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Japanese dance and drums fill the air at Nikkei Festival in Boyle Heights

For a moment on a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, Michael Okamura was brought back to his childhood on the Eastside, as Japanese music, dance and taiko drums filled the air on a few blocks of East First Street. 

“It truly feels amazing to see so many people out here today celebrating the Japanese history of Boyle Heights, a history my parents were a part of and a history that is too often forgotten,” said Okamura during the celebration of the neighborhood’s first ever Nikkei Celebration.