-
Chinatown’s Scammy Buddhist Temple
There’s a new Buddhist temple in Chinatown and I don’t know what to make of it. Is it a legit temple? Maybe. Is it scammy? I think so. Thus, I’m here to write about this temple in hopes that it will enlighten anyone visiting Chinatown, especially those on the extra curious or nosy side of the spectrum.
-
Anime Days
Not long ago, I attended Anime Days, which was held at STC Gardenwalk in Anaheim. If STC Gardenwalk sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because it was the location for the Japanese Festival that I decided to skip out on. It was a free event featuring various vendors, cosplayers, a maid cafe, itasha cars and more.
-
Itasha Cars at Anime Days
Away from the hustle and bustle of Anime Days was an area on the “sea level” where you see itasha cars. What are itasha cars? They’re basically “anime” cars since itasha cars feature at least one anime character. The more accurate definition is something along the lines of “cringey” looking cars since they’re cars that stand out and depending on what’s your cup of tea, they may indeed be “cringey” for you to look at. So, were the itasha cars here cringey?
-
Shotokan Karate of America Exhibition & Tournament
I recently attended a karate exhibition and tournament held by Shotokan Karate of America (SKA). It was held inside Little Tokyo’s Terasaki Budokan. While I didn’t stay for the whole tournament, here’s the gist of my experience:
-
Natsumatsuri at JANM
Natsumatsuri was held at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). It was held the same weekend as Nisei Week, which meant that you could enjoy Nisei Week’s activities (ex. Karate exhibition and tournament) in addition to Natsumatsuri. With so many things to do in one area that is Little Tokyo, I of course didn’t stay put at JANM’s Natsumatsuri but here is what I did get to enjoy: