 |
| Kyoto Gardens at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown | Photo: Yuri Hasegawa |
With roots dating to the 1880s, Little Tokyo is a major cultural and civic center for Japanese Americans living in Southern California. Little Tokyo is a Downtown L.A. area of about five city blocks, bounded on the west by Los Angeles Street, on the east by Alameda Street, on the south by 3rd Street, and on the north by 1st Street, including the block north of 1st and west of Alameda.
One of only three official Japantowns in the United States, Little Tokyo is the home of the annual Nisei Week festival, and was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1995.
From cultural attractions to restaurants and bars, read on for a walking tour of Little Tokyo, one of L.A.’s most historic and popular neighborhoods.
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN
120 S. Los Angeles St., Los Angeles 90012213-629-1200
View Website
The home base for your Little Tokyo excursion is the elegant DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown. Nestled in the heart of Little Tokyo, the hotel features a unique Japanese-influenced interior design, and the serene rooftop Kyoto Gardens. The garden and several suites feature breathtaking city views. All rooms feature 42-inch LCD flat screen HDTVs with HBO, and Sweet Dreams by DoubleTree plush top beds with jumbo hypo-allergenic down pillows. The hotel's on-site Justice Urban Tavern serves craft beers and pub fare made with local ingredients. Located in the atrium, the Rendezvous Lounge offers a full-service bar, bar bites, and big-screen HDTVs for watching sports. The Weller Court Shopping Center, with restaurants, shops, a Japanese bookstore and an Asian supermarket, is conveniently adjacent to the hotel.
MORE INFO
CAFE DULCE
134 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles 90012213-346-9910
View Website
Kickstart the morning at Cafe Dulce, located in the Japanese Village Plaza. Caffeinated options include LAMILL Coffee & Tea and specialty drinks like Vietnamese style iced coffee, Hong Kong style milk tea, and organic masala chai latte. To complement the coffee, many guests order the ever-popular Matcha Roti and Donuts, which are best enjoyed in the morning, freshly made and piping hot. There’s also a variety of freshly made pastries, cakes, and tarts, as well as a selection of sandwiches and salads if you stop by a little later in the day.
MORE INFO
OKAYAMA KOBO BAKERY & CAFÉ
328 E. First St., Los Angeles 90012213-617-2000
View Website
Another morning option is Okayama Kobo Bakery & Café, located in the Miyako Hotel off 1st Street. Featuring LA-based Groundwork Coffee, Okayama Kobo offers freshly baked bread and pastries handmade with 100% Hokkaido flour, with no additives or preservatives.
The Kobokuma (bear-shaped bread filled with vanilla bean custard cream) and Chocolate Emoji (soft sweet bun filled with dark chocolate and vanilla bean custard cream) are almost too cute to eat. For those seeking something with a little more umami, there's the Mentai Salt & Butter Roll topped with spicy cod roe and seaweed; Curry Pan (baked, panko-crusted bread filled with original Japanese-style vegetable curry) and Hot Dog Panini with Japanese pork sausage, ketchup, mustard, Japanese mayo and cheddar cheese.
MORE INFO
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
 |
| "Kaiju vs Heroes" Print by Brian McCarty | Photo: JANM |
213-625-0414
View Website
Now that you're properly fueled up, cross 1st Street to the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The museum is internationally recognized for its commitment to exploring America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by presenting and sharing the experience of Japanese Americans with exhibitions, public programs, an award-winning museum store and resource center.
Common Ground: The Heart of Community is an ongoing exhibit that features hundreds of objects, documents and photographs that chronicle Japanese American history, beginning with the early days of the Issei (first generation) pioneers in the 1800s, through the World War II incarceration and post-war resettlement.
MORE INFO
SUSHI GEN RESTAURANT
422 E 2nd St, Los Angeles 90012213-617-0552
View Website
For one of the best sushi deals in LA, head to Sushi Gen, located in the Honda Plaza strip mall off 2nd Street. Just before 11am, eager diners queue up for the famed Sashimi Lunch Special.
Priced at $23, the special comes with miso soup, warm tofu dish, pickles, bowl of rice, and a large sashimi plate. Selection varies, but usually includes tuna, yellowtail, spicy tuna or toro, octopus and cooked fish. Note that the lunch special is only available at a table, not at the sushi bar. Lunch is served Tuesday-Saturday from 11am to 2pm.
