2026 International Tour of Taiwan Eats and Mandarin Learning Experience, September 5 and 6.

Taiwan Aloha and the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning will present a two-day "2026 International Tour of Taiwan Eats and Mandarin Learning Experience" on September 5 and 6.

DAY 1: THE CULINARY SHOWCASE

Location: Golden Leaf Bistro

Enjoy an exclusive culinary affair featuring a live cooking demonstration by our executive visiting chef, followed by a full-service, sit-down dining experience with a bespoke curated menu. (Food and demo included; alcohol available for purchase separately.)

DAY 2: THE ART OF TAIWANESE TEA & HERITAGE

Location: Museum Lab (2nd Floor)

Immerse yourself in Taiwanese culture with a master-led tea ceremony demonstration and tea history presentation. Includes a guided tea tasting, an array of gourmet snacks and Mid-Autumn mooncakes, plus an exclusive luxury prize drawing!

Tickets are available online at the above links; day 1 is held in Cranberry while day 2 is held at Museum Lab, part of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh in an adjacent building, on the North Side.

Screening of 1974 Isao Fujisawa film Bye Bye Love at Mr. Roboto Project, September 12.

Signal Otter Films is screening a 2025 restoration of the 1974 Isao Fujisawa film Bye Bye Love at Mr. Roboto Project on September 12. More details, from their Instagram post announcing the first Pittsburgh-area screening of Bye Bye Love:

In partnership with Kani Releasing, Signal Otter Films presents this landmark of Japanese queer cinema and the only feature film from Isao Fujisawa!

Doors at 7. Show at 8 with a runtime of 85 minutes. Snacks and drinks provided. Masking highly recommended. Suggested donation $12 or pay what you can.

Lost and nihilistic drifter Utamaro chances upon Giko, a female-presenting shoplifter who immediately catches his eye. One thing leads to another and the couple soon find themselves on the lam for murder. This provides for a delightful pretext to explore notions of societal malaise, free love and gender fluidity in a rapidly evolving 1970s Japan, as both Utamaro and Giko begin to know each other on the road by way of a variety of encounters, alternating between surrealistic, psychedelic and sexual.

The sole feature film directed by Isao Fujisawa, who learned his craft on New Wave classics such as Woman in the Dunes (1964) and the Face of Another (1966), Bye Bye Love is a deeply personal reckoning with sexual identity. Bridging the distance between Pierrot le Fou (1965), Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) with an impeccable sense of style, splashes of Godardian color as well as strong anti-imperialist and existentialist themes, this iconic jishu eiga (self-produced film) was long-thought lost until the negatives were found in 2018 and restored for screenings – facilitated by director and programmer Akihiro Suzuki. With a runtime of 85 minutes, a new landmark in the history of Japanese queer cinema, this is the first screening of Bye Bye Love in Pittsburgh!

Taiwanese musician Nini Music performing in Pittsburgh area (New Kensington), October 20.

Taiwanese musician Nini Music will perform in the Pittsburgh area on October 20 as part of her "East Goes West 2026" tour. From her official website, describing her as a "musical shapeshifter":

Nini, a distinguished musician hailing from Taiwan, has dedicated over two decades to mastering and performing traditional Chinese folk instruments. Her extensive experience has taken her on tours across Europe, the USA, Canada, China, Japan, and throughout her homeland. Nini's innovative approach to music involves playing genres such as heavy metal, rock, and EDM on traditional instruments like the Ruan, Liuqin, and San Xian. She also performs on a unique electric lute known as the DaoYu, which she uses to create a distinctive and modern sound that bridges cultural and musical boundaries.

The shows starts at 7:00 pm and tickets are available online. Preserving Underground is located at 1101 5th Ave., roughly 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh (map).

1998 Taiwanese drama-musical film The Hole (洞) in Pittsburgh, September 21 through 24.

The 1998 Taiwanese drama-musical film The Hole (洞) will play in Pittsburgh from September 21 through 24.

