Oakland has many sister cities: Livorno, Italy; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. But none of the sisterhoods is as old as Fukuoka, Japan, which became Oakland’s BFF in 1962 and celebrates the bond to this day.
On Oct. 5, the cities will fete their very special relationship in a very special way – wistfully gazing at the same moon. It’s a Supermoon, to be precise, or a full moon that appears swollen due to its seasonal closeness to earth. As it happens, this month’s Supermoon has the charming nickname of “Blood Moon,” because it historically appeared at the start of hunting season.
The Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association is teaming up with the Eastbay Astronomical Society to throw an “Otsukimi/Moon Viewing Festival” on the shore of Lake Merritt. From 5:30-6:30 p.m., visitors can browse a bonsai garden’s open house. Then there’s a Japanese dance performance and a dinner of bento boxes (available only by preorder). The moon viewing with telescopes starts at 7:30 p.m. — be there or be, er, circular.
Details: Festival takes place 5:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Oakland; free, oakland-fukuoka.org, preorder dinner at zeffy.com/ticketing/2025-otsukimi-bento-orders
Related Posts:
- Denver cop fired after asking out domestic violence victim, viewing sexually suggestive photos of women News A Denver police officer was fired last month after he asked out a domestic violence victim he met on the job, looked up her driver’s license photo and viewed more than 70 images that the woman posted on Facebook, according to a police disciplinary letter released Monday. Officer Kendall Albert,…
- The Japanese Garden is popular with Valley residents, tourists and moviemakers News The Japanese Garden is a beautiful space, carefully cared for in Van Nuys. Its full name is “The Japanese Garden – Suiho En” — Suiho En meaning “the garden of water and fragrance.” The site is popular with tourists, San Fernando Valley residents, wildlife and moviemakers. The garden has been the…
- Jason Kelce Jokes That He’d Be Described as a ‘Japanese Maple’, Not a ‘Redwood’, Like His Brother, Travis Entertainment <p id="par-1_96">In the days since <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/taylor-swift/">Taylor Swift</a> dropped her new album, there has been a lot of discussion and plenty of debate. There have been talks of feuds and <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/charli-xcx-back-studio-taylor-swift-seemingly-dissed-latest-album.html/">shade being thrown</a> in the songs. There have also been conversations about the album’s merit. Fans have also dedicated…
- San Francisco Giants Interested in Acquiring Japanese Superstar Sports According to an article by longtime San Francisco Giants insider Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, posted on October 7, 2025, the Giants are interested in signing superstar Japanese right-handed pitcher Hiroto Saiki this offseason. Giants President of Baseball operations Buster Posey reportedly visited Japan during the 2025 season to scout…
- Blood test may detect who will get rheumatoid arthritis, CU study finds News People who develop rheumatoid arthritis experience changes to their immune systems long before their joints become swollen and painful, suggesting that early treatment might stop or limit damage, a new University of Colorado study found. Unlike typical osteoarthritis, where cartilage in joints breaks down, rheumatoid arthritis results from the immune…
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)