A monthly video program of Japanese American news and culture
The Nichi Bei Café features news and events, Japanese American lifestyle features, interviews with personalities, video reports of Japanese American legacy businesses, and a community calendar of events. Stay tuned here to find out what’s on the next menu, or check out past episodes and segments…
The Nichi Bei Café is funded by a generous grant from The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
December 2025 | New Year’s and Holiday
Pastry: Osechi Ryori Resource Guide
Salad: Soba Dining SORA – Continuing a Family’s 140-Year Tradition
Chef Specials: Learning to Make Osechi Ryori w/ Chef Michael Inouye
Dessert: How to Wrap with Japanese Flair w/ Linda Mihara of Paper Tree
News Bites: Community News
November 2025 | Holiday Gift Guide
Pastry: East Bay Taiiku Kai Takes the Field
Salad: Nihonmachi Little Friends Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Chef Specials: Holiday Cultural and Vintage Shopping Guide
Dessert: Gifts Galore at the Paper Garden Boutique
News Bites: Community News
October 2025 | Health and Wellness
Pastry: Jan Ken Po Gakko turns 50
Salad: ‘In Tune’ with Adelyn Qian
Chef Specials: Yumi Look addresses rare cancer
Dessert: Soko Hardware’s 100th Anniversary
News Bites: Community News
September 2025 | Multiracial / Multiethnic Show
Pastry: Catching up with Kristi Yamaguchi
Salad: Interview with Mountain View Mayor, Ellen Kamei
Chef Specials: Interview with Pinole Mayor Cameron Sasai
Dessert: 2023 Wakamatsu Pilgrimage Recap
News Bites: Community News
August 2025 | Local Eats
Pastry: On The Bridge — Unique Homestyle Cooking in SF J-Town
Salad: Best Boy Electric – Gourmet Coffee & Matcha in SF J-Town
Chef Special: Sacramento Japantown Food Tour
Chef Special 2: Sacramento Legacy Businesses — Fuji Sacramento and Oto’s Marketplace
Dessert: Sakura-ya — Mochi and Manju in Gardena, Calif.
News Bites: Community News
July 2025 | Summer Festival Preview
Pastry: All Things Bon Odori
Salad: How to Dress in Yukata
Chef Special: Obon Preview
Chef Special 2: A Twin Punch for Nuclear Disarmamant
Dessert: Young Woman Makes her Pitch for NCAA Baseball
News Bites: Community News
June 2025 | Soy and Tofu Festival
Pastry: Queer Japanese Dancer Debut in SF
Salad: Henry Hsu Tofu Making Demonstration
Chef Special: 13th Soy and Tofu Festival
Dessert: Cutie Tofutti Origami
News Bites: Community News
May 2025 | AAPI Heritage Month
Pastry: Interview of Tad Nakamura and his movie “Third Act”
Salad: Interview of Jon Osaki and his film “Making Waves: The Rise of Asian America”
Chef Special: A Visit to Ruth Asawa: Retrospective exhibit
Dessert: Mapo Tofu with Impossible Beef
News Bites: Community News
April 2025 | Japanese Culture & Cherry Blossom Festivals
Pastry: 2025 Northern California Spring Cultural Festivals
Salad: Hakone Estate and Gardens
Chef Special: Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama Stars in ‘Hamilton’
Dessert: Jiten Daiko – Community in Taiko
News Bites: Community News
March 2025 | Home and Garden
Pastry: Generations of Growers: San Gabriel Nursery
Salad: Insurance Tips for Homeowners: Bradley Yamamoto of MIF Agency
Chef Special: Berkeley’s Japanese American Heritage On Display
Dessert: A Japanese American Garden: the James Irvine Japanese Garden
News Bites: Community News
February 2025 | Films of Remembrance
Pastry: The Untold Story of Nikkei Canadian Incarceration
Salad: Nobuko Miyamoto’s Songs of the Movement
Chef Special: ‘Kintsukuroi’s’ Epic Community-based Filmmaking
Dessert: Sharing ‘Snapshots of Confinement’
Snacks: Manzanar Baseball Project
News Bites: Community News
January 2025 | Day of Remembrance
Pastry: San Jose Day of Remembrance — Honoring Asian American Women Activists
Salad: Northern California Time of Remembrance — Black Reparations & Reparative Justice
Chef Special: Bay Area Day of Remembrance — Standing Against Mass Deportations
Dessert: LA Day of Remembrance — Remembering Nikkei Women of Courage
News Bites: Community News
