A volunteer helps a Joan K. Mendel Elementary student pound mochi during JaPANDAsia, an annual festival at the school on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Springtime at Joan K. Mendel Elementary School means JaPANDAsia, an annual celebration of Asian culture at this American airlift hub in western Tokyo.
Around 500 students, teachers and volunteers took part in this year’s event, named after the school’s panda mascot, who wears a samurai helmet.
“This is a highlight of our year. The way that the Japanese share their culture with us in a loving, gentle way,” third-grade teacher Danielle Bowles said at Tuesday’s celebration. “I showed up with my kimono looking like a hot mess, and they fixed me right up.
“They really love that we’re excited to learn about their culture,” she added, “and they’re really excited to teach us about it, which is neat.”
Third-grade teacher Danielle Bowles and her daughter, Brooklyn Bowles, try on kimonos during JaPANDAsia, an annual festival at Joan K. Mendel Elementary School on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Taiko drummers perform at Joan K. Mendel Elementary during JaPANDAsia, an annual event at the school on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
This year’s celebration featured origami, kimono dressing, mochi pounding, karate demonstrations, and a traditional matcha tea ceremony. Students also observed the preparation of lumpia, a Philippine spring roll, and tai chi, a Chinese martial art.
Sumu Sunaga, a Japanese culture teacher at Mendel and one of JaPANDAsia’s founders, said the event was partly inspired by his own experience as a high school student in Kentucky.
“The people in the States, they were so nice to me,” he said. “I didn’t speak English at all, but my friends helped me so much. I have a good memory — they were so kind.”
Joan K. Mendel Elementary students join a taiko performance during JaPANDAsia, an annual event at the school on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Joan K. Mendel Elementary students learn about Japanese tea ceremonies, during the JaPANDAsia event at the school on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Joan K. Mendel Elementary students learn how to play a Japanese stringed instrument called a taisho-koto, during the JaPANDAsia event at the school on Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 29, 2025. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Fourth-grader Rosie Polansky said she enjoyed the Nichibu and Tanabata stylized dance performances the most.
“I think it’s really cool because I’m actually a quarter Japanese,” she said. “So, I like learning about my culture. I hope the other kids learn more about my culture, and they get to eat some good food.”
