Downtown Los Angeles - Neighborhoods and Attractions - Little Tokyo

Little Tokyo

Despite the suburbanization of Southern California's Japanese Americans over the past several decades, Little Tokyo remains the cultural heart of the Japanese American community. The neighborhood is home to several Buddhist temples, dozens of shops, restaurants and taverns, two museums, and a branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system.

Little Tokyo is accessible via the nearby Metro Red/Purple Line Civic Center Station, and the Little Tokyo light-rail station on the Metro Gold Line.

• Pedestrian activity in the neighborhood is centered around the Japanese Village Plaza, an open-air shopping area spanning First and Second streets. The center is home to Nijiya Market, Mikawaya Ice Cream, Yamazaki Bakery and several other stores and eateries, as well as a landmark watchtower on First Street.

• Historic First Street is an active restaurant row, with many establishments specializing in Japanese ramen noodles. Fugetsu-do, a century-old establishment that specializes in mochi, a Japanese rice-based snack, is located on this corridor.

• Weller Court is a retail complex anchored by Marukai Market at the intersection of Second and San Pedro streets. Three levels of Japanese-themed shops and restaurants face an interior courtyard. The shopping center also features a memorial to the seven crewmembers killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

• The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is Little Tokyo's largest cultural facility and plays host to several exhibits detailing the plight of Japanese American citizens during the World War II era, as well as historical perspectives and contemporary works by Japanese American artists.

• Little Tokyo is home to a secondary campus of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Geffen Contemporary.