Please Help Save Little Tokyo, it may be lost forever...

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, The place I grew up going to every weekend since I was little. At age 16, I started attending the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, and started volunteering at the Japanese American National Museum. Now 21 years later, after making my name known in Little Tokyo, from the various Organizations I have volunteered with. Now all that we love about Little Tokyo may be gone forever.

It all started years ago when the Yaohan Department store and Market closed down and various places in the Yaohan plaza closed down, the Little Tokyo Bowl and the movie theatre. I recently heard that some Korean investors bought the plaza and started to evict the Japanese Businesses to replace with Korean stores. I am appalled at the idea that non Japanese are buying up all the properties in the Lil Tokyo area and destroying the feeling and look one of the few last remaining J-towns in the America.

Then there is the eyesore of the Office Depot that moved from Alameda to 2nd and Central. Expensive condos are popping up in every available space left. What else is going to disappear, The Fire Tower, all of our favorite Japanese Food places? You know things are going downhill when a Starbucks, Subway and Johnny Rockets show up in your town. Sunday I read in the Los Angeles Times, about the third week in a row our town was in the paper. There was an article about how MTA wants to build a train connection through Little Tokyo. Not the Gold Line that just opened last week, a connection I think to the Blue Line to Union Station.

What can we do to save the town that we all love? Who can we turn to? JANM, JACCC, and of the Temple's. Is there even a Little Tokyo Historical Society, if there is where the Hell are they. If they exist how come I can't find them online? Hopefully someone will step forward to Protect the last remaining parts of Little Tokyo. Will there even be a Nisei Week Celebration years from now, when the Japanese culture dies in our town. Now I am depressed with all that is happening so fast. Trying to hold on tight to my memories of the past.

If you have any thought or comments on this subject, please comment here or join my Friends of Little Tokyo Group on Facebook.

Is anyone even listening to me?

Hi everyone, Just wondering is anyone actually reading my blogs? If I do have a audience here, Please comment on my postings. So I know that I am not just talking to myself here. I have alot to talk about now...

Taking a lil Break

Hello all, I will be taking a little break blogging. will be back soon with more stuff to post. Don't give up on me yet.

A New Name and A New Hobby

First off, The last 3 weeks, I have been changing things with the Ghost Hunting group. I changed the name from JL & Associates Paranormal Investigations to Little Tokyo Paranormal Research Society. The new name sounds more professional, and easier for people to remember. The email has also been changed to liltokyoprs@gmail.com, there will be a new blog site and possibly a website.

Second, Phuong and I have started a new hobby. We started bowling each week at the Alhambra Bowling Center with one of our friends from the Temple. Got my old bowling ball re-drilled, the one I bought years ago at the Little Tokyo Bowling alley. (The one that was on the third floor of the old Yaohan plaza.) We even bought our own shoes so we wont have to wear those disgusting ugly rental shoes. We both got Dexter shoes, she got the slip ons and I got the one named Jeff with a cool red and white design. these feel like regular sneakers, really comfortable, unlike those stiff rental ones.

Good Girl Dinette

Hi Everyone, Phuong and I finally had dinner at the Good Girl Dinette in Highland Park. They may be the first Vietnamese Restaurant in Highland Park that I know of. Its located in the Old Masonic Temple building on Ave 56 and Figueroa. Phuong and I both ordered the Grandma's Pho, which was pretty tasty. I don't usually drink the soup whenever I eat Pho, but their Pho chicken broth was really good. I even had the home made Pop, which was good too. Unfortunately they were out of Pies or the dessert that we wanted. So next time we will go earlier in the day. The owner Diep Tran was really nice too. I would recommend this place for anyone who love's Pho.

Nisei Week

This past weekend on Sat August 15th, Phuong and I were special volunteers at the Japanese American National Museum's 11th Annual Courtyard Kids Festival. We worked in the Lily Pond game booth. Its the game with the small swimming pool full of water with glass bowls floating on little donut shaped lily pads. The object of the game is to throw a ping pong ball into the bowl. It was a fun game for little kids, not the adults. Adults had trouble getting the ball to stay in the bowl. The kids were winning like crazy since we had Boogie Boards for the main prize if you got two balls in the bowl. Phuong and I had fun, but now we are both really sore after running after ping pong balls all day.

Last night we went to the Nisei Week Parade and this is the first time we actually staked out a good spot. Note to self for next year, get a spot on Second street. The spot we were in across from JANM's historic building was at the end of the parade this year. It took forever to finally get around to us, and when the end hit it got really cold out and alot of people were freezing. My highlights of the parade were, Our Temple's Taiko group Bonbu playing on the back of a a truck, the Nebuta Float from Japan, The Mikoshi and seeing my friends in the parade.

So hopefully next year, Phuong and I will most likely be real volunteers for JANM, we should be out of debt by then, to have some free time to help out in the community. Other news, we have started going to the Tuesday Night Cafe's outside East West Players (EWP), which is on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Its kind of like a Asian American Variety show, with Music Bands, Spoken word artists, open mic, and other community presentations. Well, this is it for this weeks update. Next weekend is we are going to try to dance in Nisei Weeks Bon Odori street dance, which closes the week long festivities.

