Hello. Thanks for checking our website for Coco Montreal. Here, we would like to give you a brief introduction of our project and ourselves.

What is Coco Montreal?
Originally a Japanese content community paper distributed in Montreal, the magazine has grown to include several English and French columns, and also been distributed in 8 Canadian cities including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Quebec City, Niagara Falls, and Orford. In every monthly paper we introduce local festivals, community events, restaurants, Japanese culture and customs in Japanese and English, practical French lessons, and many other columns of local context.

History -Project “Coco Montreal” Began
We are two Japanese women, Asami and Hiromi, who moved to Montreal about three years ago, starting this monthly free publication in May 2006. Asami always loved traveling and writing, started studying graphic design upon arriving in Montreal from Hiroshima. Hiromi, who was working as a nurse in a pediatric practice in Tokyo, Japan, took up language and graphic design courses after touching down in Canada.

Right off the bat, we both fell in love with Montreal, which we found a very unique place, as it is home to a diverse population that celebrates its cultural richness, proud heritage and variety of cultures. We discovered people here are very warm and open-minded. We also took notice that there is great interest in Japanese culture among Quebecois.

The fonder we became of Montreal, the more we wanted to be involved with the local community by promoting the two cultures. We wanted more Japanese to know about Montreal and the province of Quebec. We also wanted to be involved in facilitating communication among the Japanese population in Montreal so that they could help one another and enjoy their lives here even more. That’s why we started Coco Montreal.

To our biggest surprise, a lot of vigorous volunteers joined our activities. They include writers, illustrators, distributors, and translators. Soon enough Coco Montreal was well received and saw a continuous increase in readership and support. If it were not for the support from these great volunteers and readers, there would be no Coco Montreal.

Today our grassroots activities are joined by many more people not only from Montreal, but also from Vancouver, and Yellowknife, and as far away as Japan. And we are extremely proud of each of them, and greatly appreciative of their amazing support.

What is our goal?
Our goal is to promote local community initiatives and cultural exchanges through a monthly paper and website based on grassroots activities. We welcome and encourage new participants all across the board to join our mission.

What is Coco Montreal’s next step?
We plan to increase French and English columns so more non-Japanese can read Coco Montreal. We are looking for writers in French or English, and translators as well. So if you are interested in joining us as writer, translator, or getting involved with our activities promoting cultural exchanges, contacts us. E-mail: info@cocomontreal.com