The Sundarban
This article turned into produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Take a stroll by plan of Little Tokyo, the do red paper lanterns cling overhead and younger of us glide by in cosplay outfits, and it’s easy to definitely feel like you’re wandering the urban streets of Japan. But a 2d seek rapidly finds the telltale indicators that you’re in the US. Dodgers baseball caps dot the group, palm trees sway lazily in the warm lunge and grocery retail outlets expose mochi rice balls full of creamy Southern Californian peanut butter. For all its first impressions, that is the unmistakable coronary heart of downtown Los Angeles.
Compatible a pair of walkable blocks south east of Hollywood, this tiny but mighty neighbourhood has been the epicentre of Japanese-American lifestyles for over 140 years, one of totally three Japan Towns soundless remaining in the country. Since 1934, its cultural heritage has been highlighted each and every August during Nisei Week, a nine-day celebration the do pounding drummers and festooned floats parade the streets. Over the past decade or so, a peculiar expertise has pinned Little Tokyo to the arrangement in replacement routes, opening up specialist animation emporiums and top-notch sushi eating areas.
Spearheading the unusual circulation is Little Tokyo Table Tennis, a cult clothing store on First Avenue the do style designers have rebranded the pastime of ping pong. The breeze of a store sells upcycled sports clothing, hand-stapled sports actions fanzines and logoed rackets, which that you can perchance be in a location to elevate alongside to its weekly games, held on Tuesdays from 6-9pm in the echoey halls of the Terasaki Budokan neighborhood centre, a block and a half away. They plot hundreds of enthusiasts, and all stages are welcome to try their hand on the tables; demand pumping condominium song, and impressive shows of both athletic backspins and retro sports clothing.
A pair of doors extra alongside First Avenue — is named ‘Ramen Row’ with its many noodle joints — is Fugetsu-Do, Little Tokyo’s oldest confectionary shop. Since 1903, the Kito family has been hand-crafting candy, bean-filled manju cakes and mochi balls, 2,000 of which would possibly perchance well perchance presumably be made every day in the kitchen on the abet, separated from the antique shop counter by a wisp of fabric.
Ramen have developed into a core dish of Japanese cuisine and would possibly perchance well even be enjoyed all twelve months round on ‘Ramen Row’.
Photograph by Cavan Photography, Getty Photography
A block away is Azay restaurant, another storied institution. From the outdoors, it resembles a Parisian bistro, with jaunty cafe curtains and tables spilling out onto the pavement. It’s no accident: the founder, originally from Kyoto, trained in France prior to opening this native hotspot, the do the menu shines a delicate on both European and Asian dishes. That you just would be able to perchance presumably’t crawl irascible by ordering the broken-down Japanese breakfast, featuring dainty bowls of fluffy rice, saba mackerel and jiggly cubes of tofu.
Gamers and fashionistas will find a lot to like in the currently opened Hypland, a block south. The shop is chock-a-block with dinky-edition apparel, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Assault on Titan collaborations. There’s additionally a relax-out condominium with sofas, computer consoles and some upright customary-well-liked board games.
Steps away is Japanese Village Plaza, a pedestrianised outdoor shopping hub the do, reach spring, cherry blossom covers the pavement like confetti. Its labyrinth of alleyways is lined with bubble tea cafes, Japanese bakeries and kawaii present retail outlets, their cabinets heaving below the burden of Howdy Kitty collectables. Advance early at Monkey Pants, a one-in-one-out boutique — the queue can stretch when the most up-to-date Sonny Angel dolls plunge. At the Gashapon Bandai Legitimate Shop, flooring-to-ceiling vending machines dispense miniature Japanese toys. For uncommon anime figurines, head to Anime Jungle.
Within sight, Kinokuniya bookstore is the sector to hunt for manga books and calligraphy paintings supplies, prior to a protracted, lingering lunch at Sushi Takeda. Behind an unassuming door in the Weller Court docket shopping mall is one of LA’s finest sushi eating areas: its omakase journey invites you to sit down abet and let chef Veil Takeda lead you by plan of a 16-direction culinary dash, sampling slivers of blue fin tuna and slurps of earthy miso soup alongside the manner. The counter has the most interesting seats in the dwelling, offering a front-row stumble on of the chef’s masterful knife work, factual within chopstick reach.
For something cheap and joyful, head to Kura Revolving Sushi Bar the do drinks are served by singing robots — a surefire hit with younger of us. In every single place in the motorway, Somisomi supplies goldfish-formed waffle cones full of a swirl of soppy-reduction ice cream. The adjoining Isamu Noguchi Plaza, overpassed by the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, supplies the accurate setting to indulge in the candy treat. Its exhibitions and workshops point of interest on time-honoured Japanese arts, like flower arranging and calligraphy. There’s additionally the Aratani Theatre for opera, performs and dance performances, and pop-up culinary events in a garden with cascading streams.
As evening falls, Lounge Ohjah dazzles as a graceful, low-lit karaoke lounge with plush leather-based totally seating, tucked away on the 2d flooring of the Miyako Hotel Los Angeles. With an in depth sake listing and a song catalogue spanning both English and Japanese hits, it’s the sector to channel your inner J-pop sensation.
Published in the November 2025 challenge of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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