Little Tokyo is one of only three surviving Japantowns in the United States, and unlike most historic districts in Los Angeles it still functions as a community centre rather than as a themed shopping street. Its event calendar reflects that: the big dates are community festivals with decades of history behind them, they take place on the same two blocks every year, and most of them cost nothing to attend.
The big dates here fill First Street completely and the ordinary weekends are quiet — two very different visits. Tell Karpo when you are coming and it will tell you which one.
The calendar worth planning around
Nisei Week, held in August, is the neighbourhood's largest event and has run since 1934. It covers a parade, taiko performances, an ondo street dance where hundreds of people dance down First Street together, and a week of associated cultural programming. It is free to watch and it is the single best day to see the neighbourhood as a community rather than as a destination.
The obon season in summer brings dances at the neighbourhood's Buddhist temples, which are open to visitors and are among the more welcoming religious events in the city. New Year brings mochi pounding demonstrations and temple visits. Between them these three occasions account for most of what people mean when they say something is happening in Little Tokyo.
The permanent institutions
The Japanese American National Museum on First Street covers the history of Japanese Americans, including the wartime incarceration, and it is the essential context for everything else in the neighbourhood. Directly opposite, the Go For Broke Monument commemorates the Japanese American soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA occupies a converted warehouse a block north and shows large-format contemporary work.
The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on San Pedro Street runs the Aratani Theatre and a garden, and its programme of performances, film screenings and workshops is the part of the calendar that operates all year rather than seasonally.
The ordinary weekend version
Without a festival, Little Tokyo is a compact and pleasant few hours: the shops and food court inside Japanese Village Plaza, the confectionery counters selling mochi and manju, the bookshops and stationery stores, and a dense run of restaurants covering ramen, sushi, tonkatsu and izakaya. Walking First Street and the plaza takes twenty minutes; doing it properly, with stops, takes three hours.
The historic First Street North block, with its early twentieth-century storefronts and the brass timeline set into the pavement, is a National Historic Landmark district and is worth reading rather than walking past.
Getting there
Metro's Little Tokyo/Arts District station sits at the neighbourhood's eastern edge on the A and E lines, which makes this one of the simplest destinations in Los Angeles to reach by rail. Several parking structures serve the district and they fill on festival days and on Dodgers or arena nights. The Arts District is immediately east, Chinatown is a short ride north, and Grand Park and the Civic Center are a walk west.
Practical notes
Nisei Week runs in August and has been held since 1934, with a parade and street ondo dance on First Street; it is free to watch. Obon dances take place at the neighbourhood's Buddhist temples in summer; new year brings mochi pounding. The Japanese American National Museum and the Go For Broke Monument are on First Street; the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is a block north; the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and Aratani Theatre are on San Pedro Street. First Street North is a National Historic Landmark district. Metro's A and E lines stop at Little Tokyo/Arts District. Parking structures fill on festival and event days.
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Ask Karpo first
Little Tokyo on a festival weekend and Little Tokyo on an ordinary one are different visits. Ask Karpo what is on that date, what is free, and whether to take the train given how the parking behaves on event days.
