2025 Japanese animated movie ChaO (チャオ) to have screenings at Row House Hollywood in Dormont, from April 10.

The 2025 Japanese animated movie ChaO (チャオ), which was announced earlier for the Pittsburgh area from April 9, will also play at the Row House Hollywood in Dormont on April 10, 11, 12, 15, and 16.

In a futuristic world where humans and mermaids coexist, the life of mild-mannered office worker Stephan is upended when he is suddenly proposed to by Chao — a princess from the mermaid kingdom. With no time to make sense of what’s happening, Stephan soon finds himself living with the unpredictable, wholehearted Chao, and her sincere love begins to break down his emotional barriers.

There are multiple screenings per day, and tickets are available online.

Katsura Sunshine's Rakugo, May 8 in North Hills.

Canadian rakugo comic storyteller Katsura Sunshine will perform in the Pittsburgh area on May 8.

Katsura Sunshine headlines Pittsburgh's newest comedy club experience for one night only!

A show of hilarity and culture in equal doses!

​Katsura Sunshine completed his grueling traditional apprenticeship in Rakugo comic storytelling under the great Rakugo Master Katsura Bunshi VI in 2011. His performances have delighted audiences throughout the world as well as all over Japan. Sunshine has graced the Broadway stage with a different delightful Japanese story each month since 2019, at the famous New World Stages in Manhattan. Come for an hour of laughter and leave with a piece of Japan in you heart!

He will perform at The Comedy Bar @ Remo's in the North Hills (map). The show starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are available online. Please note, the venue has a two item minimum it charges on top of the ticket fee.

ScottyCon 2026, the student-run anime and games convention at Carnegie Mellon University, March 28.

ScottyCon 2026, the student-run anime and games convention at Carnegie Mellon University, will be held on March 28.

Welcome to our sixth year of ScottyCon! We hope you enjoy CMU's one and only (and therefore best) anime and video gaming convention! We'll have a blast of events this year, ranging from panels, masquerade, artist alley, and much more.

Events include 14 panels, Artist Alley, game vendors, karaoke at night, a Masquerade, a manga library, and a performance from guest of honor Phoebe Chan, and more. ScottyCon runs from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm in the Jared L. Cohon University Center (map) and tickets are available online through March 25 (and at the door on the 28th).

2025 Japanese animated movie ChaO (チャオ) in Pittsburgh, from April 9.

The 2025 Japanese animated movie ChaO (チャオ) will play in Pittsburgh from April 9.

In a fantastical future, humans and mermaids share a troubled coexistence. Stephan, an anxious employee at a shipbuilding company, has big ideas to save the sea. But his life explodes into ecstatic chaos when bubbly mermaid princess Chao proposes marriage out of the blue. Between shopping sprees, giant robots, and actual fireworks, the unlikely pair flounder through their new romance and unlock their true feelings. Crafted over 7 years by the acclaimed STUDIO4°C and veteran animator Yasuhiro Aoki, ChaO is an inventive and genre-defying delight bursting with color and character. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, ChaO’s singular narrative is an ode to boundless love.

It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the Cinemark theater in Monroeville, and tickets are available online.

Hyland Gallery Talk: Chūshingura 忠臣蔵：Musha-e 武者絵 and Kabuki-e 歌舞伎絵, March 27 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's University Library System will present "Hyland Gallery Talk: Chūshingura 忠臣蔵：Musha-e 武者絵 and Kabuki-e 歌舞伎絵" on March 27.

Join curator and Japanese and Korean Studies Librarian Hiroyuki Good to learn more about the exhibit Chūshingura: Musha-e and Kabuki-e! The exhibit explores the Akō Incident (1701–1703), in which 47 rōnin avenged their lord Asano Takumi no Kami after he was forced to commit seppuku for attacking Kira Kōzukenosuke in Edo Castle. This famous revenge story inspired the 1748 Kabuki play Kanadehon Chūshingura, which became one of Japan’s most enduring theatrical works. Featuring musha-e (warrior prints) of the 47 rōnin from the Barry Rosensteel Japanese Print Collection and a complete set of kabuki-e from the Japanese Theater Print Collection, the exhibit highlights the lasting cultural impact of Chūshingura in print and performance.

