Los Angeles Youth250 Program Recap

As the United States recognizes its 250th anniversary, LA Youth 250 united teens from four LA cultural hubs (Chinese American Museum, Kizuna Little Tokyo, LA Commons in Leimert Park, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes) to tell the story of Los Angeles through the eyes of youth, answering the question, “What is LA’s history?” With support from the Japanese American National Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, these youth exchanged their cultures and histories by being welcomed warmly to each others communities from July through October…

2026 Nikkei Community Internship Closing Retreat Recap✨

Caption by Kizuna NCI intern, Jason:

After wrapping up their internships, the LA, SF, and SJ cohorts came together for one final retreat to close out the NCI 2026 program! 🤩

Over four days, the interns explored both San Jose and San Francisco Japantowns through walking tours led by each city’s respective cohort (special shoutout to Tono Coffee Project for the caffeinated welcome to NorCal!)…

Our Counselor Program is in Full Swing!

It truly feels like Summer Camp has started because we had our first Counselor training last Saturday (May 9)! Not only did we get to reunite with very familiar faces, we were able to meet our brand new counselors and junior counselors for the first time! With eagerness to learn and much needed enthusiasm, our high school and college students soaked up all of our training information and even practiced presenting summer camp workshops with each other! So thankful for this wonderful group of youth & young adults! 👏

Leadership in Action 2026 Projects Page is Now Live!

Curious to see what our brilliant 2026 cohort of Leadership in Action did in just 10 weeks? Visit our new Civil Liberties Group Projects webpage to find out! From a live jazz event to a women’s rights brochure, our teen student leaders found real world solutions to civil liberties issues that they’ve witnessed in their communities.

Join Team Kizuna at Little Tokyo Sparkle!

LT Sparkle, aka Nancy Kikuchi Volunteer Day, is a wonderful event that we look forward to every year! The whole community comes together to make Little Tokyo sparkle and shine.

Will you join Team Kizuna this year?? Our IMPORTANT job is to wash the windows of our beautiful LT storefronts! It’s a blast and there’s always free food and raffles afterwards~

Sunday, May 17th, 2026, 9am-12pm

Leadership in Action Update!

Thank you so much to Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) for extending the impact of the MONUMENTS exhibit to our 2026 Leadership in Action cohort! After touring the powerful & thought provoking exhibit that expands on monument removals across the US, Catherine Arias (Director of Education at MOCA) led our teen students in an artmaking activity to create textured drawings using rubbings from surfaces in Little Tokyo. Students were asked to reflect on the word “journeys” and The Cadence series by Walter Price.

We could not be happier with how this current exhibit at MOCA coincides perfectly with our program’s core theme of civil liberties AND that we were able to work with a wonderful neighborhood partner in Little Tokyo. Leadership in Action is now going into its 5th session on Saturday.

Be the First to Register for 2026 Kizuna Summer Camps!☀️

Kizuna is so excited to announce that our 2026 Summer Camp Registration is now OPEN! Thank you so much for your patience as we plan our 2026 summer season. We can’t wait to see you and your campers!

A Home They Come Back To…

As we head into the final weeks of 2025, we’re excited to launch our Year-End Campaign celebrating Kizuna as a home that youth return to year after year.

From campers to counselors to interns, young people come back to Kizuna because they feel safe, supported, and connected. They grow into leaders who give back to their communities and carry our culture forward. Your generosity sustains this home, ensuring our programs remain a place of belonging and growth for future generations.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 before January 1st, and every gift brings us closer to strengthening this home our youth come back to. Thank you for helping us finish the year strong!

Our hearts are full as we look back on Taste of Kizuna 2025, an unforgettable evening of fine dining, community, and connection at Drago Centro in Downtown Los Angeles. Thanks to the generosity of our guests, sponsors, and partners, this year’s event raised $83,800 in support of Kizuna’s mission to educate, empower, and engage the next generation of community leaders.

Where Can You Find Kizuna Next?

Kizuna Panel at Anime Expo Chibi

Design your own a Japanese mask with us at Ontario Convention Center for Anime Expo Chibi!
Discover the rich history and modern traditions of Japanese masks! From theater to festivals, explore how masks have been used across generations in Japan. In this family-friendly workshop, you’ll create your own paper mask while connecting with Japanese American culture and Kizuna's beloved home, Little Tokyo.

Leadership in Action 2026 Apps are Open!

This 10-week Saturday program in Little Tokyo brings together high school students to learn from community leaders, explore civil liberties issues, and build essential leadership skills through hands-on group projects. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, grow, and make an impact!

Deadline to apply: December 1, 2025

6 Weeks. 400+ Campers. SO MUCH FUN!

Kizuna had our biggest summer camp season yet and it was a wonderful experience bringing Japanese American culture and so many smiles to our campers. We can’t thank our team of 150+ Junior Counselors & Counselors enough, as they truly were the backbone of our summer camps! Some of our favorite highlights include having 2 back-to-back weeks in Gardena, working with Changing Tides again for all 6 weeks, and bringing 5 new & 3 revamped workshops into our curriculum! We already can’t wait to start planning next year.

Please check out our new 2025 Summer Camp Photo Gallery for all of the magical moments over 6 fun weeks!