Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Little Tokyo in a day.

overdue post

i have put this post on hold since the assault of a vengeful right hand. it took upon itself to cut the left finger on the other hand as it had alleged it doesn't do much work as itself does. however, the revenge boomeranged. it is doing much more work now; and can't wait for the victim to heal of its wound.


so does my husband who the other day asked me, "when are your stitches going to be taken out?" my evil eyes looked at him and i gave him an evil smile and said, "why? are you tired of washing dishes?" he smiled his sweetest. hah...hah...hah. he probably appreciates now what i do in the kitchen--the same boring chore day in and day out. he helps, but i do the heavier stuff.

in any event, i will put this in publication as it is now long over due.

Little Tokyo in a rush

My friend, Jun, asked me to accompany her to the Japanese Consulate in downtown Los Angeles. Jun is of Japanese citizenship; and has been in this country for over 40 years. She, however, has not changed her citizenship despite the fact that she once was married to an American and has 3 beautiful children with him. She goes to the consulate to update her papers or status...or whatever.

click image to enlarge

We met at the parking lot of the smaller train station, about 3 miles from my house. This one has a smaller lot and it was almost full when I got there at about 9:00 in the morning. We were to catch the 9:45 train. She came a few minutes after I got there. We got our tickets; boarded the train; and we were at the Union Station 55 minutes later.

We boarded the same bus as I did with my husband, and got off right across the street of the building -- Two California Plaza on South Grand Ave. The skyscraper has 52 stories constructed of concrete, glass and steel; and of modern architecture.

Security was tight that we have to present our IDs at

the front desk and they handed us a computer printed name tags we stuck on our clothes. As one of the young men handed me my name tag he said something I didn't understand. I gave him a quizzical look. With that he asked, "You're not Japanese?"

I shook my head and said, "No."

"I'm sorry. The consulate is on the 17th floor," he said.

"I'm Japanese," Jun said. And they talked a bit in Japanese.

We took the elevator to the consulate. At the door of the consulate there is a security guard. We opened our purses for inspection. I have to leave my bottled water at the hallway, as it's not allowed. We got in; got out in about half an hour. Her business there was done pretty quick, as she had all her papers ready.


We then headed to the bus stop. Took the same bus; got off; took another bus heading towards Little Tokyo where we were to have lunch...and a little grocery shopping. We were short of time, but I managed to shoot a few photos.
The Walt Disney Concert Hall
click image to enlarge

We boarded a bus across the Disney Hall...


...and got off a few yards from this tower. This tower marks where the Japanese village is. Going around in that place is like going inside a tiny village. It has walkways and trees and shops. We found a small restaurant and went in. We were not looking for a fancy restaurant, as we were famished.
I had a combo of teriyaki pork, green salad, fried potato salad, rice and...ham with scrambled eggs. The ham was too salty -- as is always with processed food. I wonder why the plate had ham and eggs. Usually it's for breakfast, but it's in their lunch menu. jun had the same combo, but instead of teriyaki she had fried breaded shrimp. The food was good for two hungry people.

After our lunch we headed to
Marukai -- a Japanese market. Marukai is in a wing of a 3-story building. Beside the building is a small plaza.
And in it is a replica of the space Orbiter Challenger...

...and a bust of the first Japanese-American astronaut--Ellison Onizuka. Astronaut Onizuka was one of the crew who perished when the Challenger exploded right after it took off.


We got inside the market and Jun grabbed the things she needed. I was checking the time. If we don't get the 3:45 train, we'll have to wait for the 6 PM one and that would be too late for us. There is one at 4:30, but it won't get to our station where we parked our cars.

Jun got most of her grocery and we got out of there in half an hour. We got to the train station just in time, and boarded right away. We stayed at the lower deck as she had a bulky rolling cart that was full of groceries. The train was packed with passengers heading home.

A few minutes before the train got to our station, a couple of sheriffs entered our car and asked each passenger to show their tickets. We showed them ours. I wonder if there ever are passengers who never buy their tickets. i hardly see anyone, a conductor perhaps, check passengers' tickets.

We pulled in at our home station in 60 minutes; and home sweet home in 5 minutes. I slept tight that night, and woke up as usual...late.

22 comments:

Ebie said...

Hi Mari, I am glad you have managed to write this post inspite of one casualty finger. How sweet hubby is! Did you miss the Nesei Week in Little Tokyo? I am not sure if it is through the end of the month, but there was a big celebration last weekend.Also, the Japanese Consulate gave you a very super fast service!

Nance said...

your intro cracked me up ... you, my friend have a mind like Dominick Dunn (RIP) lol
I enjoyed seeing those photos too...a glimpse of LA. salamat!

Photo Cache said...

he'll managed to wash dishes for a few more days :)

little tokyo is like a little city in itself, i wonder if time was not a problem, you would have explored the area more.

stay away from knives this weekend. bless ya.

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

parang kasama ako sa lakad nyo.

