2026 Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea (劇場版 転生したらスライムだった件 蒼海の涙編) in Pittsburgh, from April 30.

The 2026 Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea (劇場版 転生したらスライムだった件 蒼海の涙編) will play in Pittsburgh from April 30.

After concluding the opening ceremony of the Demon Kingdom Federation Tempest, Rimuru and his companions are invited by the Celestial Emperor Hermesia of the great elven nation – the Magi Dynasty Salion – to visit her private resort island. As the group enjoys their brief vacation, a mysterious woman named Yura appears. A new incident unfolds against the backdrop of the boundless azure sea.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口) stays in Pittsburgh through April 19.

The 2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口), which opened in Pittsburgh on April 9, will stay here through (at least) April 19.

A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.

It plays locally at the Cinemark theater in Robinson and AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

2026 Japanese movie Labyrinth (迷宮のしおり) in Pittsburgh, May 10 and 11.

The 2026 Japanese movie Labyrinth (迷宮のしおり) will play in Pittsburgh on May 10 and 11.

Shiori is a typical high school student who dreams of online stardom, but struggles to capture attention. After an embarrassing video of her goes viral, she gets trapped in her smartphone and replaced by a charismatic alter ego. As the doppelganger charms the internet and devises a nefarious plot to replace mankind with brainrot, Shiori must partner with other online outcasts to stop her digital counterpart and reclaim her life in the real world. Labyrinth is the first original feature film from legendary creator Shoji Kawamori, who is known for his electrifying fusion of pop music with science fiction. Featuring the voice of SUZUKA from music sensation ATARASHII GAKKO!, Kawamori’s latest film is a wildly imaginative adventure about finding oneself while navigating the perils of social media.

It plays locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, and tickets are available online.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa films Chime (チャイム), Serpent's Path (蛇の道) in Pittsburgh, May 3 - 6.

The Kiyoshi Kurosawa films Chime (チャイム) and Serpent's Path (蛇の道) will play in Pittsburgh from May 3 through 6.

Two masterworks from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, released theatrically for the first time in the US! Both films screen as part of a single program with CHIME playing first. Total running time: 130 min. 

2023 Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (転生したらスライムだった件 紅蓮の絆編) returns to Pittsburgh, April 20.

The 2023 Japanese animated movie That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond (転生したらスライムだった件 紅蓮の絆編) will play in Pittsburgh on April 20.

A long-running conspiracy is swirling over a mysterious power wielded by the Queen in Raja, a small country west of Tempest. When a slime who evolved into a Demon Lord named Rimuru Tempest crosses paths with Hiiro, a survivor of the Ogre race, an incredible adventure packed with new characters begins. The power of bonds will be put to the test!

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online. The movie last played in the area in January and February 2023.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind with Grow Pittsburgh, April 17 at Row House Lawrenceville.

Row House Lawrenceville will patner with Grow Pittsburgh for a screening of the 1984 Hayao Miyazaki film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) on April 17.

Watch Miyazaki’s awesome movie about environmentalism and hear from Grow Pittsburgh — who is working to make Pittsburgh a greener place! Hear a short intro about their work before the movie and $1 from every ticket will go back to their organization! (Film will be shown in Japanese with subtitles)

The movie starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are available online. The screening is part of the Touch Grass film series, which features 11 opportunities to see Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind as well as nine screenings of the 2017 Bong Joon Ho film Okja (옥자). The Row House Cinema is a single-screen theater located at 4115 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口) in Pittsburgh, from April 9.

The 2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口) will play in Pittsburgh from April 9.

A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.

It plays locally at the Cinemark theater in Robinson from the 9th and AMC Loews Waterfront from the 10th, and tickets are available online.

2026 cherry blossom viewing event at North Park cancelled due to weather, tree removal.

Photo by MRM Photography, shared by Pittsburgh Sakura Project.

The Pittsburgh Sakura Project's annual hanami blossom-viewing event, scheduled this year for April 18, has been cancelled due to a recent cold spell damaging buds and a series of tree removals due to a playground expansion project. From an April 3 Facebook post:

Sadly, we must announce that we are not expecting many cherry blossoms this year. Cold weather at just at the wrong time damaged buds on healthy trees. Other trees received major pruning this winter to control the black knot fungus. Those trees are putting energy into making leaves, not flowers. Some dying trees (mostly due to black knot fungus) have been removed, and a whole grove of healthy Pink Flair cherries has been cut down for what looks like a project to redevelop the playground.

Accordingly, our Hanami Event, scheduled for April 18, 2 - 4 pm at Harmony Shelter, will change purpose to an information session.

Free "We Learn: Survival Japanese (Tourist to Beginner Level)" Fridays at downtown Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Fridays in May from May 1.

"Osaka, Japan" by Pedro Szekely (Creative Commons).

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's downtown branch will host "We Learn: Survival Japanese (Tourist to Beginner Level)" on Fridays from May 1 through May 29.

Enjoy learning the basics of the Japanese language and culture from a certified, native Japanese instructor. We will learn greetings, etiquette and manners, survival phrases for traveling to Japan, visiting interesting tourist locations, and ordering food and shopping. We will also learn reading and writing – Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Emoji, Anime and Manga. Each session is designed to be interactive and fun. The agenda can vary based on the interests of the students.

We Learn groups are volunteer-facilitated peer learning groups. 

The classes run from 11:00 am, and the library is located at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

1985 Akira Kurosawa film Ran (乱) presented on 35 mm film, May 2 and 3 at Row House Hollywood.

The 1985 Akira Kurosawa film Ran (乱) will play at the Row House Hollywood in Dormont on May 2 and 3.

