THROUGH THE FIRE: Destination — Little Tokyo!

By BILL WATANABE

A group of volunteers from the Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) spends Sunday afternoons at the Little Tokyo Koban (Visitors Center) during the summer months, to greet and provide information to visitors who come to Little Tokyo.

The Koban is on First Street, just east of San Pedro Street (or Judge John Aiso Street), and many people pass by along this section of the block that dates back a century and is part of the National Historic Landmark District.

Our goal is to provide information to visitors about what is happening in Little Tokyo and what to see and where to go. Sometimes they want a map that the LTHS has produced, or ask about interesting sites or places to eat or buy Japanese items.

It is always fun and enjoyable to interact with people from all over the local area, or perhaps from across the country, and even from around the world! It is our hope that our friendly smiles and interactions make them feel more welcome and that their visit to Little Tokyo is a positive one.

Here are some examples of the kinds of visitors we have gotten during our Sundays in the Little Tokyo Koban:

• A large group of 13 came from Palmdale because a young girl in the group was given the choice of going anywhere for her birthday – and because she loves Japan and the animated series "Gravity Falls," she wanted to celebrate her birthday in Little Tokyo!

• A family of four came all the way from South Australia and their first stop in L.A. was to find Fugetsu-Do because they love manju so much (they tried to make it at home but failed) and they had found Fugetsu-Do's website in Australia! They were so excited because coincidentally Brian Kito, the owner, was sitting in the Koban at that time and he personally escorted them to his shop, which was such a treat for these long-distance travelers!

• A young lady who came from Chengdu, China was exploring America by herself and she said Little Tokyo was one of her target destinations.

• A couple who had just moved to Los Angeles from the Bay Area made LT their destination because they were interested in learning about the time when Little Tokyo became an African American enclave called "Bronzeville" during WWII. We informed them about the fabulous jazz scene in Bronzeville at that time!

• An older white couple came to the Koban asking for the location of the Chiune Sugihara statue in Little Tokyo because their family was saved from the Nazi death camps by Sugihara in Lithuania! That was a special treat for me because I am a big fan of Sugihara! The couple described how the visa Sugihara that provided allowed their ancestors to traverse Russia, and then to Japan, and ultimately to Seattle. We showed them photos of actor Chris Tashima, who played Sugihara in the Academy Award-winning docudrama "Visas and Virtue," which Chris directed, and they were excited to learn about this film.

• Another couple learned about the amazing cutlery at Anzen Hardware and ended up buying six high-quality chef's knives!

• One afternoon, in the short span of a couple of hours, we had visitors from Mexico, France, Italy, Germany, Tokyo, and Canada!

As you can see, the Koban receives visitors from all over the world and many have made the decision to make Little Tokyo their destination!

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Little Tokyo Historical Society, please go to their website (www.littletokyohs.org) and check out the many projects they are doing.

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Bill Watanabe writes from Silver Lake near Downtown Los Angeles and can be contacted at Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.