Exploring Japanese Culture in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo

    Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles is home to numerous museums and monuments that celebrate Japanese culture and L.A.’s Japanese American citizens. I arrived at Little Tokyo via the Metro Gold line, but unlike my previous experience in Chinatown, Little Tokyo does not exert Japanese culture from the moment you exit the train.

    Instead, Little Tokyo feels more like an extension of Downtown Los Angeles; but perhaps that is because it is located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles and shares a station with the Arts District. To really have a Japanese cultural experience, I would suggest downloading the walking tour provided by the Little Tokyo Business Association.

       Most of the locations that depict Japanese culture are scattered around a number of streets, there is no main street where you can find everything from cuisine to artifacts. I have been to Little Tokyo a number of times before but I had missed out on a number of things because I only visited the small section I was aware of. This time I followed the tour and began at the Japanese American National Museum, which is located directly in front of the train station. The museum does charge admission but is free to the public on Thursday evenings.

    The tour also gave directions towards a monument; the Go For Broke Monument commemorates Japanese American World War II veterans. There is also a street named in honor of the first Japanese American astronaut, Ellison S. Onizuka. There are a lot of details around Little Tokyo that celebrate and commemorate Japanese American history. 

    For some shopping there are a couple of places you can visit. There is the Little Tokyo Square Shopping Center and the Japanese Village Plaza Mall. Those two were my favorite because they had more Japanese architecture and products. At the Japanese Village Plaza Mall you can find an array of Japanese artifacts and also entertainment.  If you are looking for Japanese food products, you can go to the Mitsuwa Market. I was able to find all of the ingredients to make some sushi and it did not take very much effort to find.

Although Little Tokyo does not exude with traditional Japanese architecture, it does recognize and honor Japanese Americans and their history.

           

           

A Little Bit of China in Downtown LA

With the heart of downtown Los Angeles in its background, Chinatown serves as a window into Chinese culture and cuisine. Chinatown was the first stop on my trip around the globe without having to leave Los Angeles County.

The Metro Gold Line, which extended to East Los Angeles in 2009, turned a 14 plus hour trip into a 20-minute train ride. Although the train ride didn’t take me all the way to China, it got as close as I was going to get on a $1.50 fare.

From the moment you step off the train, you are greeted by Chinese architecture in the horizon and even on the train platform itself. Once you go down to ground level, you can walk straight towards Broadway Blvd and into Chinatown.

All along Broadway Blvd are a number of small stores that give the street a bazaar feel. You can find great deals on a number of items, most of which are not associated with Chinese culture.

“Downtown LA is where you go to look for cheaper prices,” said James Marino, a Los Angeles native, “I like to come to Chinatown to get deals and really good food.” Marino, 27, said he rarely ever buys products that are part of Chinese culture but he enjoys the atmosphere that Chinatown offers.

As I walked down the street, I did not see many stores that specialized in Chinese cultural products, but they all sold at least one or two products that are related to Chinese culture. Some sold a small variety such as paper umbrellas, fans, Chinese knots, and tea sets. 

There, of course, were a couple of stores that specialized in Chinese products such as statues of Buddha and dragons, swords, Bonsai trees and a number of different type of garments. Along with those were specialty stores that sold products like Chinese herbs.

If you do not have much time or do not want to deal with the busy streets to buy what you need, the Far East Plaza is where you should go. It is not very crowded and it is clean. There is Chinese music playing in the background, courtesy of the CD store on the first floor, which helps the atmosphere. There you can find a variety of restaurants and a very big market where you can buy all type of food products.

If you do have the time however, you may want to go in search of the smaller restaurants where you can find all types of traditional Chinese dishes. April Li, 34, said she comes to Chinatown in search for the dishes she cannot make at home. “As much as I try to make my mothers dishes, they just do not taste the same, “ Li said, “Besides, Chinatown is probably the best place to buy duck; cooked or raw.

Without a doubt the restaurants and food stands were the fullest and you could find all types of delicatessens. They probably weren’t exactly what you could find at a market in Beijing but they are what you can find in Los Angeles. It will probably be a long time before I can afford a plane ticket to Beijing or Shanghai, so Chinatown will do for now.