Back to Blogging

Hi everyone, I am back to blogging after a short vacation. Summer has been hectic, trying to go O'bon hopping, and working my Temple's O'bon Festival. Haven't been ghost hunting for a while, since one of our members is in a play for a few weeks, and one member was away in Hawaii for the month. We will be starting everything up again soon and I will also go back into my research of Little Tokyo's history for both books we are working on.

Phuong and I saw two movies today, Julie & Julia and The Proposal, Both were great movies. Julie & Julia was about both food and blogging, and it inspired me to start blogging again. I wonder if anyone is even listening to my rants here, or am I talking to myself? Well this is the start of me writing again. I may not write everyday like I said, but I will try to update this blog at least once a week, so don't give up on me yet.

Death, and the Afterlife.

I have been thinking about Death lately. Please don't misunderstand me and think that I am suicidal. I am not. As a person fascinated in ghosts, and the afterlife, Death is there right on the horizon. We can't escape it, it will come soon enough. So what's next? We die and then what? Religions tell us that we will either go to a Heavenly place in the sky or to hell, a fiery pit down below. In some sects of Buddhism, we don't really die, the flame of our self keeps going into new bodies as in Reincarnation.

As a ghost hunter, that is one of my goals is to learn about this Death, and where it will take us. A search for an afterlife. Do we just keep on going in a spiritual body, on with our lives watching and protecting our families who are still living. Or do we just move on into the oblivion or merge the God or Goddess head. From all the Obake Ghost stories I have been reading, seems like some of us will be stuck here walking along side by side with the living, instead of moving on.

Another idea I have been thinking about, when ever a person dies a new one is born at that brief moment. Those who have no unfinished business, will just come back to an earthly existence in a brief flash. Sometimes I think that just happens to keep the earth well balanced with continuing life. We die and are reborn again and again. Those who decide to stop this existence have already learned as much as they can about Life.

Here is a quote from the Buddhist Three Treasures,

"Hard is it to be born into human life. Now we are living it. Difficult is it to hear the teaching of the blessed one. Now we hear it. If we do not enlighten ourselves in the present life, no hope is there that we shall be freed from suffering and sorrow in the ocean of birth and death. Let us reverently take guidance from the Three Treasures of the Truth."

When you think about Death, you have to think about Life too. They both go hand in hand. Some how I wonder if life is so much pain and suffering, why would anyone in their right mind decide to stay and haunt a place. What's the reason holding them here? Why don't they move on or cross over? Take some time in your daily life and think about Death, its not as Taboo as it used to be. Its sung about in songs, made into art and is in our daily lives. When you do this, you will seem to understand what it means to Live a long and fulfilled life.

Have you seen people who are diagnosed with Cancer, or another life threatening illness have changed their outlook at life. They start to really live a fulfilling life and are no longer afraid of death. That is how we should live our every day lives. Live like its your last day on earth. Just live. Ok this is it for todays blog. See you next time.

Little Tokyo History Booklet Project

A friend and I are working on a small book on the history of Little Tokyo, with info on the shops and restaurants of Little Tokyo, stating a little bit of the history of the shops. It will probably be a pocket size book, catered to the New people moving into the Little Tokyo condos. A guide book of the Little Tokyo we know. You are probably thinking what experience do I have to write a book on the history of Little Tokyo? I have been a part of Little Tokyo since I was 16.

I was one of the first Volunteers of the Japanese American National Museum, when the museum didn't exist as a museum yet. Back when their office was on 3rd and Traction in the Arts District near Little Tokyo. Been a volunteer in the old Nishi Honganji Building when JANM first opened. I worked in the Legacy Center on the Camp Computer, helping people who were interned look for their files, I was also a photographer working with Norman Sugimoto and the other staff of the museum. I seemed to have been closer to the staff of JANM then to the volunteers. I have experience helping set up and take down exhibits, Museum store experience too. More like a Jack of all trades. I was also a part of the Outreach committee, worked at a few JANM events away from the museum.

My other experiences in Little Tokyo include, being a Volunteer for A3M, being on the staff of AISAREMA/Disorient, A member and Brief President of the local APAN-JACL chapter, Helped out at JACCC and was also a member of Zenshuji Buddhist Temple and their Zazenkai for a year.
I have always been interested in the history of Little Tokyo...so from all that I have posted, there should be no problem with me writing a book on the History of Little Tokyo. we hope that we wont have a problem with the Little Tokyo Historical Society, Until recently I never heard of their group. Seems like they are hiding in the shadows of Little Tokyo. Why is it so hard to find info on their organization, or a email address? Who knows.

I know there is a need for Historical books on Los Angele's Little Tokyo, they are pretty scarce, there is one book that Visual Communications had published but unfortunatly its out of print. Have you ever walked into a bookstore looking for a book on the History of Little Tokyo, well I have and always ended up coming out empty handed and upset. I will be starting a group on facebook to start recruiting people for our own organization. If anyone want to help out with our book project please comment on this blog, or email me on facebook. Til next time, stay safe and cool.

Changes to this blog

You may have noticed that I took out Ghost Hunting from the what this blog is about. I have made a seperate blog for my ghost hunting adventures. I will keep the google adds for now, I know its wrong to have Japanese dating sites advertised on the blog, I have no choice and I wished I could filter those out...