Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles and a walk around Little Tokyo

*** Not much food in this post - so maybe you'll just like to come back tomorrow.

During the fall of 2018, the Missus and I looked back on how busy we'd been the last couple of years. We did have a good number of amazing trips and checked off a few bucket list items during that time. Still, it had been over four years since I was last "home". The Missus hadn't seen Her parents in ages it seemed. So it was time. I decided to use miles and points for some of the trip; so we decided to fly out of LAX.....not something I looked forward to; but heck first class is first class, right? We then decided to catch the train down to LA, something I hadn't done in over a decade. We also hadn't been to Little Tokyo in nine years! Once I planned things out; we quickly pulled the trigger.

And we caught the bus and trolley down to Santa Fe Depot to catch the Surfliner up to Union Station in LA.

The trolley was a lot busier than we anticipated on this day because of the Women's March......

But things went fairly smoothly. Our train left at noon. We'd had a small breakfast, but should have not worried since we were riding Business Class....which gets you this rather large "snack box".

One box was more than enough for the Missus and I; so we saved the other for later on. Some fairly healthy stuff......

There was a 20 minute delay in the OC; but I'd planned our arrival to be close to 3pm to coordinate our check-in at the Miyako Hotel. We were quite excited to check out Little Tokyo. When we lived in the SGV in the late 90's, we'd drop by Little Tokyo almost weekly and were wondering how things were in the area these days. We need not have worried; it was even more busy than we recalled. Our room in the Miyako Hotel overlooked 1st Street and at 3 in the afternoon, the lines for Little Tokyo favorite Daikokuya and Marugame Monzu, which wasn't even there when we last visited the area were pretty long.

We quickly freshened up and then headed out; with mixture of excitement of revisiting a pace that we loved when we lived in LA and dread, of possibly finding out some of old favorites were gone.

And while we were surprised at the crowds and all the Daiso like shops, it was nice to see that many old favorites were still there.

I'm not sure if you folks know; it was Frances Hashimoto, President of Mikawaya who invented mochi ice cream.

We took a right on 2nd and headed to Weller Court to see a monument I always try to visit when I'm in Little Tokyo.

Located on the street named after him is the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Monument. Way back on January 28th, 1986 it was quite early on a Tuesday morning in Honolulu. I was off from work; my eyes glued to the television for the launching of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was to be an important launch for several reasons; Christa McAuliffe was to be the first Teacher, a civilian launched into space. Even more important to many of us in Hawaii, Ellison Onizuka, a Sansei from Kona, who had become the first Asian American in space the year before was part of the crew. Sadly, 73 seconds into the flight, the shuttle broke apart, killing all seven crew members aboard. It was a sad day and one I'll never forget.

From an address he made to the graduating class of Konawaena High School (his alma mater) in 1980"

"Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace then think of the new horizons that you can explore.

From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible.

Make your life count – and the world will be a better place because you tried."

We took the corner back down on 1st street and was happy to see Anzen Hardware (est 1946), Fugetsu-do (1903) and Suehiro Café (1972) were still in business.

Which brought a smile to our faces. We need to drop by Suehiro again one of these days....

For now; it was time to take a short break and then head out to dinner......

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[Sandy]

I was in downtown LA for work recently, and visited Little Tokyo for the very first time. I missed the Ellison Onizuka memorial, and did not have time to eat at any of the restaurants, but I did buy some mochi from Fugetsu-do! The traffic to LA was brutal; I'm seriously thinking of taking the train next time.

[kat]

it’s great you visited the memorial, I didn’t know they had one for him. I remember that tragic day...thanks for sharing.

[Cathy]

Didn't know that was where you stayed! The Mister and I did a short walk in December (after we found parking after leaving Philippe's) but need to go back to explore more.

[Faye]

We used to adore the Shabu Shabu restaurant in that plaza. Fond memories waiting 2+ hours for a few seats at the shabu U-shaped bar. That HS speech was incredible - a great read to get this Monday morning started for me. Thank you for sharing -

[Soo]

Cool leg of your long trip! One of these days I gotta try the Surfliner. That's a cool goodie box they gave you. Thanks for the history lesson on Mikawaya. It's one of my fav spots to get ice cream in LA.

[Kirk]

Depending on where your meeting is it might be worthwhile to take the train Sandy.

They've had one there since the 90's I think Kat.

We spent one evening there before our trip home Cathy.

That Shabu Shabu restaurant is still there Faye....and so are the lines!

Lot's of history in Little Tokyo Soo!

[Junichi]

I still remember that day vividly. I was glued to the TV set with my brother. Man I haven't been to Little Tokyo in over a decade. Nowadays I frequent Torrance / Gardena instead for Japanese food.

[Kirk]

It's just one of those days one doesn't forget (i.e. September 11th, the Moon Landing) Junichi. We were amazed at how busy Little Tokyo was.

[nhbilly]

I miss that area, thanks Kirk

[Kirk]

We miss our visits to Little Tokyo too Billy!

[caninecologne]

What a fun road trip!

Re: Challenger/Ellison Onizuka memorial. I can't believe we missed seeing that during our last visit. I will make a point to visiting for a future trip. Last time we were there was for the Hello Kitty retrospective at the JANM in 2014. I can't forget the day of the tragedy. We were in high school and watched the event unfold so quickly.

[Kirk]

Hope you get to check it out on your next visit CC.