As Los Angeles's downtown gets new energy, Little Tokyo is one of the few spots where history lives in harmony with hipsterdom: It's a boisterous blend of comic books and karaoke, tea rooms and gallery shows. This livable community nestled at the foot of mountainous skyscrapers was once home to one of the largest concentrated Japanese populations in the U.S., more than 30,000 at its height.
Although many Japanese Americans have moved to other neighbourhoods, there's plenty of cultural, architectural and (most important) gastronomical evidence still intact.
Today, Little Tokyo also hosts a burgeoning artist population – the adjacent Arts District occupies former warehouses and factories – and the two cultures mix better than you would imagine.
Traditional Japanese markets and sushi bars now share the streets with trendy lofts and cocktail lounges, and two cultures find common ground in good new restaurants. A new light-rail Metro stop makes the area more accessible than ever, signalling both a revitalized city and a nostalgic vibe with the clanging of each silver streamlined train.
Sweet!
Wake up your taste buds at the Japanese candy store and bakery Fugetsu-Do, where bean paste, rice and sesame are transformed into jewel-like confections at one of the oldest businesses in L.A. The earlier the better too; it opens at 8 a.m. and by noon the shelves can be ravaged. 315 E. 1st St.; 213-625-8595; fugetsu-do.com
Turning Japanese
To get your bearings, tour the several Japanese pedestrian malls. Stroll the Japanese Village Plaza, an open-air mall featuring everything from Hello Kitty socks to traditional Japanese ceramics. Then head over to the Little Tokyo Shopping Center, which has a lively new supermarket as its anchor. Employees there dole out generous samples of Japanese and Korean foods, and street vendors with cheap snacks are tucked into the courtyard. 335 E. 2nd St.; 333 S. Alameda St.
Noguchi rocks
Make your way to Noguchi Plaza to see To the Issei, two slabs of basalt dedicated to the first generation of Japanese who immigrated to America, by the legendary sculptor Isamu Noguchi. At one end of the plaza is a Japanese garden managed by the adjacent Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. 244 S. San Pedro St.
Culture jamming
MOCA's Geffen Contemporary is the Frank Gehry-designed annex to the city's art museum, housed in a former police car warehouse. Next door, the Japanese American National Museum holds a blend of historical and pop-culture exhibitions, such as a show on Hawaiian-Japanese textiles that's up through May. The museum also organizes walking tours of the area. 152 N. Central Ave., 213-626-6222, moca.org; 369 E. 1st St., 213-625-0414, janm.org
A ramen pilgrimage
If there's a crowd of people in front of Daikokuya, one of the neighbourhood's most popular noodle houses, you can be sure it's time for lunch. The service is efficient, so waits aren't unbearable, and, besides, you'll forget about any delays once you lean over your bowl of steaming, spicy, pork-flecked ramen. 327 E. 1st St.; 213-626-1680; daikoku-ten.com
Mochi-lato
Try to hold out as you pass the ubiquitous frozen yogurt establishments throughout the neighbourhood and save your treat budget for Mikawaya: their powdery pillows of mochi (sticky rice cake) stuffed with creamy gelato are worth waiting for, especially the tart plum-wine flavour. 333 S. Alameda St.; 213-624-1681; mikawayausa.com.
