graphic novels (manga), related gaming and Japanese pop-culture. It is held annually for 3 days in downtown Montreal during a weekend in August. It is a non-profit, fan-run anime convention that was initiated by Concordia University's anime club, named Otaku Anime of Concordia University. The name "Otakuthon" is a portmanteau of the Japanese word "otaku" and "marathon". Otakuthon strives to be a bilingual event, having programming, the masquerade and the program book in both official languages. The first edition of Otakuthon was held in 2006 in mid-June, but later moved to early-mid August / late July from 2007 onward. The most recent edition, Otakuthon 2023, was held on August 11–13, 2023 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. As of 2023, Otakuthon surpassed Toronto's Anime North to become Canada's largest Anime convention.
Connichi is an annual, 3-day anime convention in Germany and one of the largest of its kind in the German-speaking world with over 24,000 visitors in 2013. It is held by the German anime association Animexx e.V.
Kiriko Hayama, known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's kawaii and decora culture, centered in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. Kyary's music is produced by musician Yasutaka Nakata of electronic music duo Capsule.
J-Popcon is the oldest and largest convention in Denmark with focus on anime, manga, cosplay and other aspects of the Japanese popular culture. It is held in Copenhagen, and hosts the Danish qualification round for the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan, one of the Danish qualification rounds for EuroCos in London, England, and the Danish qualification round for ECG in Paris, France.
AMC Kabuki 8 is a movie theater in the Japan Center complex in San Francisco's Japantown neighborhood.
There is a Japanese American and a Japanese national population in San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay Area. The center of the Japanese and Japanese American community is in San Francisco's Japantown.
HYPER JAPAN is the largest exhibition celebrating Japanese culture to be held in the UK. Organized by Cross Media Ltd., it was first held in London 2010 and since 2014 has taken place twice a year, in July and November. It takes place in Olympia, London
Musubizm was a Japanese female idol group and fashion model. They were managed by ASOBISYSTEM which is known for also managing Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
A ramen shop is a restaurant that specializes in ramen dishes, the wheat-flour Japanese noodles in broth. In Japan, ramen shops are very common and popular, and are sometimes referred to as ramen-ya(ラーメン屋) or ramen-ten(ラーメン店). Some ramen shops operate in short order style, while others provide patrons with sit-down service. Over 10,000 ramen shops exist in Japan. In recent times, ramen shops have burgeoned in some cities in the United States, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Marukin Ramen is a Tokyo-based chain of ramen restaurants.
