The day after Thanksgiving, November 23, marked the 34th annual Christmas Tree lighting in Portland's Pioneer Square. The 75 foot tall tree was grown in Oregon, and was decorated with 14,000 lights. To heighten the mood of the festivity, Portland's famed Pink Martini musical group lead tree lighting event attendees in a holiday sing-along. The Christmas Tree lighting kicks off [...]
An outdoor retail chain in Hokkaido wanted Canadian-made Esquif canoes. The Quebec-based company had canoes ready to for export. Yet somehow, the canoes never made their way to Japan despite considerable consumer interest. Enter Hokusei North America to manage purchasing, logistics and export and within a few months, Esquif canoes made their Japanese debut. Attached is some recent press about [...]
2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the Portland - Sapporo sister city relationship. In honor of the lengthy ties between these two cities, the Portland Japanese Garden gift shop plans to offer a number of products made by Sapporo craftspeople. In preparation for this, staff from the Portland Japanese garden recently attended the "Sapporo Style" event hosted by the Sapporo [...]
Hokusei North America is very honored to be mentioned on the Portland Japanese Garden's web site. It has been our honor to work with the Japanese Garden, to allow it to offer unique and authentic gifts to visitors from around the world. And, we look forward to continued work with this very special place in Portland. The Portland Japanese Garden [...]
As is the case in Japan, August is typically the hottest month of the year in Portland. To cool off, Portlanders often go the Oregon Coast to cool down with the cold ocean breezes. Other Portland residents head off to the Columbia River Gorge area to swim in the Sandy or Washougal Rivers. For those of us who can't easily [...]
Portland-based Allport Editions, a Hokusei partner company publishing high-quality greeting cards, recently attended the International Stationery & Office Products Fair Tokyo (ISOT). ISOT is Japan's largest stationery & office products trade fair, offering the opportunity for Japanese retailers and wholesalers to source new products. Allport Editions owner Mackenzie Jeans attended this year's ISOT, and presented Japanese buyers with a wide [...]
Hokusei Products President Shotaro Tomita and his staff from Japan visited Oregon in late-May and early-June, to cement existing trading relationships and explore new import/export opportunities. During the May 29 - June 1 timeframe, President Tomita visited Portland firms & organizations that Hokusei has worked with in the past, including the Portland Japanese Garden, Allport Editions, and Portland Gear. In [...]
Every year from late-May to early-June, Portland holds its annual Rose Festival. This festival first took place in 1907 and is one of Portland's most-attended events, with roughly 1.2 million people enjoying various Rose Festival activities. The Rose Festival is meant to promote the Portland region, and is timed to take place when Portland's famous rose gardens are in full [...]
If you're visiting Japan right now, you've likely noticed the bigger than usual crowds at popular tourist destinations, the fully booked hotels and the packed trains. All are because of Golden Week which lasts from April 28th to May 6th in 2018. This is a popular time for Japanese to take time off from work and travel because four national [...]
On April 22, Hokusei Products (Japan) and Hokusei North America President Shotaro Tomita met with the King Carl and Queen Silvia of Sweden in Tokyo. The Royal Swedish couple visited Japan to commemorate 150 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Japan. King Carl asked some questions on ICEBUG shoes. President Tomita was invited to meet with the [...]