Foreigners who want to work in Japan will have a chance to join a seminar in Minoh, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday to learn job-interview tips; to attend a counseling session Jan. 28 with the aim of finding a suitable job; and to meet company officials Feb. 7 who are interested in hiring non-Japanese workers.

Reservations are required and can be made by sending an email to [email protected].

The events will all take place at Minoh Association for Global Awareness, which can be accessed by taking bus number 30, 51, 55, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 79 from Kitasenri Station on the Hankyu Senri Line and getting off at Onohara.

Information is available at mafga.or.jp/201401210207news/ (in Japanese) or by calling 072-727-6912.

'Setsubun' cooking event in Nishinomiya

Non-Japanese in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, can learn how to cook special "setsubun" dishes on Feb. 2 to celebrate the last day of winter, which, according to the traditional lunar calendar, is Feb. 3.

In the class, which will run from 10:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., participants will learn how to prepare lucky "eho" sushi rolls, make handmade "udon" noodle pots, and prepare rice cakes with strawberries. The fee is ¥800.

Those interested need to make reservations by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling 0798-32-8680.

More details are available at www.nishi.or.jp/homepage/nia/pdf/setubun_e.jpg (in English).

Speaker to mark 1995 Kobe quake anniversary

A 25-year-old woman who wrote in a book about her experience of losing her father to the 2011 tsunami that hit the Tohoku region and possible measures on how to reduce damage from natural disasters, will give a speech in Japanese at an event to commemorate the 1995 Kobe Earthquake from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

Admission is free. The venue is Oda Kominkan Hall, a five-minute walk from JR Amagasaki Station.

For details, check www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/festival/monthly_fes/028795.html (in Japanese) or call 080-6165-0990.

Free health, dental consultations in Nagoya

Foreign residents in the Nagoya area are invited to take advantage of free health and dental consultations running from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 26.

No reservations are required. Interpretation will be provided in English and Portuguese.

The venue is Nagoya International Center, about a seven-minute walk from Nagoya Station.

More details can be found at www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/11018 (in English) or by calling 052-588-7040.

Aichi Prefecture shrine to hold paintbrush event

Kitanoten Shrine in Konan, Aichi Prefecture, will hold a festival featuring a huge paintbrush on Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to a parade starting at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, in which the 4-meter-long brush weighing 50 kg will be on a carriage, a rice cake-making ceremony will be held and sweet alcoholic drinks will be offered.

The shrine is about two minutes on foot from Konan Station on the Meitetsu Inuyama and Kakamigahara lines.

For further details, go to www.aichi-kanko.jp/search/detail.asp?id=1328 (in Japanese) or call 0587-53-1858.