Each warrior print in this exhibition is accompanied by an introductory text about the individual depicted. Hiro has worked to transcribe and translate these cursive scripts using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude, and the results of this effort will also be presented.

All prints are part of the Archives & Special Collections at the University of Pittsburgh Library System. 

The talk runs from 11:00 to 11:30 in Hillman Library's The Hyland Gallery Archives & Special Collections Exhibits on the third floor (map).

4K restoration of 1989 Japanese animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) stays in Pittsburgh through March 25.

A 4K restoration of 1989 Japanese animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便), which opened in the Pittsburgh area from March 12, will stay here through (at least) March 25.

It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside village, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation. Don’t miss this delightfully imaginative and timeless story of a young girl finding her way in the world[.]

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

Bong Joon Ho film Okja (옥자), Hayao Miyazaki film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) at Row House Cinema, from April 17.

The 2017 Bong Joon Ho film Okja (옥자) and the 1984 Hayao Miyazaki film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from April 17, part of its "Touch Grass" series focused on "eco-conscious, sustainable, renewable, biodegradable, nature-friendly cinema."

Okja's last theatrical run here was in 2017, part of a Bong Joon Ho film fest at the Row House Lawrenceville.

Bong Joon Ho’s magical film follows a young girl named Mija who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Windhas a theatrical run around once a year in Pittsburgh.

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Note: Shows marked as English have audio dubbed in English. All other shows have audio in Japanese and subtitles in English.

The movies play through April 23, and tickets are available online. The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

Work progresses on second KuJiRa location in Bridgeville, after briefly taking "Nami" name.

Work progresses on a second KuJiRa restaurant, coming soon to Chartiers Valley Shopping Center in Bridgeville. KuJiRa is an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Shadyside.

This was first teased in an October 2025 social media post by Legacy Realty, but when I visited the spot in December signage was up for Nami Japanese Kitchen & Bar. However, maybe the Nami signage was a ruse to keep the location partially hidden until more permanent signage could go up; the banner features a whale--kujira is Japanese for whale--and the same font as the temporary Kujira signage from 2023.

A huge local restaurant trend in 2023 and 2024 was planning---and sometimes opening---all-you-can-eat hotpot and Korean-style BBQ places, while a trend for 2025 was opening all-you-can-eat sushi places: 8 Star in Gibsonia, Let's Sushi in Wexford, and Koi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Monroeville opened over the past year, and Oyoshi in East Liberty is still under construction. KuJiRa will be located in the former Vocelli's Pizza (map).

Bombing Pot coming soon to The Waterfront.

Bombing Pot, an all-you-can-eat sush, Chinese-style hot pot, and Korean-style BBQ place, is coming pretty soon to the Waterfront, according to the shopping center's social media. When it was announced for the area in September 2024 it was known as Running Dish, a concept with a Sterling, VA location from the team behind Sushi Bomb in Robinson. It is listed in the directory in the spot across from Starbucks formerly occupied by Versona, Charming Charlie, and American Eagle.

2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival, March 13 through 26 at Row House Lawrenceville.

The annual Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival will run from March 13 through March 26 at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville. This year's festival is comprised of 12 films around the theme of Cult Cinema of Japan.

• Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル) - March 20 through March 26
• Burst City (爆裂都市 BURST CITY) - March 26
• Funeral Parade of Roses (薔薇の葬列) - March 20 through March 26
• His Motorbike, Her Island (彼のオートバイ、彼女の島) - March 15 through March 19
• House (ハウス) - March 14 through March 19
• Kokuho (国宝) - March 14 through March 19
• Lady Snowblood (修羅雪姫) - March 14, 16, 17, 18, 19
• Scarlet ( 果てしなきスカーレット) - March 14 through March 19
• Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space - March 13
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man (鉄男) - March 14
• The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (夜は短し歩けよ乙女) - March 20 through March 25
• Yukiko a.k.a (雪子 a.k.a) - March 21, 22, 25

There are a number of special events these two weeks as well:

• Watermelon and Banana Night w. House - March 14
• Kokuho w. Sake Tasting - March 15
• Gari Shoyu Sando Company Pop Up - March 17, 21, 22
• Japanese Snack Pack with Scarlet - March 17
• Battle Royale w. an Intro - March 20
• Cult-O-Rama Secret Cinema: JFF Edition! - March 20
• Pittsburgh Kyūsha Japanese Car Show - March 21
• Closing Night with Burst City - March 26

The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

1997 Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) in Pittsburgh, from April 3.

