Japan Society of New Orleans upcoming events

JSNO Happy Hour @NOLABrewing (Wed, September 16, 2026)

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 23:30:00 GMT

Interested in meeting more people interested in Japan? Want to discuss your recent trip? Need advice for your upcoming trip? Just need an excuse for a drink after a long day of work?

Join us for food & drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic!) at Nola Brewing and Pizza Co! We have had a great turnout in the past and several familiar faces! Friends & family are welcome! Looking forward to seeing everyone, meeting some new people & continuing to grow JSNO within the local community! See you there!

* NOLA Pizza & Brewing is a family friendly venue! Feel free to bring the family, as they have arcade games and other things for kids to play with! *

Date: Wednesday, 16 September

Time: 6:30pm until 9:00pm

Place: NOLA Brewing & Pizza Co, 3033 Tchoupitoulas St, NOLA 70115

JSNO Japanese Cinema Series Screening: "The Hotel of my Dream” (Wed, September 30, 2026)

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In Partnership with The Shop, Japan Society of New Orleans' Japanese Cinema Series presents a free screening of the 2024 film, The Hotel of my Dream!

Date: Wednesday, September 30th
Time: Doors open @ 6:30pm, Screening starts @ 7pm
Place: The Shop at the CAC (3rd Floor), 900 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Cost: FREE! Open to the public!

Screening will take place on the third floor. All ages welcome! Tell your friends, and hope to see you there!

Movie Summary from Japan Foundation Theater:

The Hill Top Hotel is the destination of all celebrated authors. But the promising Kayoko, who cannot catch a break, knows it takes more than hard work; it also takes cunning to be a great writer.

Promising young writers Kayoko (Non) struggles to debut her work despite winning a literary award. Criticism from the respected Higashijujo (TAKITOH Kenichi) has scuppered her literary dreams compelling her to visit the Hill Top Hotel, destination of all great writers, only to find Higashijujo in the room above! With some help from her editor Endo (TANAKA Kei), Kayoko schemes to sabotage the critic, who is struggling to meet his own writing deadline, before their showdown takes an unexpected turn. Based on the novel by YUZUKI Asako, known for the acclaimed novel BUTTER, will Kayoko finally make her writer's dream cone true?

This film depicts alcohol consumption and smoking.

Subtitled, Duration: 98 minutes

You can watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/7sc--uD2rtc?si=29jNG_bFU3Zh0Mkh

Japan Fest 2026 (Sat, October 10, 2026)

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT

This is the single largest Japanese cultural event of the year for the New Orleans Metro area. JSNO will have tables to spread the word about the Society, raffle off traditional and pop Japanese items, and try on Samurai armor courtesy of Japan Foundation, New York. In addition. there will be Japanese arts and crafts for sale, taiko drums performance, Japanese dance & tea ceremonies, along with plenty of food and drink. This is an all ages Festival with something for everyone.

Admission is $10, but if you sign up for a slot to volunteer through JSNO, you get a wrist band for free admission. Interested in working one or a couple of the tables at Japan Fest? Sign up today using the link below!

Note: Table sign up is limited to members only who are of 18 years or older.

Japan Fest JSNO Sign Up

Come out and help support your local Japan Society by joining in on this great event!

JSNO Happy Hour @NOLABrewing (Wed, October 21, 2026)

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 23:30:00 GMT

Interested in meeting more people interested in Japan? Want to discuss your recent trip? Need advice for your upcoming trip? Just need an excuse for a drink after a long day of work?

* NOLA Pizza & Brewing is a family friendly venue! Feel free to bring the family, as they have arcade games and other things for kids to play with! *

Date: Wednesday, 21 October

Time: 6:30pm until 9:00pm

Place: NOLA Brewing & Pizza Co, 3033 Tchoupitoulas St, NOLA 70115

Kwaidan Book Club: "Japan, Beyond the Genkan" (Sun, October 25, 2026)

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 19:00:00 GMT

For our next book club meeting, we will be reading and discussing the book Japan, Beyond the Genkan by Dr. Joshua Walker. This book explores the Japan-America relationship through his own personal perspective. The book was requested from a few of our members after Dr. Walker's appearance on the Krewe of Japan Podcast.