Embassy?......dito mahirap na daw, kasi yon passport daw natin, they send to Pinas, n we wait for a month daw.

at tapos personal appearance na rin....hindi kagayan noon, send thru post lang.

mabuti, can i say this, german na pass ko, takes for 10yrs to renew....di mabuti, at mura pa.

pero pinay pa rin ako.....

sarap ng kinakain nyo, alam mo gusto ko talaga kumain ng japanese rest. kaya lang walang sasama sa akin....

bernie, ayaw, ewan.........

friend?....walang hilig ng japanese foods sa mga kakilala ko....tapos sabi nila, mahal daw....ewan

kung mag-isa ako, ay parang wlang apetite......

ganda ng hall ano?.....naala-ala ko ang lakwatsa namin ni bernie last week sa frankfurt......nakatutuwa.

kasi ang feeling ko, para ba yon nandoon pa ako a probensiya, tapos pumunta sa makati, nakita ang matataas na building.....tapos ang tingin ng tingin ko.....nagsmile na lang ako, kasi....

naala-ala ko probensiya nagpunta sa city, mahalata kasi ang tingin2x ko sa sorrounding.....

ang ganda ng mga pics mo........

thanks for sharing........

uwi na ako, busog na ako sa foods, sarap..........

Sidney said...

Looks like you had a great day in little Tokyo !

Mari said...

ebie,
the tokyo post was a draft before i cut my finger...just did a bit of editing. i didn't know they have a nesei week. the japanese consulate is very organized and staff are very helpful.


nance,
i have the same mind as dominick dunne? lol i must've picked it up from reading his books.

Mari said...

photo cache,
yeah, i could've taken more picture if we had more time.

yup, am staying away from very sharp knives.

thanks for the concern.

Mari said...

vicki,
10 years din yata magpa-renew ng passport yung kaibigan ko.

kukunti dito ang japanese market. ang marami ay japanese restaurant. nagpupunta kami ng mga kaibigan ko at kung minsan naman ay yung mister ko. mahal nga lang...kaya minsan-minsan lang.

pihikan siguro si bernie ayaw ng ibang pagkain. lol

Mari said...

sidney
yup, we did.

Grace said...

Hi Mari, it is so nice to be back here in your blog. You made me laugh with this post. And I enjoyed the photos, too. :)

Mari said...

Grace,
I'm glad I made you laugh. As they say, humor is the best medicine. Not that you are ill or something, but it'll make you feel good to laugh.

Thanks for your visit.

Inday said...

Konichiwa Mari. Great to see your Little Tokyo over there. I love Japanese food! I can even make sushi. And what a serving for a famish girl!

You're a bit impy with your hubby. hahaha

so how's the healing going? do you intend to prolong the pseudo pain incase it's already healed? haha...or is my question too obvious?

Dennis Villegas said...

Nice holiday you had in Little Tokyo, nice pictures!

Hope your finger heals well quickly :)

Unknown said...

that's a beautiful city, hope to see this too...one day. hope your finger gets well soon..

Mari said...

bonnie,
well, the sutures were taken out a week ago, but my finger is still swollen, and I put strips of tiny bandages to keep it from being stretched. no, i'm not faking it. lol he's very patient, though. i cook anyway.


dennis,
it was a short quick trip, but eventful. will go back there again...and soon i hope.


pacey,
yeah, lovely little place. finger will be ready to wash dishes in a few days. lol

thanks all for the visit and comment.

Anonymous said...

Mari, this is another interesting post! i like the pictures of the tower and your plate of course, lol.

bing said...

what a sweet hubby..!

love how the food looks like. satisfaction for the hungry.

tina said...

hi ate mari!! i dont know if you still remember me... but.. i just decided to pay a visit to the blogs on my link. its been a while since my last hop. :)

have a great day!

Mari said...

docgelo,
yeah, nice tower.
The food is forgettable. Panglaman tiyan lang. lol


bing,
yup, great for the hungry.


tina,
of course, i remember you. What brought you back to blogging? I thought you have abandoned it totally. I'm glad you're back, though.

Thanks all for the visit and comment.

dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 said...

Hmmm... Looks like a lot of adventure for the two of you...

I love the photos. I'm drooling for the food. Whenever I'd miss Japanese food, my wife and I would just visit Komoro Suba in SM Megamall. Japanese restos here are still far (in Malate) from our area and are quite expensive.

It's quite normal that water bottles are not allowed in secured areas. Even in the train here (MRT), sometimes I was not allowed enter to the train because of my aluminum water container. It was pretty annoying :)

At home, it's usually the wife who does the most of the kitchen chores. I found it a bit awkward working in the kitchen where I'm less knowledgeable working around. I hope this is not the case with your husband :D

Tita Beng said...

Looks like its quite a tiring day for you. Am glad though that you still managed to post your day's experience. Thanks for sharing.

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

hello mari,
want to pass-by to say, Hello,
Kumusta na........

Have a wonderful autumn season.

malamig at palaging ulan dito sa amin.

regards,

hugs........
vk