As I’ve mentioned before, the reason I started AustinOtaku.com was to try to make the best of wherever I live, even deep in the heart of Texas. I think this is a pretty good philosophy to have, and in most large cities in the U.S., I think this is possible, even for otaku, to find a few good hangouts and things to do.
So when my Twitter friend, @Akira71, said he wished they had okonomiyaki near him in Southern Florida, I thought, “Surely they have something like that in a city as large as Miami.” I did a few Google searches, followed a few leads on Yelp and Yahoo Answers, and found quite a bit.
So, for all of my otaku friends in Southern Florida (Miami, Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, etc.), here’s Austin Otaku’s List of Things To Do in South Florida:
Meetups and Groups
South Florida Japanese Meetup (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) – Practice Japanese. Meet new people. But don’t go here to pick up women. (It says so right on the site.)- AIU Anime & Gamers Meetup (Hollywood, FL) – A bi-monthly meetup that doubles as an American Intercontinental University student social club. It is open to the public
- MangAnime Depot (Miami, FL) – Meet up with fellow otaku. Hikikomori welcome.
- Japan-America Society of South Florida (Delray Beach, FL) – (561) 278-3614, President, James Mihori – Okay. I didn’t find a website for this organization, which is lame, but being a member of the local Japan-America society here in Austin, it’s probably worth checking out.
Anime/Manga Conventions
- Yasumicon (Miami, FL) – Florida’s largest free Anime convention, hosted at Florida International University
- Florida Supercon (Miami, FL) – An anime convention, but also a comic book and animation festival.
Cultural Events/Venues
- Ronin Taiko (South Florida) – A local group of taiko drummers.
- The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens (Delray Beach, FL) – This looks like a really beautiful facility.
Local Businesses
- Avalon Manga Shop (Miami, FL) – A pomegranate shop. … Okay, they’re a manga shop.
- Tate’s Comics, Toys, Videos, and More (Lauderhill, FL) – Comics, toys, videos, etc. I also noticed quite a few Japanese snacks in their pictures. … And of course, they carry anime and manga. w00t!
- Japanese Market (North Bay Village, FL) – This combo grocery store/sushi bar is the perfect place to eat a good hand roll and pick up your favorite Hapi puringu … Okay, okay. It’s MY favorite Hapi puringu.
Restaurants
Hiro’s Yakko-San (North Miami Beach, FL) – This restaurant has quite an extensive menu, with lots of things you won’t find at all of those dime-a-dozen sushi places. They have takoyaki!!! I’m so jealous.- MoshiMoshi (Miami and Miami Beach, FL) – Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza), the food that began the discussion that led to this blog post, is one of MoshiMoshi’s specialties.
Etc.
- Consulate-General of Japan in Miami (Miami, FL) – If you want to emigrate to Japan, this is where you need to go to get the ball rolling. … Plus, they host various cultural events.
- South Florida Kendo and Iaido Club (Miami, FL) – Okay, I had to include some traditional Japanese martial arts. Here’s the kendo and iaido club.
I’d like to point out that I don’t live in South Florida, and I haven’t actually visited South Florida for about 20 years. Everything in this list was found by doing a few searches online. As a result, it’s very likely that I’ve missed some very important places, groups or events. Feel free to point out any discrepancies, mistakes, or omissions in the comments section of this blog post.
Now, get out there and explore your own hometown!