Stepping into the courtyard of Bombera, the acclaimed Mexican restaurant in Oakland, Calif., always feels like arriving at a party. Papel picado in marigold orange and saffron yellow flutters overhead, seemingly waving guests into the space, an airy former firehouse. But the restaurant reaches its full splendor in the fall, when the dining room is decorated in preparation for Mexican Day of the Dead.

Since the chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros, 50, opened Bombera in 2021, her friend the one-named Japanese-born artist Momoca, 47, has decorated an altar annually for Día de los Muertos, and she now visits several times a year to fill the place with her handcrafted paper works. “From day one, she’s been helping us make sure that Bombera’s dressed up in bows,” Rice-Cisneros said. And when Momoca, who is based in Mexico City, mentioned last year that Japan also honors the dead by decorating altars, during the Obon spirit festival, Rice-Cisneros suggested she make one for Bombera, hatching a plan to unveil the installation during a party that would bring together their two communities.