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.