MORE INFO
MEN OH TOKUSHIMA RAMEN
456 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles 90012213-687-8485
View Website
If you’re in the mood for something heartier than sushi, stop by Men Oh Tokushima Ramen, also located in Honda Plaza. Their signature Tokushima Ramen features a savory and umami-rich broth made from Kurobuta pork bones and soy sauce. The hefty ramen bowl includes stir-fried pork belly, seared pork, bamboo shoots, seasoned soft-boiled egg and scallions. Turn up the heat with the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen - curly noodles in the signature broth with spicy miso ball, char siu, shredded nori, chile threads, cabbage, seasoned soft-boiled egg and bean sprouts.
For those seeking udon, check out Marugame Monzo on 1st Street, where the thick noodles are made right in front of diners who score a coveted “window” seat.
FUGETSU-DO
315 1st St., Los Angeles 90012213-625-8595
View Website
After lunch, pick up some sweet treats at the family-owned Fugetsu-Do, which has specialized in making mochi for more than 120 years. Along with traditional mochi, creative offerings include Peanut Butter Mochi, Korey's Chocolate Mochi (named for the owner's son) and the snack-sized Rainbow Dango. The 12-Piece Wagashi Mix offers the widest assortment of bean paste centers and outer textures. Fugetsu-Do also stocks a variety of sweet and savory snacks.
MORE INFO
 |
| Hoodies at Japangeles | Instagram: @japangeles |
JAPANGELES
141 Japanese Village Plaza, Los Angeles 90012310-920-2383
View Website
Founded in 2009 by native Angeleno Roy Kuroyanagi, Japangeles expanded from its Little Tokyo kiosk to a storefront at Japanese Village Plaza in August 2017. Designed and printed in LA, the Japangeles streetwear line remixes traditional Japanese iconography like Mt. Fuji, geishas, bonsai, and maneki-neko ("waving cat") with a modern SoCal aesthetic. There's no online store, so a trip to the Little Tokyo shop is the only way to buy Japangeles gear. Follow @japangeles on Instagram for the latest drops.
MORE INFO
POP LITTLE TOKYO
349 East 2nd St., Los Angeles 90012213-613-9800
View Website
Popkiller Second is the sister location to the original Popkiller store in Hollywood. Located on 2nd Street, this trendy emporium sells everything from vintage clothing to jewelry, accessories, toys, vinyl and novelty items like “bacon strip” band-aids. A few doors down, POP Little Tokyo focuses on ironic t-shirts packaged like LPs, from independent labels and original designs made in-house.
MORE INFO
GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT MOCA
 |
| Barbara Kruger, Untitled (Questions) at The Geffen Contemporary | Photo: MOCA |
213-626-6222
View Website
Located adjacent to JANM, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (previously The Temporary Contemporary) opened in 1983 as a satellite location of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Formerly a police car warehouse, the 40,000 square-foot space was renovated by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, who also designed Walt Disney Concert Hall and other world-famous buildings.
As part of its 40th anniversary, MOCA reinstalled Untitled (Questions), the monumental wall work by LA–based artist Barbara Kruger. Located on the building's north facade facing Temple Street, the red, white, and blue artwork was originally commissioned by MOCA in 1989 for the exhibition A Forest of Signs: Art in the Crisis of Representation. The 30 x 191-foot work holds an iconic place in the collective memory of LA’s art community and is considered one of the museum’s curatorial highlights.
MORE INFO
GO FOR BROKE MONUMENT
152 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles 90013213-626-6222
View Website
After viewing Kruger's artwork, stop by the nearby Go For Broke Monument, the first memorial of its kind on the U.S. mainland. The 40-foot black granite circle is engraved with more than 16,000 names of Japanese American soldiers and officers who served overseas during World War II.
"Go for Broke" was the motto of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in the history of American warfare. Members of the 442nd received over 18,000 awards in less than two years, including 21 Medals of Honor.
MORE INFO
FAR BAR
347 East 1st Street, Los Angeles 90012213-617-9990
View Website
Located on 1st Street a half-block from JANM, Far Bar features a lively main bar with numerous flatscreens, dozens of craft beers on tap, and Asian-influenced cocktails and pub fare. A second bar is discreetly located next to the bar’s patio off 1st Street, featuring a massive list of hundreds of bourbons, single malts and Japanese whiskies.
Far Bar hosts a popular Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 3-7pm that includes a Toki Highball for $10; Sapporo and sake shot ($9), Wagyu Hot Dog ($5), Wasabi Fries ($6), Ming's Wings ($8) and the Far Bar Burger Special ($13) with fries and Sapporo or soda.
