UCSD MATSURI FESTIVAL 2024
PLANNING TEAM
Meet the team who’s making UC San Diego’s Matsuri possible this year.
COORDINATORS
Hi, I'm Ryen, one of the Matsuri coordinators. My favorite matsuri food is yakisoba, and a fun fact about myself is that I collect stickers!
Ryen Huang
"Christy Kaneshige, Matsuri Coordinator, ichigo daifuku, fun fact: I love sweet potatoes!"
Christy Kaneshige
"Hello 🧚♀️ I’m Ana, and I’m one of the three Matsuri Coords. My favorite Matsuri food is just the bread part of takoyaki. A random fact is that I eat raw tomatoes whole."
Ana Gahng
COMMITTEE HEADS
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"Hello! My name is Ami and I'm the committee head of advertising and matsuri intern. I would say my favorite matsuri food is kakigori or taiyaki! Fun fact, I was an orientation leader for Revelle College last fall!"
Ami Newman
Celine Yang
"Hi, I’m Celine Yang—one of the Advertisement Committee Heads! My favorite Matsuri food is takoyaki, and a fun fact about me is that I like to play Minecraft and when I start playing Minecraft, I cannot set it down even for a moment."
Louisa Ou
"I'm Louisa, an Advertising Committee Head! My favorite matsuri food is probably takoyaki. I'm a Philosophy major and I love to do digital art in my free time!"
Hi my name is Jason and I am one of the Advertisement Committee heads. My favorite matsuri food is kakigori and one fun fact about me is that I am born on the last day of the year!
Jason Yasuda
Sponsorship
Emily Smith
"Hi my name is Emily Smith! Im working as a committee head in Sponsorships for Matsuri this year. My favorite matsuri food is probably taiyaki and a fun fact about me is that one of my hobbies is aquascaping!"
"Hi everyone! My name is Wakaba and I am one of the sponsorship committee head. My favorite matsuri food is takoyaki! A fun fact about me is that I have dyed my hair all seven colors of the rainbow before :)"
Wakaba Aihara
Finance
Vicky Mei
"Hi, my name is Vicky and I'm part of the finance committee! My fav matsuri food last year was the takoyaki. I used to be allergic to my favorite fruit, mango."
"My name is Sunjae Kim and I am finance for JSA. My favorite matsuri food is okonomiyaki. Fun fact: I like eating raw seafood, but now raw chicken."
Sunjae Kim
Presentation
"Hello! My name is Aiden Asari and I'm one of the Presentation Committee heads. My favorite Matsuri food is takoyaki. One fun fact about me is that I love taro boba."
Aiden Asari
"Hi! My name is Damaris and I’m apart of the presentation committee, which I’m so excited to be apart of. My favorite matsuri food, from what I remember last year they had spam onigiri, and honestly you can never go wrong with one. I’m a people person and enjoy spending time with my loved ones just chatting about anything and everything, plus exploring new coffee shops and vendor markets both in La and Sd! <3"
Damaris Lozano
Food
"Hi, my name is Adam Kim and I am one of the food Committee Heads. My favorite Matsuri food is Yakisoba and a fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother and older sisters that are twins."
Adam
Kim
"Ethan Zou, Food Committee Head, Takoyaki, I watch all my anime in 2x speed"
Ethan Zou
"Hi! I'm Rohan, one of the Food Committee heads. My favorite matsuri food is choco banana Fun fact: I have two siberian cats!"
Rohan Vanheusdan
"My name is Miu Iwaisako, an exchange student from Japan. I’m a food committee member, and I love Takoyaki! Fun fact about myself is that I went to four Disneyland parks within 3 weeks."
Miu Iwaisako
"Hii! I’m Christy and I am one of the food heads this year. My favorite matsuri food is yakisoba and a fun fact about me is that I love the game wordscapes"
Christy Kaneshige
Games
Marina Puffer
"My name is Marina, and I am a games committee head! My favorite matsuri food is takoyaki, and a fun fact about myself is that I've tried probably ~20 flavors of Japanese KitKats!"
"Helloo! My name is Clarabelle Lopez and I am one of the Games Committee heads. My favorite matsuri food is takoyaki since they're so easy to eat and delicious! One fun fact about myself is that I am able to read Hiragana and Katakana but have no clue as to what they actually mean :')"
Clarabelle Lopez
Performance
"Hello! My name is Cocoro Motoyoshi. I am a Performance Committee Head, and I am so excited to lead the performance for this year's Matsuri! My favorite Matsuri food is yakisoba because it is so delicious. A fun fact about myself is that I did the bon odori (matsuri dancing) at a festival in Japan! This is my first time leading the UCSD Matsuri, so I am excited to experience the leadership position."
Cocoro Motoyoshi
"My name is Valerie Quach and I am one of the heads for the performance committee. My favorite matsuri food is A fun fact about me is that I’m allergic to an antibiotic."
Valerie Quach
ADVISORS
"Hi! My name is Natalie Zane, and I'm an advisor this year. My favorite matsuri food is ichigo daifuku! A fun fact about me is that I have a bread source"
Natalie Zane & Tina Yu
"Hi! My name is Tina Yu and I am a Matsuri Advisor for this year! My favorite matsuri food is free food and a fun fact is that my roommate can lick her nose"
"Hello! My name is Grant, an advisor for matsuri. My favorite food from matsuri is takoyaki. A fun fact about me is that my family owns chickens in the city."