Halloween Events for Kids Near Me: Haunted Little Tokyo Scavenger Hunt

The Haunted Little Tokyo Scavenger Hunt is free and runs on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 11 am to 2 pm, starting from the Terasaki Budokan community gym at 249 S Los Angeles Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Kids in costume follow the route through Little Tokyo collecting stamps, and a full card earns a special treat. For Downtown families searching halloween events for kids near me, it is a daytime, walkable, no-ticket option in one of the oldest Japanese American neighborhoods in the country.

The Little Tokyo Community Council lists the hunt as a free activity for all ages, hosted by the Budokan. Families pick up the hunt at the gym, head out into the neighborhood to find each stamp location, and come back with a completed card for the treat. Costumes are encouraged rather than required, so a toddler in pajamas with cat ears drawn on is just as welcome as a fully built samurai.

Back at the Budokan, the gym serves as the hub with games and activities for all ages, according to the venue's event listing. That makes it a natural base: a parent can stay inside with a younger sibling while an older child runs the last two stamps with another adult. The window is only three hours, so arriving close to 11 am leaves room for slower walkers and a snack break before the 2 pm finish.

The scavenger hunt belongs to Haunted Little Tokyo, a run of October events that local businesses started to draw more people into the neighborhood. The 2026 lineup on the Community Council's page also includes Little Tokyo Ghost Tours on the same Saturday at 5 pm, leaving from Union Center for the Arts for $25 per person, which walk the historic First Street block and share ghost stories gathered from community members.

The season closes with a Halloween block party on Saturday, October 31, from 4 pm to 11:59 pm at a secret location, but that one is strictly 21 and over, with a security checkpoint. Do not plan a family night around it. For kids, the Saturday morning hunt is the main event, and the ghost tour is a stretch only for older children who like being spooked.

The Budokan is a project of Little Tokyo Service Center, and the venue describes it as a community dream that took about 30 years to become real. LTSC took over the project in 1994, and the building held its official ribbon-cutting in March 2022 after pandemic delays, as reported by The Rafu Shimpo. The name honors the Terasaki family, whose major gift moved the project forward.

Basketball explains why the gym matters here. The Budokan's history page notes that Japanese American basketball leagues became a haven for community-building and cultural practice after exclusionary policies such as World War II incarceration, and the leagues are now a tradition passed through generations. Today the building runs free programs for youth, adults and seniors, plus taiko and volleyball, which is why the court feels busy and local rather than staged.

Because the hunt moves through sidewalks and plazas, pick costumes kids can walk in for two hours. Long capes and floor-length gowns trip small children on curbs, and bulky inflatable costumes make it hard to hold a stamp card.

Bring a clipboard or a sturdy envelope to keep the stamp card flat, and a tote for the treat at the end. Strollers are fine on Little Tokyo's sidewalks, but plazas and shop entrances get crowded at midday on a Saturday, so a compact stroller beats a double-wide.

The Haunted Little Tokyo page lists two craft sessions near the Budokan that same weekend. Nellita's Craft at 248 E First Street runs a Halloween Emoji Workshop on Sunday, October 25, at 1 pm and 2:45 pm, with tickets sold separately. The Budokan hosts Clay Play the same Sunday from noon to 2:30 pm, a spooky handbuilding workshop with ceramic artist Dani Kawaii, where you make a trinket dish or jewelry with a creepy ghost ring holder.

Skip the BOOdoComedy Show at the Budokan on the Saturday night if you have young kids; it is part of the venue's comedy series with food and drinks and doors at 6:30 pm, pitched at a grown-up crowd. The free morning hunt and a Sunday craft make a better kid weekend.

After the 2 pm wrap, walk the First Street block, where low historic storefronts hold some of Little Tokyo's oldest businesses, and the plaza area near the Japanese Village fills with families on weekends. The Japanese American National Museum sits at First and Central, a short walk from the Budokan, if your group wants a quieter indoor stop after the hunt.

Lunch is easy to find within a few blocks, from ramen counters to mochi and shaved ice. If your child has worked through a full card of stamps, a sweet treat on First Street is a fair reward, and it keeps everyone in the neighborhood instead of back in the car.

Metro rail is the simplest route. The Little Tokyo/Arts District station puts you a few blocks from the Budokan, and it avoids Downtown parking on a busy Saturday. If you drive, the Budokan's underground garage holds up to 55 cars and is open Friday and Saturday from 7 am to midnight, though with that few spaces it can fill during a popular event.

The Budokan sits in the 200 block of South Los Angeles Street, between Second and Third streets, so it is a short walk from First Street, the neighborhood's historic core. Keep the Budokan's phone number, handy if your group splits up during the hunt and needs to regroup at the gym.

Event: Haunted Little Tokyo Scavenger Hunt, Saturday, October 24, 2026, 11 am to 2 pm; free. Hub: Terasaki Budokan, 249 S Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Same day: Little Tokyo Ghost Tours at 5 pm, $25 per person. Not for kids: October 31 block party, 21 and over. Parking: 55-space underground garage at the Budokan.