On October 24, 2020, the day when the autumn breeze finally blew into Los Angeles, we held the second Japanese sweets-making workshop over Zoom. This time, it was conducted as a fundraising event. Thirty-six people, including association members and their friends, applied to participate, and several groups participated with their children. We learned how to make “Joyo Nerikiri” dough with yam (yamaimo) in this class.

The instructor was Ms. Nobue Kodama of the Zenshuji chadobu, who also taught the last event. She explained very clearly in both Japanese and English so that everyone understood how to make the dough. After that, everyone created various wagashi with their own ideas and designs. Thanks to the technology, we could see everyone’s faces and take instructions over the screen. We enjoyed making the same thing together, even if we were physically apart.

We were deeply grateful to Ms. Kodama and the wagashi makers. The event was successful.