Robert Brennan
Oct 20, 2026
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Thousands Converge on Orange County Fairgrounds for the Japan Fair |
Along With the Santa Ana Winds That Crashed the Party Friday and Canceled the Show |
Thousands of Japanese culture enthusiasts converged on the OC Fairgrounds for a weekend of food, shopping and entertainment, but the Santa Ana winds got there first.
Friday was canceled, leaving some visitors to discover the disappointing news when they arrived. By Saturday, the fair was back on, with the celebration continuing through Sunday.
More than a hundred vendors supported the event, giving visitors plenty to explore. Traditional Japanese food was available along with specialty offerings.
Beyond the food booths, the shopping stretched from T-shirts to knickknacks. Other exhibitors operated promotional booths.
Some enthusiasts dressed the part. One was dressed as a mascot and reached out to a small child, bringing a bit of make-believe into the middle of the fair. You didn't have to arrive in costume to enjoy it, but those who did became part of the scenery.
The entertainment carried that energy onto the stages. Young dancers and cheerleaders performed outdoors, while an indoor stage offered another setting for visitors to stop and watch. Announcements in English and Japanese helped carry the fair's Japanese theme beyond the merchandise and menus.
Between the food, the costumes and the performances, there was plenty competing for attention.
But a Few Booths Stood Out From the Rest
On stage, a man gave the audience a demonstration on cutting a whole tuna with professional knives. He stood on stage, severed the fish's head and held it above himself as the audience cheered. The MC looked on in amazement, asking how often the knives were sharpened.
"Every day," the man said.
The audience watched as he continued cutting other parts of the fish. The tuna show is an ongoing attraction when the Japan Fair comes to town.
Swords Republic was one of the many vendors at the event. They had a row of knives displayed on a table. Several of them were replica swords and katanas. The company is an online shop based in Chino. Their blades are sorted by fan favorites such as Demon Slayer, One Piece and Sword Art Online.
Element Pros was another eye-catcher. The company was pitching whole-house water filtration to a crowd that had been out in the heat all day. Element Pros, which has an office in Laguna Hills, installs Puronics systems and leans on a space-age selling point: silver ion technology that it says was developed by NASA. That claim has real roots. NASA developed a silver ion water purification system for the Apollo missions in the 1960s.
One booth offered a completely different vibe. Shen Yun, which calls itself the world's premier classical Chinese dance and music company, was promoting its 2027 tour.
Its brochure bills the show as "5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn," with classical Chinese dance set to a live orchestra that blends Chinese and Western instruments. The company was founded in New York in 2006 and says its mission is to revive a traditional Chinese culture that was nearly lost.
The brochure says its artists fled China and found freedom in New York. It isn't Japanese, but for Long Beach readers it might have been one of the most useful discoveries of the weekend. The tour stops in Santa Barbara and downtown Los Angeles in January, then wraps up with three shows at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach from Jan. 29-31.
Want to Experience a Little Japanese Culture?
The Japan Fair happens twice a year, bringing vendors, food and entertainment together for what's usually a three-day event. This time, the Santa Ana winds cut it down to two days, but there was still plenty to take in.
If you're planning to come next time, bring water, come hungry and give yourself time to explore. There's a wide range of Japanese food to try, and the dancers, including some energetic kids, kept the stage lively throughout the day. And don't miss the tuna show. It's one of the fair's biggest attractions.
Check the schedule before you come so you don't miss something you'd love to see. Hope to see you there next time!
Event Details
OC Japan Fair |
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