Akira Kurosawa brilliantly reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

These screenings will be presented on 35 mm film and tickets are available online. The Row House Hollywood is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), one block south of the Potomac T Station.

BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN GOYANG: LIVE VIEWING in Pittsburgh, April 11.

BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN GOYANG: LIVE VIEWING will be held in Pittsburgh-area theaters on April 11.

Pop Royalty BTS returns to the global stage with their highly anticipated world tour, marking their first large-scale tour in approximately four years. Spanning 34 cities across the world with a total of 82 shows, the tour opens with landmark concerts in Goyang, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, marking a new record for the most tour dates by a K-pop artist. Don’t miss your chance to experience two full-length concerts, presented live in cinemas worldwide. Titled ARIRANG, BTS’s world tour accompanies their fifth full-length album, which reflects the group’s identity through honest introspection and universal emotions such as longing and deep love, woven into music that defines them on their own terms. Featuring a spectacular 360-degree in-the-round stage design, the show delivers an immersive experience that places audiences at the very center of the performance. Share the electrifying moments of BTS’s defining cultural comeback together on the big screen worldwide.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Shows are 4:00 pm and 7:45 pm, and tickets are available online.

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 at the Cinemark theater in Monroeville and, from the 10th, at the Row House Hollywood in Dormont.

ONE OK ROCK Detox Japan Tour 2025 at Nissan Stadium, in Pittsburgh from April 30.

The concert film ONE OK ROCK Detox Japan Tour 2025 at Nissan Stadium will play in the Pittsburgh area April 30, May 2, and May 4.

ONE OK ROCK DETOX JAPAN TOUR 2025 AT NISSAN STADIUM IN CINEMAS unleashes the raw pulse of a career-defining night—documenting the band’s commanding takeover of Japan’s iconic Nissan Stadium—where thunderous riffs, soaring vocals, and 70,000 voices collide into something electric, forging an unbreakable bond between the band and their worldwide legion of fans.

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

2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口) in Pittsburgh, from April 10.

The 2025 Japanese film Exit 8 (8番出口) will play in Pittsburgh from April 10.

A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online.

SILENT: Asia presents 1926 Japanese silent film A Page of Madness (狂った一頁), April 14 at Pitt.

SILENT: Asia, part of the University of Pittsburgh's SCREENSHOT: ASIA film festival and programming, will present the 1926 Japanese silent film A Page of Madness (狂った一頁) on April 14. A synopsis from the Row House Cinema, where the film played in 2021:

Set within the walls of a mental asylum in Japan, the film follows the story of a janitor (Masao Inoue) who takes a job at the institution in order to be closer to his wife (Yoshie Nakagawa), a former performer who has been institutionalized after suffering a mental breakdown. As the janitor navigates the eerie corridors of the asylum, he encounters a cast of characters haunted by their own inner demons, including patients, doctors, and nurses.

It will play at 6:30 pm in Frick Fine Arts (map) and is free and open to the public.

Shoku Next Door soft opens in Cranberry.

Shoku Next Door has soft opened in Cranberry Mall, after work began last autumn.

We’re your new neighborhood spot for quality sushi and casual dining. Grab a quick take-out on busy days or relax and dine in with friends — always delicious, always welcoming. Stop by and discover your next favorite sushi place, right next door!

It has a menu featuring sushi, hibachi and ramen, and is located in space 103 of Cranberry Mall (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).

4K restoration of 1989 Japanese animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) stays in Pittsburgh through March 31.

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 31.

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.

4K restoration of 1995 Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば) in Pittsburgh, April 21.

A 4K restoration of the 1995 Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば) will play in Pittsburgh on April 21.

A chance encounter with a mysterious cat sends Shizuku, a girl with her head in the clouds, on a quest for her true talent. Together with Seiji, a boy determined to follow his dreams, and enchanted by The Baron, an antique cat figurine who guides her to listen to the whispers of her heart, Shizuku embarks on a life-changing adventure that takes her beyond the boundaries of her imagination. Based on a screenplay and storyboards from Hayao Miyazaki, WHISPER OF THE HEART is a precious gem in the Studio Ghibli catalog, directed by veteran animator Yoshifumi Kondo.

It plays locally so far at the AMC Loews Waterfront, but there will likely be additional dates and theaters announced later.

YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan, in Pittsburgh February 2027.

YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan will perform in Pittsburgh on February 3, 2027, presenting Tamayura: Echoes of the Soul.

YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan is a globally touring troupe based in Asuka-mura Nara Prefecture, a place well known by Japanese people as the hometown of Japan. Since their 1993 inception, with more than 4,000 performances across 54 countries, the work of YAMATO has brought energy and joy to thousands around the world.

YAMATO’s productions incorporate over 40 Taiko drums of different characters, sizes, and sounds. Their expert musicians train their bodies to the absolute limit to beat these massive instruments. While the acoustic pressure far surpasses what one could imagine, the ensemble’s acclaimed performances range from explosive percussion to delicate musical moments that offer a palette of meticulously crafted sound.

As the audience is engulfed in the sound of the Taiko—intense, sometimes sad, at times comforting, and even comical—they become one with the performers. People from all backgrounds gather around the power of Taiko, interweaving their lives and feeling the strength of one another’s passion and heart. Together, they create an unforgettable moment in which they feel truly alive.

The show starts at 7:30 pm at the Byham Theater, located at 101 6th Street in downtown's Cultural District (map). Tickets are available online.