About Los Angeles' Little Tokyo

When you think of downtown Los Angeles, you think of smog, people, office buildings, traffic jam, and more. Well, think again!

Yes, you can find peace and serenity in downtown Los Angeles. WHERE? At the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center.

Located in the prime area of Little Tokyo District is the JACCC which is home to the beautiful James Irvine Japanese Garden.

Jamese Irvine Japanese Garden, called the Seiryu-en (Garden of the Clear Stream) was designed by Dr. Uesugi with inspiration from many famous Japanese Gardens, especially in Kyoto, Japan. This garden is the best kept secret in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles).

Featuring a 170 ft. stream, the garden begins as a waterfall in the upper reaches. In the middle cascades, the stream divides, and finally the stream become a quiet murmur, ending in a calm pond. Surrounded by blooming trees and foliage, the garden offers much needed peacefulness to the downtown residents and workers.

Azalea, Bamboo, Camellia, Japanese Wisteria, Fornight Lily, Magnolia, Japanese Black Pine all come together in the garden.

The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC's) new On the Veranda series offers cultural workshops, lectures and demonstrations amidst the beauty of newly renovated Japanes Garden.

Programs planned at the JACCC Garden Room are:

• Ikebana (flower arrangemet)
• Chado (tea ceremony)
• Bonsai
• Shodo (Calligraphy)

The Garden is open to the public, and available for special events and weddings. Go check it out.

Make sure to check out the Little Tokyo / Arts District Farmers Market on Thursdays! This is a great opportunity to visit the city hall at the same time if you happen to have any business there.

Now, for a fabulous pumpkin recipe since they are in season and it's a great time to try something new!

Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried garbanzo beans
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 leeks, white and light green part only or 2 large onions
• 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 6 cups fresh pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded & diced
• 2-4 tablespoons honey or 4 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cinnamon stick or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg or ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Cover the chickpeas with water.
2. Cover and allow to soak overnight.
3. Drain.
4. Saute the leeks in the oil over medium heat until soft and translucent,approximately 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the broth, pumpkin cubes or puree, chickpeas, honey, spices and salt to the pan.
6. Cover and simmer until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
7. If using the cinnamon stick, discard it.
8. If desired, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.
9. Season to taste.
10. Note: Sugar pumpkins are eating pumpkins.
11. They are considerably smaller than ornamental carving pumpkins.
12. For Vegan option do not use honey. And for Vegetarian do not use Chicken broth.

This post is supported by James90210 on Active Rain, Localism and all other blogs.

Top 5 Links to Events in October for Little Tokyo

Madama Butterfly

MOCA Exhibit

9 to 5

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
The House of Blues Leaves

There's so much cool stuff going on in LA that sometimes it's hard to find events just in your neighborhood. Well, we've put this blog series together to help out!

We have put this together as a series so, make sure to check back often for other regional write ups. The districts covered include Beverly Hills, Culver City, West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, Downtown, Chinatown, East LA, Little Tokyo, Westlake, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Melrose District, Melrose Heights, Beverly, Fairfax District, Miracle Mile, Mid Wilshire, Hancock Park, Park La Brea, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Venice, Malibu, Palms, Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood, Studio City, San Fernando Valley, South Bay and Pasadena.

We are sponsoring the Little Tokyo region of Los Angeles! Come and check out our photos and community details.

Little Tokyo is a Japanese American district part of the Los Angeles Downtown region. This is one of the few official Japantowns in the US, only 3 exist in the country. The Los Angeles Little Tokyo is often referred to as Lil' Tokyo, J-Town or Sho-tokyo and has been declared a National Historic Landmark District.

The boundaries of Little Tokyo are Los Angeles Street on the west, Alameda Street on the east, 3rd Street on the south, and First Street on the north and the Los Angeles Civic Center. More broadly, Little Tokyo is bordered by the Los Angeles River to the east, downtown Los Angeles to the west, L.A. City Hall and the Parker Center to the north, and the newly named Arts District to the south.

Little Tokyo is a religious, work, cultural, restaurant and shopping district and most people that frequent the area live in other regions of Los Angeles County, such as Torrance or Gardena.

Little Tokyo is the home to several landmarks, all within only a 4 city blocks radius. You will find The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, the Japanese American National Museum, the Geffen Contemporary (formally the Museum of Contemporary Art and East West Players (one of the 1^st Asian American Theater Companies) in Little Tokyo, just to name a handful. If art is your passion, make sure to visit all of the creative establishments in Lil' Tokyo. The region is rich in public art and culture and a major contributor to the diversity of Los Angeles.