About Japan Day
Founded in 2007, Japan Day @ Central Park is an annual event designed by the Japanese community of New York to promote a deeper understanding of the Japanese culture and to say “Thank you, New York!” It has received official support by the Office of the Mayor, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the Central Park Conservancy, New York Road Runners, the Consulate General of Japan in New York, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Nippon Club, and many other Japanese and American corporations. The event kicks off with the rousing Japan Run, a 4-mile mini-marathon and Kids’ Races, hosted by New York Road Runners. The event continues with the Japan Day Festival featuring wide range of Japanese traditional and family-friendly activities, free samplings of popular Japanese cuisine, and powerful stage performances throughout the day.
Japan Day’s Mission
Japan Day is organized with the following three missions in mind:
1．To show the local Japanese community’s appreciation toward their home city, New York.
2．To build bridges of cultural understanding between the people of Japan and the U.S.
3．To facilitate stronger grass-roots connections within the Japanese local community.
Cherry Tree Planning initiative
Since 2009, Japan Day, in partnership with the Central Park Conservancy, has collected donations to plant new cherry trees in Central Park, supplementing and replacing the trees from Japan’s original gift over one hundred years ago.
Japan Day has planted a total of 24 cherry trees since 2009, with 4 of them generously donated by Central Park Conservancy in 2011 to commemorate the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The latest one was just planted in April 2016, as we gathered at the Reservoir and planted a new cherry tree from the donations collected at Japan Day 2015.We hope to continue the partnership with Central Park Conservancy for many years to come.