The End

     Feeling somewhat heroic for hitting so many of the places on our list, we ran across the street to re-join our group to head for the Gold Line stop. It turned out we probably could have stopped for a quick mochi. L

superhero pose!

     But we were also exhausted from running and starving. It was starting to show!

Exhausted

     Some groups weren't back yet, so we had a few minutes to check out the architecture of the building across from the museum.

     When everybody was reuinted, we walked over to the Gold Line station. Guess what? We MISSED THE TRAIN! So another race was on as we speed-walked all the way to Union Station. Okay, it wasn’t that far, but it wasn’t easy walking in a group of about 100 down the busy streets of Los Angeles – and getting stuck at a “don’t walk” sign when the rest of the group is going, going, gone!

     We made it to Union Station, headed for Platform 7B (all the while keeping an eye out for Platform 9 ¾) and boarded our Metrolink Train for the ride back to Pomona.



Union Station

     We lucked out and got seats on the upper level again.

View from the top of the train

     Fortunately, we also got seats with a table, which came in very  handy.

     Little Tokyo was a very interesting place, and I would like to go back again to spend more time looking around, (and less time panicking about missing something on the assignment list.) Thank you, Mr. Misawa, for making it possible for our class to get to experience Little Tokyo!

The End

Japanese Village Plaza

     On our way back to Japanese Village Plaza, we discovered there was a Japanese garden nearby. We had two choices: go right and see the garden, which would mean having absolutely no time for lunch, or go left, find a restaurant and eat in the very little time we had left. We chose food!

     The menu was rather long, and every food item had a picture.

     I ordered Kakiage Udon. It is a soup made with vegetables and shrimp bits coated with batter and deep fried.

     I loved it (except for the noodles), but I hope I never have to eat a meal that fast again!

     We barely finished our lunch before it was time to run (and I do mean run) back to the musuem to meet the rest of the group.

Weller Court

     By now, we were getting seriously worried about not getting enough of our list done. But across the street, shining like a beacon of hope, was Weller Court!

     We quickly found the memorial to Ellison Onizuka, one of the astronauts who died when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. In keeping with the way our day was going, we discovered the monument had a big sign on it saying it was being refurbished. But it was good to take a few moments to honor his memory. (And he certainly deserves a well-cared for monument!)

     By now, the members of our group were so hungry that we were incapable of deciding on a place to eat. Someone mentioned the Curry House, which we found:

     I took pictures of some of the delicious looking food in the window:

     Hunger must have dulled our senses, for instead of going in to eat, we ran up some stairs and posed for a picture, because we’d found the Kyoto Grand Hotel that was on our list!

     We also found the Kinokuniya Book Store and the Marukai Market, but neither one allowed us to take pictures inside.

     We knew there was supposed to be a statue on the corner where Weller Court was located, and indeed, we spotted one across the street. We raced over there for a picture. Was it the statue of Kinjiro Ninomiya we were looking for? We don’t know. Where a plaque identifying the statue should have been, there were just four empty holes. We took the picture anyway!

     Along the way, we found this graffiti-covered bench. I liked the look. I resisted the temptation to add my name to it.

     Hungry and almost out of time, we headed back to Japanese Village Plaza, desperately hoping some restaurants would be open...

Bunkado

     This store was filled with colorful Japanese items, and the owners were nice enough to let us take photographs. There was a whole section of glass cranes, but only one yellow one – which everyone wanted! Somehow, I was lucky enough to get to be the one who bought it.

Jungle

      Next, we stumbled over one of the destinations I was really looking forward to: Jungle! It’s an anime store, and I was hoping to be able to take a peek inside.

    

     Unfortunately, in keeping with what was turning out to be the theme of the day, Jungle was closed.

     We were starting to get frustrated!

     The good news was that we soon realized the Jungle we were supposed to find was located under the Union Bank of California. We had found the wrong store! The bad news was that once we found the correct Jungle, it too was closed.

     We were sad.

     About this time, we started to realize that (a) we were VERY hungry, and (b) there was no way we were going to be able to hit everything left on our list in the time we had remaining. Luckily, just as we realized this, we found a store that was on our list…Bunkado!

Anzen Hardware Store

      We spotted Anzen Hardware Store across the street, and were VERY happy when the kind owner let us come in and take pictures.

     The store was nothing like Home Depot! I found this bonsai tree:

     Some very colorful sandals:

     Boots that look like they’re for people with only two large toes:

     Some boxes that I admit I couldn’t read:

     And shelves filled with everything from backscratchers to baskets!

Fugetsudo Sweet Shop

     We had searched for the Fugetsudo Sweet Shop inside the Japanese Village Plaza and decided to look for it when we came back later. Luckily, we found it right down the street from the hardware store!

     Inside, we found so many delightful sweets that we could have stayed there ALL day. I chose Strawberry Gummy Candy and Orange High Chew, and I also bought a present for my biology partner, who was at school dealing with our fetal pig project while I was buying candy! (Thanks, Camille!) The owners were very kind, and let us take as many pictures as we wanted. Here are some of the delicious treats we found:

     Unfortunately, our chaperone kept checking her watch and tapping her foot, which meant we had to go!

     As we raced down the street to find our next destination, we realized we were running right over golden words placed in the cement of the sidewalk. The first one we found said, “As children we played on this street and all the shopkeepers knew us.” This picture shows our feet as we paused to appreciate that sentiment!