Over 30! That’s how many people rang in the new year with us at Bonsai Restaurant in Restaurant Row on Saturday, January 22, 2011. Everyone dined on the delectable pupus – first round of spicy tempura sushi, chicken karaage, eda mame, and gyoza provided by JETAA Hawaii – and took advantage of the generous drink specials provided by Burt, Bonni, and Alex at Bonsai. As the night progressed, it was time for the JETAA officers Kelsey, Darryl, and Lindsey to award door prizes to each attendee. A special thanks goes to JET alum/ camerawoman Olivia for taking pictures of each winner (check out our flickr site for all of the photos, and yes, we mean 30+ of them)! Prizes included JET Program Calendars and pens, Nipponika magazines, and Japan Food and Icon CDs donated by the Consulate General of Japan at Honolulu; a family membership to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH), Washington Place book, and Early Immigrants in Hawaii books donated by JCCH; and cookies, chocolates, coffee, calendars, yokan, and stationery sets from the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH). Lucky JET alum Miles won the Top Prize of the evening: Bar Bingo! Congratulations to everyone on winning those great prizes, and thank you to the Consulate, JCCH, and JASH for the donations!

Bar Bingo winner Miles poses with his cool prize while JETAA officers Kelsey, Darryl, and Lindsey celebrate with him!

JET alum Jeff (far left) is ecstatic after winning a 2011 JET Program Calendar!

JETAA Hawaii is very grateful to the JETAA Hawaii members, JET alumni, and friends and family who made the 2011 Shinnenkai a huge success! A special thank you to Burt, Bonni, and Alex of Bonsai for the delicious food and drinks and for taking excellent care of our group. Here’s to an amazing year!