The 1997 Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) will play at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville from April 3 through April 9, part of the theater's Girls Gone Mad film series.

This creepy and mind-bending thriller from Satoshi Kon follows a pop star who looks forward to a bright new career as an actress when she quits her chart-topping trio. Her first role in a sexually charged murder mystery blurs the lines of her reality and upends her once wholesome life.

Tickets and showtimes are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

2024 Japanese animated movie Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era (ウマ娘 プリティーダービー 新時代の扉) remains in Pittsburgh through March 18.

The 2024 Japanese animated movie Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era (ウマ娘 プリティーダービー 新時代の扉), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 26, will continue playing here through (at least) March 18.

After witnessing Fuji Kiseki win a race, young Jungle Pocket is inspired to become the fastest horse girl alive. Training alongside Fuji and her veteran trainer, Pocket's goal looks to be within reach—right up until she encounters Agnes Tachyon. In the face of Tachyon's impossible speed and polar opposite personality, beating Tachyon becomes an obsession. But all too soon, that obsession becomes a looming specter—the final barrier that stands between Pocket and her dream.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the Cinemark theater in North Hills, and AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, and tickets are available online.

2025 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編) remains in Pittsburgh through March 18.

 

The 2025 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編), which opened here March 6, will stay here through (at least) March 18.

The Demon Slayer Corps plunge into Infinity Castle to defeat Muzan. However, the remaining Hashiras and the Demon Slayers who survived Tanjiro's Final Selection are pitted against the remaining members of the Twelve Kizuki first.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, AMC Lowes Westmoreland, and the Cinemark theater in Robinson through the 11th, and the AMC Loews Waterfront after, and tickets are available online.

2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival opens on March 13 with two screenings of TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space.

The 2026 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival opens on March 13 at the Row House Lawrenceville with two screenings of the 2002 animated film TAMALA 2010: A Punk Cat in Space.

Opening night of the Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival is for cats… and boy do we have a title for you this year!

“Japanese art collective t.o.L. (Tree of Life) have taken the hipster kitsch of Hello Kitty to a delirious extreme.”
-LA Weekly

Tamala is a cat living on Planet Cat Earth in the Feline Galaxy. In attempt to leave the Feline Galaxy, which is practically owned by a mega corporation called Catty & Co., she crashes on the violence-ridden Planet Q where she meets Michelangelo. Together they have fun, while Tamala searches for her connections to Catty & Co. and her mysterious homeworld Orion.

Opening night tickets include:
– Gift bags
-A welcome drink
– Popcorn with a full bar of sweet/savory Japanese toppings

Tickets are available online. The festival runs from March 13 through March 26 at the Row House Lawrenceville, a single-screen theater at 4115 Butler St. (map).

4K restoration of 1989 Japanese animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) in Pittsburgh, from March 12.

A 4K restoration of 1989 Japanese animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) will play in the Pittsburgh area from March 12.

It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside village, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation. Don’t miss this delightfully imaginative and timeless story of a young girl finding her way in the world[.]

It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets went on sale today.

Omakase at Okane Sushi downtown now open.

Photos via taken by Tran Le and sent by management.

The omakase service at Okane Sushi, a new sushi restaurant downtown, is now open. Omakase is a higher-end sushi dining experience where the chef decides the menu.

Our Omakase experience is now available for guests seeking something truly special. Omakase is a curated tasting where our chef selects the freshest fish and seasonal ingredients of the day. Each course is thoughtfully prepared and served to highlight balance, flavor, and craftsmanship. Join us for an intimate dining experience that celebrates the art of sushi.

Prices range from $88 to upwards of $188, and can be reserved online. 

Okane Sushi opened in January at 245 4th Ave. downtown (map). Its omakase space is on the second floor, above the first-floor restaurant featuring sushi tacos and other Japanese dishes and appetizers.

Matsuri 2026 with the Japanese Student Association at Pitt, March 21.

The Japanese Student Association at the University of Pittsburgh will host Matsuri 2026 on March 21.