Set on the eve of the 21st century, Tsai Ming-liang’s fourth feature turns a crumbling Taipei apartment block into one of cinema’s strangest and most tender end-of-the-world romances. Perennial muse Lee Kang-sheng (“the man upstairs”) and Yang Kuei-mei (“the woman downstairs”) are among the building’s last holdouts, refusing evacuation as a mysterious epidemic spreads outside and rain batters the city without end. When a plumber leaves behind an unfinished repair, the man’s floor opens into an accidental passage between two sealed-off lives, turning leaks, trash, pesticide, and petty territorial warfare into a strange form of courtship. Among the most disarmingly funny and cathartic entries in Tsai’s filmography, The Hole finds hope in a world that seems to be falling apart, breaking its deadpan plague scenario open with splendorous Grace Chang musical numbers and poker-faced slapstick.

The film plays at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

2026 Japanese film The Samurai and the Prisoner (黒牢城) in Pittsburgh, September 11 - 17.

The 2026 Japanese film The Samurai and the Prisoner (黒牢城) will play in Pittsburgh from September 11 through 17.

When Lord Murashige (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Oda (Bando Shingo), he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon. Helped by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.

It was the #2 grossing film in Japan its opening weekend. The film plays at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

Summer break.

Taking time away from writing and blogging during this summer vacation. Apologies for slow--or no--response these 6-8 weeks. I hope to be back to writing about restaurant openings, restaurant closings, movies, events, classes, and all our other favorite topics after some rest and recuperation.

Slowpoke Poke Lid, Ayagawa-cho, Kagawa-ken, Japan, 2023.

Five episodes of Mob Psycho 100 in Pittsburgh-area theater, July 20.

July Crunchyroll Anime Nights will present five episodes of Mob Psycho 100 on July 20.

Crunchyroll Anime Nights is bringing MOB PSYCHO 100 to the big screen! To celebrate Mob Psycho 100's 10th anniversary we'll be showing 5 amazing episodes - chosen by YOU, the fans - that will take you through all of Mob's story. Mob is an 8th grader with powerful psychic abilities who wants to be normal. When not exorcising evil spirits he attempts to suppress his powers, causing stunted emotions. But when he hits 100 percent, his pent-up feelings unleash a dark power. Can he survive the psychic strain?

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

Candlelight: The Best of Joe Hisaishi, September 20 at Omni William Penn Hotel.

The Omni William Penn Hotel will host a Candlelight Concert on September 20, The Best of Joe Hisaishi.

⭐ Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations like never seen before in Pittsburgh. Get your tickets now to discover the music of Joe Hisaishi at Omni William Penn Hotel under the gentle glow of candlelight.

Bilingual Chinese-English story time returns to Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill this fall.

The Chinese Library for Children will present Bilingual Story Hour monthly this fall at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill, representing a return of Chinese-English storytimes that were frequent pre-COVID.

Join us for stories, songs, movement and hands-on activities–designed to introduce children to language and culture through play and shared reading.

Story Hours are scheduled from 10:30 to 11:30 am on September 12, October 10, and November 14 at the Squirrel Hill branch at 5801 Forbes Ave. (map). The Chinese Library for Children is

a community-grown nonprofit initiative that supports children’s access to Chinese-language reading through shared resources and local collaboration.

JADED presents PONY UP, Year of the Fire Horse Celebration, June 20 in Lawrenceville.

JADED Pittsburgh, the city's first Asian American & Pacific Island (AAPI) artist collective, will present PONY UP, a concert in celebration of the Year of the Fire Horse, on June 20.

PONY UP is a festival along the Allegheny River ft. performances, live music, and AAPI vendors sharing art, food, & services.

JADED presents PONY UP to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse. On the cusp of the summer solstice, we will harness the power of the sun to uncover our wildest and most unnameable desires. We seek to enliven ways before and beyond the forces of capitalism, fascism, and imperialism that have conspired to deaden our dreaming. What spiritual traditions and collective rituals can give us strength to return ourselves to ourselves? To dance, to scream, to nourish, to mourn, to ghost, to river, to attune to what has been attenuated. To take the reins and pony UP.

🐴🐴PERFORMER LINEUP🐴🐴
LEXCD
FORMOSA
Viii Dorsey
Philophilm
412 Step
Monkey Wenches LLC

We're also looking for volunteers, which includes a free ticket to the event. Help us make this party a reality! Sign up here.

Tickets are available online. The event will be held at Tree Pittsburgh,located at 32 62nd St in Lawrenceville (map).