Festive lanterns greet visitors to Little Tokyo.
BOUNDARIES: Temple St., Los Angeles St., Third St., Alameda St.
DISTANCE: About 0.75 mile
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Metered street parking is available on First St.
NEAREST METRO STATION: Civic Center, First St. and Hill St. (Red Line)
Located in downtown Los Angeles, just south of US 101 and next door to the Arts District, is Little Tokyo, a neighborhood that simultaneously projects multicultural urban cool while retaining its ties to Japanese American history. There’s plenty to draw locals and tourists alike, such as authentic Japanese eateries too numerous to count, spas offering affordable Shiatsu treatments, shops selling colorful knickknacks, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Geffen Contemporary extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
Walk Description
Begin at the intersection of Central Avenue and First Street, where Central Avenue ends and transforms into an open pedestrian plaza. On the east side of the clearing is the site of the 
Japanese American National Museum, a graceful sandstone, metal, and glass building that was designed by Gyo Obata, who also designed the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Just across the plaza, the museum’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy is housed in a lovely old brick building (with an ultramodern addition) dating from 1925 that originally was the site of the Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple.
Head north through the plaza toward 
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, which houses installations that are too large to fit in the museum’s California Plaza location downtown (see Walk 30). After you pass the warehouselike home of MOCA’s easternmost satellite, you’ll come to the 
Go For Broke Monument, which commemorates more than 16,000 Japanese American veterans of World War II who voluntarily went to Europe and the Pacific Rim to fight for the same country that sent their families to internment camps back in the States. Surviving veterans occasionally volunteer as guides at the monument, and if you have the time to talk to one of these incredibly brave and patriotic men, you’ll no doubt be amazed at the stories he has to tell.
Head back to the intersection of Central and First. On your way, you’ll pass a number of items of interest on your right. First is the Aoyama Tree, a Moreton Bay fig tree that was planted in 1920 and marks the former location of one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the city, the Koyasan Daishi Mission. The home of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy is next, then the 
Go For Broke National Education Center, where you can learn more about the Japanese American experience during World War II. Lastly, a piece of public art representing Toyo Miyatake’s camera. Miyatake was forced into a American concentration camp, to use the parlance of the time, during the war. He sneaked a camera into the internment camp at Manzanar, some 3 hours north, and documented life there.
At the intersection of Central and First, turn right to head west one block on First Street, passing a crowded collection of Japanese sweet shops, sushi restaurants, and popular ramen houses such as Mr. Ramen and Daikokuya. Glance downward along the north side to see Little Tokyo’s history engraved in the pavement—this is Little Tokyo’s Historic District.
Turn left on San Pedro Street, which is called Judge John Aiso Street in the opposite direction. As you continue southwest, you’ll come to the site of Seiji Kunishima’s Stonerise sculpture, a massive art piece composed of roughly textured black granite blocks that sits in a quiet garden on the north side of the Union Bank building.
At the northwest corner of San Pedro and Second Street is the entrance to Weller Court, also known as Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street, named for the first Japanese American astronaut. This low-key pedestrian street is marked by Shinkichi Tajiri’s Friendship Knot sculpture. As you walk through the court, you’ll pass Marukai Market, a large grocery store that carries all manner of authentic Japanese goodies. About halfway through the court is a replica of the Challenger space shuttle, aboard which Onizuka launched his final space mission.
Walk back to where you entered the court. Cross Second and then cross to the east side of San Pedro Street and turn right to head south. In front of the bank on the southeast corner is a bronze statue of prominent Japanese farmer Sontoku (Kinjiro) Ninomiya, sometimes known as the “peasant sage of Japan.”
Before you cross the Azusa Street alley, look up to see a historical marker. You’re near the site of the Azusa Street Mission, where the Pentecostal religious movement began. Cross the alley and head into the open plaza, home to the 
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. Enter the spacious, brick-paved plaza, designed by Isamu Noguchi. The imposing concrete facade of the center lies directly south.
Enter the center through the massive glass doors and ask if the garden is open. If so, you’re in for a treat. The beautiful James Irvine Japanese Garden is a carefully tended paradise that lies in stark contrast to the imposing concrete building that towers above.
Return to ground level and walk back across the plaza to the Azusa Street alley. Follow the short alley through to Second Street.
Cross Second Street and continue through the 
Japanese Village Plaza, bearing right at the split to continue on the path toward First Street. This mall is the heart of Little Tokyo’s shopping district, offering sushi and noodle cafés, shabu-shabu dining, knickknack shops, Shiatsu massage, sweets, and plenty of other opportunities to indulge yourself.
Little Tokyo
Points of Interest
Japanese American National Museum/National Center for the Preservation of Democracy 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012; 213-625-0414, janm.org
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA 152 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90013; 213-625-4390, moca.org/visit/geffen-contemporary
Go For Broke Monument 160 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Go For Broke National Education Center 355 E. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; 310-328-0907, goforbroke.org
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center/James Irvine Japanese Garden 244 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; 213-628-2725, jaccc.org
Japanese Village Plaza 335 E. Second St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; japanesevillageplaza.net
After grabbing a snack, meal, or massage in the plaza, exit onto First Street, where you’ll find yourself back at your starting point at the intersection of Central Avenue.
