Tsunagi Matsuri (“tsunagi” means to connect) is a 100% student-led Japanese American cultural festival hosted by the UCLA Nikkei Student Union in partnership with the Intercollegiate Nikkei Council (INC) to bring our community together. On March 8, 2026, Tsunagi Masturi will take place in the heart of Little Tokyo in the JACCC plaza (Isamu Noguchi Plaza).

Expanding into a bigger, full-day family festival filled with food and drink vendors, craft vendors, community organizations, games, and performances all day long.

Last year, our first Matsuri welcomed 9,000+ attendees, showing how much people want spaces where Japanese American culture isn’t just remembered — it’s lived, shared, and passed forward.

But Tsunagi is more than a celebration. Little Tokyo is facing real pressure from gentrification and displacement. We’re a new generation stepping up, not as outsiders looking in, but as community members who call Little Tokyo a second home. That’s why 50% of these online donations will be donated to the Little Tokyo Community Impact Fund (LTCIF), supporting efforts to preserve Little Tokyo’s cultural legacy and strengthen the community for the future. The other 50% will be split between the INC schools helping us to strengthen our mission to spread JA culture around our campuses, continue our community outreach and volunteering efforts and building on our social platforms to give students a space to connect with each other.

When you support this campaign, you’re supporting two things at once:

Support LTCIF to help protect Little Tokyo and the community it holds.

Support youth leadership through NSU and INC: student-led organizations building the next generation of Japanese American leaders and creating community at scale.

Thank you and please help support Little Tokyo and our NSU schools! Please donate if you can and share this message to all your friends and family!

Thank you,

Tsunagi Matsuri Team

Tsunagi Matsuri 2026

Nikkei Student Union x Intercollegiate Nikkei Council

Team Members