Opportunity Alert:

Author Dr. Joshua Walker will be in town and is having a book signing at the local Barnes & Nobel. Get his book, get it signed, and tell him hi! Let him known you are with Japan Society of New Orleans.

This meeting will be on October 25th, in-person at Kung Fu Tea at 3348 W Esplanade Ave S, Metairie, LA 70002.

About the Book:

(Page count: 239 pages)

As America’s international policy experiences massive upheaval, and Japan, now being led by its first female prime minister, decides how to answer and advocate for itself, Japan, Beyond the Genkan comes at just the right time.

Part memoir, part diplomatic and political treatise, and part love letter to a culture he lived in as a bicultural and bilingual American, Dr. Walker shares the tools to fully comprehend and appreciate what Japan offers to the United States and the rest of the world today.

He explores Japan’s notions of soft power and social harmony, and the robust markets that help the nation to have global standing as America’s largest investor. In Japan, the genkan is the semi-public lobby entrance that goes into the private space within a house where guests are greeted. Dr. Walker as an adopted dosanko—the title of someone from Hokkaido, Japan—invites us beyond the genkan into a rare insider’s view of the country.

Through the perspective of his life and experience as a global citizen and a leader in the U.S.–Japan space, Dr. Walker reviews the U.S.-Japan relationship as both an outsider and an insider. This is a rich, personal appreciation of Japan that links the head and the heart of the country—and a well-researched plea by a geopolitical expert to continue the U.S.–Japan relationship.

As America’s global role and alliances become ever-more transactional, Japan can no longer count on the United States as its primary strategic anchor. The U.S.–Japan relationship that started eighty years ago as World War II came to a close must now be repositioned because the world in which that alliance was birthed no longer stands, even as Japan’s appeal has never been greater.

Drawing on its soft power, cultural depth, and history of resilience, Japan must define and act in its own national interest. In some ways, this book also serves as the opening chapter for what is still to come for U.S.–Japan and for all who care intensely about that relationship, whether their interest is personal, cultural, or professional.

About the Author:

Joshua W. Walker, PhD, is president and CEO of Japan Society. He has held leadership positions at Eurasia Group, the USA Pavilion of the 2017 World Expo, and APCO Worldwide, previously serving in the State Department and the Defense Department.

He is Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Presidential Leadership Scholar, David Rockefeller Fellow of the Trilateral Commission, Munich Security Conference Young Leader, British-American Project Fellow, and Nakasone Yasuhiro Award Winner. He was previously a Professor of Leadership and the American Presidency at George Mason University and the Reagan Foundation, Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and cofounder of the Yale Journal of International Affairs.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from Princeton University.

Information provided by Amplify Publishing Group.

JSNO Annual Meeting 2026 (Thu, November 05, 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:30:00 GMT

We will be holding our Annual Meeting at the Southern Yacht Club on Thursday, 5 November 2026. Our Principal Speaker is Dr Rose Honegger, PhD, Associate Director of Global Engagement, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Fulbright Japan Alum & board member of the Fulbright Association. Her presentation is titled: 80 Years of Fulbright, 74 Years of Japan-US Friendship: The Enduring Power of People-to-People Diplomacy

Please log on and register for this free to membership event to hear what's going on with your Japan Society, engage with our Guest Speakers and confirm next year's Board and Officers.

We will have a silent auction to raise money for our Exchange Fund. See our website Home page for pictures of the items (to be posted soon).

Complimentary appetizers and a cash bar (please bring cash; credit cards not accepted) will be available starting at 6:30 and after the meeting. If you wish to renew or join, membership payments will be accepted at the registration table.

We look forward to seeing you there!

JSNO Happy Hour @NOLABrewing (Wed, November 18, 2026)

Thu, 19 Nov 2026 00:30:00 GMT

Interested in meeting more people interested in Japan? Want to discuss your recent trip? Need advice for your upcoming trip? Just need an excuse for a drink after a long day of work?

* NOLA Pizza & Brewing is a family friendly venue! Feel free to bring the family, as they have arcade games and other things for kids to play with! *

Date: Wednesday, 18 November

Time: 6:30pm until 9:00pm

Place: NOLA Brewing & Pizza Co, 3033 Tchoupitoulas St, NOLA 70115