Things I love today: Japantown

Rob and I arrived at kickball a half hour early last night. Instead of just going to wait in the park (my idea), Rob had the good plan to walk around Japantown. This is one of the only neighborhoods we hadn’t yet explored. We were missing out!

From the outside, Japantown doesn’t look inspiring. Unlike Chinatown, everything is inside a big mall and immaculate. There are so many tiny stores selling pottery, sweets, kimonos, furniture, stationary, books, car accessories and crepes. Lots of restaurants and even a Japanese supermarket. The Japanese flower arranging club that I was interested in a few months ago is also inside the mall and has their arrangements on display in the window. At one shop, I was enchanted by what I thought was bubble bath in adorable giraffe and bear shaped bottles. Good thing I eventually saw the sign that read “sale: toilet cleaner” before buying it!

It really felt like Rob and I had somehow teleported to Japan, except everyone spoke English as well as Japanese. After buying a lucky cat charm for my cell phone, it was time to head back to our kickball game. We’ll definitely be back in Japantown soon!