From Cd'A, with love
COEUR d'ALENE - The owner of Japan House restaurant in Coeur d'Alene speaks softly when asked why she was putting on a fundraiser for Japan on Sunday.
She offers a short, simple answer.
"Don't make me cry," Mi Mi Chou said. "They need a lot of help."
The restaurant at 605 W. Appleway Ave. is having a chicken teriyaki dinner from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. All proceeds will go to a fund to help residents in Japan recover from last week's earthquake and tsunami.
She said she thought about donating $1,000, but instead bought food with plans for the fundraiser and hopes it would "grow a little more money."
"We want Japanese people to know this is from everybody in Coeur d'Alene. It will be donated by the people," Mi Mi said. "They don't know where Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is, but we will be known as a small city with a big heart."
She doesn't care if people at Sunday's feast contribute dollar bills or coins. Each person must do what they can.
"I know times are tough, but that's why I say, no set amount," she said. "A quarter, dime, it's fine."
Mi Mi, who moved to the United States from Japan about 40 years ago, has lived in Coeur d'Alene 10 years and owned Japan House four years.
When in Japan, she lived in Ciba, a small fishing village that is now an industrial area outside Narita International Airport. She was last there in 1985.
"Life in Ciba, Japan, is a easy going small town, just like downtown Coeur d'Alene," she wrote. "Walking to buy daily fresh catch and enjoy public bath house in the evening."
The tragedy unfolding there has left thousands homeless and made her want to help them.
"The most important thing is food supply. I want to make sure they get food," she said.
Mi Mi was adamant this is not about promoting Japan House. The reason the fundraiser is being held there, she explained, is because she has the kitchen and a large enough facility. The former Takara restaurant owned by Ryuhei Tanaka in downtown Coeur d'Alene is assisting.
"I am trying," she said. "That's all we can do."
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