Senior Brunch

“This is one of the most important events of the Cherry Blossom Festival that pays homage to the well deserving seniors in their respective communities for all their hard work and dedication,” said Allen Okamoto.

In honor of its silver anniversary, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s Senior Appreciation Brunch (SAB) will be honoring a special group of seniors this year (2012)-- Nisei veterans.

This year’s Brunch, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, will be held on Sunday, April 22, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown. Returning as emcee will be NBC Bay Area weekday morning traffic anchor Mike Inouye. The event is free, but reservations are required.

The Brunch’s honorees this year are all Nisei veterans who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service in World War II. Last year, the Senior Brunch honored senior center coordinators along with other nominated seniors who were dedicated, selfless volunteers in the Nikkei community. In the past, only seniors volunteering at the centers were recognized.

In addition to being veterans, this year’s honorees are actively participating and serving as role models at senior centers throughout the Bay Area. The Senior Brunch Executive Committee is honored to be spotlighting their service not only to our country but to the Japanese community.

The local honorees are: Yutaka Kobori, Oliver Nishimura, and Fred Shimasaki from Eden Senior Center; Ken Nihei and Marshall Sumida from Kimochi, Inc.; Warren Eijima, Mas Ishikawa, Ronald Yoshida from Nikkei and Retirement; Masaru Kawaguchi and Koji Ozawa from Pine United Methodist Church; Shigeyuki Doi, Yoshiro Tokiwa and Marvin Tetsushi Uratsu from Sakura Kai; and Moffet Ishikawa and Fred Kitajima from Yu-Ai Kai.

For more information, senior groups may contact Steve Hirabayashi, Senior Appreciation Brunch Committee, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.