For a second year in a row, District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is seen smiling and holding two large glowsticks while dancing in San Francisco's Japantown.

But don't mistake him for a raver.

Mirkarimi was participating in Bon Odori, a type of Japanese folk dance that was part of the festivities on Sept. 8. The Japantown community celebrated Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival) and the 50th Anniversary of the sister-city relationship between San Francisco and Osaka.

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“In 1957, the relationship with Japan was still tenuous because of the aftermath of World War II,” said Allen Okamoto, co-chair of the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Association. “In order to create bonds of friendship across the Pacific, both citizen to citizen and commerce-wise, the sister-city relationship was initiated… Osaka is the first [sister-city] relationship that the United States established with Japan.”

From noon to evening, tourists and locals were treated to both contemporary and traditional Japanese entertainment, which celebrated the coming of fall.

For a dollar, children and parents laughed and played various traditional Japanese games like kingyo-sukui, a game in which players try to scoop as many live goldfish into a bowl as they can, with the aid of a flat paper scoop. When the paper breaks, the game ends.

Another game that challenged passersby were the yo-yo balls (multi-colored water balloons) that were floating in a child-size plastic swimming pool that must be fished out with a hook suspended on a 3-5 inch paper string.

The player must hook a yo-yo before the paper string dissolves.

''They really like Matsuri Festival,'' Mika Inouye said, giggling as her three-year-old twin girls failed to hook a yo-yo. ''They are expecting to dance.''

Inside Kintetsu Mall, shops were adorned with cherry blossoms and paper cranes. Local merchants kept their shops and restaurants open past their normal business hours to accommodate customers' needs.

In front of the Peace Pagoda--which were adorned with red, white and gold paper cranes--the festival featured local singers, dancers, taiko drummers and martial artists.

For the past three months, visitors of Japantown participated in “Wishes of The Wind.” People wrote their wishes on origami paper, which were then folded into 17,000 paper cranes. In the Japanese culture, cranes symbolizes long life and happiness.

For this event in particular, event organizers see the cranes as a symbol of peace and friendship between San Francisco and Osaka.

“The reason this event is important is because it’s a community affair,” said Carol Murata, owner of Cafe Hana. “It was a perfect venue for friendship and wishes.”

Murata, a boardmember of the Japantown Merchants Association, was in charge of the children’s games and decorations.

“Everyone participated,” said Murata. “I had people take the cranes as far away as Africa for the last two months and taking it back.”

At 5:30 p.m., a religious ceremony was held in the newly unveiled Osaka Way, which replaced a block of Buchanan Street in front of Buchanan Mall. Mirkarimi and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who both visited Osaka in February, welcomed Osaka Mayor Junichi Seki and Osaka City Council President Masashi Ashitaka during the ceremonial renaming.

“I think it’s wonderful. We had a wonderful dinner at the Miyako dinner on Thursday night, Okamoto said. “It’s a wonderful relationship. We’re building bridges and friendship in business and commerce.

And other people in the community agree.

“Today went well,” volunteer Morgan Liu said. “If it was a bright and sunnier day, more people would’ve shown up. The great thing is that the mayor showed up in the city. That’s a great big help for the community…makes the community more tighter. “