Mooncakes (Otsukimi お月見) at the Dojo 2025

The dojo celebrates Otsukimi (the Autumn Moon Festival and Moon Viewing) with mooncakes for students across all our classes on Monday, October 6th, 2025.

It's rare that the dojo has snacks: there are two occasions, however, where the entire dojo shares food, and one of them is coming up very soon! (The other, of course, is the annual Dojo Christmas Party in December).

On Monday, October 6th, 2025, we'll have mooncakes to celebrate Otsukimi お月見, the Autumn Moon Festival.

Mooncakes at Goju karate
Mooncakes at the dojo

The Autumn Moon Festival occurs on Sunday/Monday October 5th/6th this year (the date changes yearly because it's based on the lunar calendar) and is based on the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

Historically, Japan began celebrating Otsukimi お月見 during the Heian Period (around 1000 A.D.) – it's a period of family gathering, celebrating the coming Autumn and the bounty and beauty of nature, and generally serves as a social occasion to bring communities together.

In modern times, many dojo celebrate Otsukimi お月見 as a fun way to bring the entire dojo community (kizuna) together.

Mooncakes will be available throughout the day starting from when the dojo opens at 1:30PM ET – please enjoy trying different kinds and sharing mooncakes with your fellow karateka!