Japanese Village Plaza: A small slice of Japanese culture in the heart of Los Angeles
The Japanese Plaza, located near 1ststreet and Alameda in Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles, is a distinct gathering place full of life, delicious Japanese cuisine and life culture. It was first opened in 1978, on an effort to restore the old Japanese community that resided on surrounding area before the second world war, where a majority of Japanese were forced out of their residences and taken to concentration camps. The plaza is small and charming, full of Japanese life. Its composed of many small shops and restaurants, most from Japanese culture and flair. When you first enter from the 1ststreet entrance, you notice the Chochin lanterns hanging across from many of the shops. You can feel a lively aura from the place, and if you are lucky, even enjoy outdoor performances on the small quad are, located next to Honeymee café where you can sit and enjoy one of their delicious Japanese-inspired pastries.
It was lively for a Tuesday afternoon. To my luck, I did get to enjoy a small performance while I sat down and enjoyed a small scoop of mocha green tea ice cream at Mikawaya Mochi Ice cream place. The performance was a one-man band, singing songs in both English and Japanese, accompanied by a recording of a flute and wooden instruments. The crown seemed mostly young people in their teens and early twenties, although some white-collar workers were there also. I was hoping to grab food at Shabu Shabu, a cook -it-yourself Japanese styled restaurant with Ponzu sauce. Unfortunately, the place is now only opened during the evenings.
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As you walk around the plaza, you can feel the presence of Japanese culture everywhere. There is a strong influence of Japanese pop culture, from the crowd that visit, to the retailers that are established alongside the plaza. There is of course, a big Sanrio store located to the right of the plaza, full of popular characters like Hello Kitty, Badtz- Maru, and Keroppi, amongst many others. Other retailers such as, Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle carried smaller-known cute characters and a large variety of gifts and gags. There were also small, mom-and-pop shops that sell Japanese artifacts like fans and even samurai swords.
The interview process was interesting. Most of the people that were not too shy that I had the pleasure of talking to, did not seem to interested in new. I actually came across some new technology, at least to me. Some of the most popular ones were LINE, which is very similar to WhatsApp. Some of them were avid Google + users, and lastly, Mixi. Mixi is a very popular Japanese social media platform used by mostly younger generations. In a way, it is able to connect users in a more personal and private way that Facebook because it is able to match users based on common interests. Interests can range from popular manga, anime and other popular culture items. Like every other media platform, users can send and receive messages, invite people to events and join communities. One major difference is that users are able to write in a diary, and other people are able to write on their diaries as well.
The Japanese Plaza is a fun strip of Japanese culture in Los Angele. As someone who has never been to japan, I felt like I was right on the middle of it.