MORE INFO
WOLF & CRANE
366 E 2nd St, Los Angeles 90012213-935-8249
View Website
Another happy hour option is Wolf & Crane, which describes itself as “Little Tokyo’s Neighborhood Bar” and boasts the largest collection of Japanese whisky in the U.S.
Happy hour is Monday-Friday from 5-7pm, featuring select cocktails for $9-10; the $9 Wolf & Crane Special (Asahi can + Japanese whisky shot), $7 draft beers and wines, and bar bites like edamame ($6) and pork gyoza for $10.
Weekly events include Neighbor Nite every Tuesday with cocktail specials, rotating DJs and eats like Atlaco Taco; and Whisky with Wolves flights on Wednesdays.
MORE INFO
REDBIRD
114 E 2nd St, Los Angeles 90012
213-788-1191
View Website
Housed in the former Vibiana cathedral on 2nd Street at the edge of Little Tokyo, Redbird is a stunning restaurant from acclaimed chef Neal Fraser. The main dining room is a beautiful courtyard with a retractable ceiling. The indoor/outdoor space includes a lounge and a wraparound bar with award-winning cocktails from Bar Director Tobin Shea.
The Modern American dinner menu starts with Spicy Shishito Peppers, Sugar Snap Peas, Roasted Figs and Chawanmushi. Entrees include Red Wattle Pork Chop, Liberty Farms Duck, and Day Boat Scallops with Thumbelina carrots, carrot top gremolata, gooseberry and tangerine. "For Two" selections include Whole Grilled Basque Turbot, 24 oz Bone-In Ribeye and 32 oz Creekstone Farms Porterhouse.
MORE INFO
213-788-1191
View Website
Housed in the former Vibiana cathedral on 2nd Street at the edge of Little Tokyo, Redbird is a stunning restaurant from acclaimed chef Neal Fraser. The main dining room is a beautiful courtyard with a retractable ceiling. The indoor/outdoor space includes a lounge and a wraparound bar with award-winning cocktails from Bar Director Tobin Shea.
The Modern American dinner menu starts with Spicy Shishito Peppers, Sugar Snap Peas, Roasted Figs and Chawanmushi. Entrees include Red Wattle Pork Chop, Liberty Farms Duck, and Day Boat Scallops with Thumbelina carrots, carrot top gremolata, gooseberry and tangerine. "For Two" selections include Whole Grilled Basque Turbot, 24 oz Bone-In Ribeye and 32 oz Creekstone Farms Porterhouse.
MORE INFO
 |
| Cocktails at The Mermaid | Instagram: @themermaidla |
THE MERMAID
428 E 2nd St, Los Angeles 90012View Website
Celebrating its 5th anniversary in 2023, The Mermaid is tucked inside Honda Plaza a couple of doors down from Sushi Gen. Industry vets Katie Kildow and Arelene Roldan set out to make the former hostess bar a safe space for people of all genders to relax and enjoy tropical cocktails while immersed in kitschy nautical-themed decor.
The generous Happy Hour draws a loyal crowd of locals and Little Tokyo visitors alike: Monday-Thursday 5-8pm, Friday 4-8pm, Saturday 3-6pm and all day on Sunday.
Like any great neighborhood joint, The Mermaid hosts theme nights like Tiki Goth Mondays, Dolce Vita (Italo Disco) on Tuesdays; Game Night with rotating DJs on Wednesdays; and Karaoke Thursdays. Guest bartender nights highlight women bartenders and raise money for numerous causes - sponsors are often women-owned or -helmed spirits brands like Future Gin and Yola Mezcal.
MORE INFO
SUEHIRO CAFE
337 E 1st St, Los Angeles 90012213-626-9132
View Website
Open till 3am on Fridays and Saturdays and 1am the rest of the week, Suehiro Cafe has served up Japanese comfort food for more than 50 years.
The extensive menu includes the popular House Special - stir-fried eggplant and bell pepper in miso sauce (choice of beef, chicken, pork or tofu), served with seasoned wakame, rice, miso soup and ice cream.
Other favorites include Katsudon with pork or chicken cutlet; Hayashi Rice (beef stew), Ten Zaru (mixed tempura with chilled soba), Broiled Saba (mackerel), nabemono (hot pot), chazuke, ramen, Okonomi Plate and numerous combo plates. There's even sushi and sashimi if you're in the mood.
NOTE: Suehiro has announced that they will be moving from Little Tokyo to a new DTLA location in the summer of 2023 (400 S. Main St. Suite 102, Los Angeles 90013).
MORE INFO
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, 633 West 5th Street, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90071, USA info@discoverlosangeles.com
No comments:
Post a Comment