02-27-2009, 05:39 PM
I picked up my first kimono in Japantown (SF) a long time ago, and the last Chinese New Year I got to celebrate in LA, ended up with a migration to Little Tokyo.
Its something you won't find in Dallas. Not because the businesses are here, but because they aren't gather into one area. The Japanese businesses and restaurants are scattered all over the area. There are several Asian shopping areas in town, but they are mixed - Japanese, Korean, Chinese and SE Asian.
Only the Koreans have centralized in one prime area (and a second one has begun and is growing fast).
Its an interesting dynamic to me. The Japanese-American community here is very blended into the general population, but they have also managed to preserve far more of their unique culture than such assimilation usually does. They are a strong and unified community, despite geographic dispersion everywhere except the central part of our K-town.
Only an open mind and open heart can be filled with life. ********************* Find your voice; silence will not protect you.
|