🌸 Matsuri 2026 🌸

Our biggest event of the spring semester is finally here!! 🌷

Our theme for Matsuri this year is Sanrio! 💞Please come to see all of the cute decorations 🎨 made by our wonderful committee! 💗

Get excited for a night of student performances 💃🏻, games 🎯, FREE snacks and sushi 🍣, and a performance by the one and only @takayoshimusic !!!

The event is open to everyone! We can’t wait to see you there! 🌸💕

🩷 Details 🩷
Date: 3/21
Time: 4-7pm
Location: WPU Assembly & Kurtzman

It runs 4 to 7:00 pm in the Assembly and Kurtzman rooms on the 1st floor of the William Pitt Union (map).  

Studio Ghibli Series at Rangos Giant Cinema, in the Kamin Science Center, from May 1.

Rangos Giant Cinema will screen five Japanese animated movies from Studio Ghibli Fridays in May, starting with My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) on May 1.

• May 1 - My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ)  In post-war Japan, sisters Satsuke and Mei move into an old, rural home with their father while their mother recovers from an illness in the hospital. The two explore the wonders and curiosities of their new home, making friends with the mysterious and playful spirits that share the environment.
• May 8 - Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) Welcome to a world where anything is possible. Hayao Miyazaki’s “Ponyo” is a visual delight and narrative joy, following the story of Sosuke and the friendship he forges with a goldfish unlike any other – and now you have the chance to be immersed in the ocean of colors like never before with a special screening at the Rangos Giant Cinema 
• May 15 - Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) The peace between humankind, animals, and gods is at risk of collapsing when a young prince begins a journey to find the cure for a curse placed upon him. This misadventure leads to miscommunication as he struggles to bring peace between an industrial town and the mysterious Princess Mononoke. 
• May 22 - The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか) The enchanting legacy of Studio Ghibli continues with the newest addition to their catalogue of masterpieces. “The Boy and the Heron” takes us on a magical and surreal journey through a world beyond our own as young Mahito Maki battles grief and loss with his unusual guide, a talking gray heron. 
• May 29 - Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) In Hayao Miyazaki’s unforgettable film, “Spirited Away,” audiences are transported with Chihiro to an otherworldly bath house occupied by strange spirits. Join her on her journey to reunite with her parents and return to her own world

All movies start at 7:00 pm, and tickets are available online. The Kamin Science Center, formerly known as the Carnegie Science Center, is located at 1 Allegheny Ave. on the North Shore (map).

Asahi Ramen coming very soon to Brookline.

Photos posted by ownership to Google.

Work is nearly complete on Asahi Ramen, a new ramen restaurant coming very soon to Brookline and the old Oak Hill Post spot (map). Work began on the spot in December, and ownership has been aiming for a mid-march opening.

The restaurant has a website, but it gives security errors when attempting to open it. The menu lists Tonkotsu Ramen, Miso Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen, Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen, and Vegetable Ramen, plus a variety of Japanese appetizers like agedashi tofu, takoyaki, karaage, tonkatsu, gyoza, edamame, and more. The Uber Eats page is just a generic Asian menu, apparently auto-generated. 

2024 Japanese animated movie Attack on Titan: The Last Attack (劇場版「進撃の巨人」 ～THE LAST ATTACK～) returns to Pittsburgh, May 18.

The 2024 Japanese compliation film Attack on Titan: The Last Attack (劇場版「進撃の巨人」 ～THE LAST ATTACK～) will play in Pittsburgh on May 18.

Attack on Titan: THE LAST ATTACK brings together the last two episodes of the highly acclaimed anime series in the franchise's first-ever theatrical experience delivering the epic finale in a colossal-sized omnibus film. Humanity lived quietly behind massive walls built to protect themselves from the threat of monstrous creatures called Titans. Their century of peace was shattered by an attack on their city that left a young child, Eren Yeager, motherless and vowing revenge on the titans. Years after joining the Survey Corps, Eren finds himself facing a deadly foe, and ultimately gains a special ability that unveils a new truth about the world he knows. After venturing beyond the walls and separated from his comrades, Eren finds himself inspired by this new truth and plots the "Rumbling," a terrifying plan to eradicate every living thing in the world.

It played in Pittsburgh for ten days in February 2025. It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.