SAN JOSE — Yu-Ai Kai will be hosting its Nihonmachi Run/Walk for All Ages and Community Health Fair on Sunday, April 27, in San Jose’s Japantown.
This run is an annual favorite of the young and the young at heart since it offers a flat, safe and pleasant three-mile course through the shady residential streets around the Japantown.
Prefer a shorter course? It also offers one-mile and two-mile cutoff points that bring you back to the starting point, close to the Nikkei Matsuri festival and the annual Yu-Ai Kai Health Fair at the Akiyama Wellness Center, 110 Jackson St.
The run will start at 9 a.m., with limited walk-up registration available beginning at 8 a.m. The awards ceremony will be held at approximately 10:15 a.m. at the Akiyama Wellness Center.
Prizes will be awarded in six different age categories – 36 prizes in all. There will be prizes for first-, second- and third-place finishers in the three-mile run for men and women in each age division: 12 and under, 13-19, 20-39, 40-59, 60-69, and 70 and over. There will also be prizes awarded for the largest family group, best costumed runners/walkers, and most sponsor money raised.
Register yourself and your entire family online through PayPal at http://nihonmachirun2014.eventbrite.com. This is a fundraiser for Yu-Ai Kai’s senior programs and everyone is encouraged to sign up sponsors and generate tax-deductible donations. Run/walk registration is free to each individual who raises $75 or more in sponsor donations.
The Health Fair, held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., features over 20 different health-related public, nonprofit, and private organizations for the whole family. Participants may visit booth, and receive free and nominal fee health screenings and wellness education materials.
The San Jose Japantown Lions Club will also be there with the AJ Robinson Foundation Mobile Screening Van, providing free vision and hearing screenings. This year’s Health Fair will feature even more agencies that serve children and families. The Health Trust and Young Japanese Americans are among the early sponsors of these events.
Then, stroll around the annual Nikkei Matsuri, featuring cultural displays, crafts, food and entertainment.
For more information on Yu-Ai Kai’s programs and services, visit www.yuaikai.org. For information on the festival, visit www.nikkeimatsuri.org.