As I look at these photos from my years in college and I think about the good times, but also friends who are no longer with us and have passed away.
Friends that I have seen while visiting Japan in recent years but also thinking about how much we have grown from being students, to adults, parents, career professionals, business owners, etc.
These were truly good times. But I can easily remember how things began.
It began with me meeting my good friend Hiroshi and Yuko, two who learned English in the midwest and traveled to California to another area that wasn’t too overpopulated with Japanese but also somewhere where they can learn English.
And what better place than Fresno, California.
I can remember talking about Japanese music with them and remembering them freaking out. But also it was an icebreaker for them to know how I know about Japanese culture, how I’m able to watch Japanese television and be up to date of what was going on in Japanese entertainment.
But I remember bringing more Japanese to Lemoore, and at first it freaked a few them out. Especially my good friend Mahito, as I told him I lived in Lemoore and drove to Fresno State and asked if he and other Japanese would like to visit my home in Lemoore. And it’s a story that Mahito would tell many Japanese of how we became friends, of how I drove them through the old 41 to Lemoore and how the city landscape of Fresno would shift to this country looking area and the drive would take about an hour and wondering, “what if this guy is abducting us?”. I have to laugh each time I hear him tell that story but when he got to my home with other Japanese and saw the videos I watched, the magazines I read, the music I listened to, it would help build our friendship and strengthen it for many years to come.
The many parties we had…
We would always meet at the restaurant on campus at Fresno State.
Back in the day when they would visit my home and we would always cook Japanese food while hanging out for the weekend.
We would go on skiing or snowboarding trips
We would go to the Obon Festival in Fresno each year!
We would often eat together at restaurants
We would often have parties
We would often drive far to the Bay Area and go out for karaoke
We would have a lot of okonomiyaki, curry and yakisoba parties!
We would often act crazy!
We would often partake in purikura!
We would help friends in need.
No matter which country we were from, people of a different ethnicity would hang out.
But if anything… we would have a lot of fun!
The Asunaro Club brought people together, people who loved Japanese culture and learned from the Japanese and Japanese learning about American culture and were able to practice their English skills.
And it’s always interesting when people find out that Lemoore, California was the home to one the coolest social, Japanese clubs at one time.
