Japanese goods & galleries · E 1st St and E 2nd St between San Pedro St and Central Ave
Little Tokyo & Arts District
1st St to the Arts District.
Downtown's historic Japanese American neighborhood packs mochi makers, bookshops, record stores and anime shops along 1st and 2nd Streets and Japanese Village Plaza. A short walk east, the Arts District's former warehouses hold the Hauser & Wirth gallery complex, design bookshops and Dover Street Market's LA outpost.
Japanese goods · Galleries · Metro A & E
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- In our directory
- 17 shopseach one verified
- Where
- E 1st St and E 2nd St between San Pedro St and Central AveJapanese goods & galleries
- Right now
- Typical hours11am–7pm
- Getting here
- Metro A and E LinesLittle Tokyo/Arts District station, 402 E 1st St.
Insider guide
Shopping Little Tokyo.
The story
Little Tokyo is Downtown's historic Japanese American neighborhood, packed with mochi makers, bookshops, record stores and anime shops. Confectioner Fugetsu-Do was founded here in 1903. A short walk east, the Arts District's former warehouses and rail yards hold the Hauser & Wirth gallery complex, design bookshops and Dover Street Market's LA outpost.
In Little Tokyo, the shops run along E 1st St and E 2nd St between San Pedro St and Central Ave, plus Japanese Village Plaza and Weller Court. The Arts District spreads along E 3rd St from Hewitt St to Santa Fe Ave, then Traction Ave, Mateo St and ROW DTLA at 777 S Alameda St.
What to Expect
Start at Kinokuniya's 14,000 sq ft flagship, open since July 2026, with a large translated manga section, stationery and Ghibli and anime goods. Along 1st St, Fugetsu-Do (315) makes mochi and wagashi, Dear Vanilla (319) sells kimono and Edo- to Showa-era collectibles, and Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe (328) bakes curry pan. In Japanese Village Plaza, Japangeles sells Japanese-motif tees and hoodies. The 300 block of E 2nd St is a short record and pop-culture crawl: Anime Jungle (319) for figures and trading cards, Salt Box Records (320) for funk inside the Hello Stranger event space, POP Little Tokyo (349) for tees packaged like LPs, and Going Underground Records (356½) for punk and metal.
In the Arts District, Hauser & Wirth is a free gallery with a garden, the ARTBOOK bookstore and the restaurant Manuela. Hennessey + Ingalls sells art, architecture and design books. Dover Street Market Los Angeles stocks avant-garde designer and streetwear collections, 3sixteen sells its denim and menswear, and Olive Ateliers is a warehouse of antique furniture, pots and fountains.
Best Time to Visit
Little Tokyo shops open around 10 to 11am and close 6 to 8pm; Kinokuniya is open daily 11am to 8pm. Arts District galleries and shops keep roughly 11am to 6pm, and several close early in the week. Hauser & Wirth is closed Mondays, and Olive Ateliers opens only Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Salt & Straw stays open until 11pm every night. The Japanese American National Museum and its store are closed for renovation until about January 2027.
If You Only Have an Hour
Start at Kinokuniya. Walk along 1st St to Fugetsu-Do (315) and Dear Vanilla (319). Cut through Japanese Village Plaza to Japangeles, then finish on E 2nd St at Salt Box Records (320) and POP Little Tokyo (349).
Where to Eat
In Little Tokyo, Marugame Monzo rolls and cuts its udon in a window; order the kitsune udon or miso carbonara udon. Between the neighborhoods, Hojokban serves a crispy kimchi pancake and a galbi platter. In the Arts District, Camphor is French, with a Comté tartine; Bavel is Middle Eastern, so order the malawach platter or lamb neck shawarma; and Bestia does pizza, pasta and house charcuterie.
The directory
17 shops, all in one place.
Tap a shop or a dot on the map to see it.
Books3 places
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Flagship Japanese bookstore of about 14,000 sq ft with Japanese and English books, a large translated manga section, stationery, Hello Kitty, Ghibli and anime goods.
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Bookstore inside the Hauser & Wirth complex selling contemporary art and culture titles, magazines, children's books and the gallery's own artist catalogues.
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Specialist bookstore for art, art history, architecture, photography, interior design, graphic design and landscape books, in the One Santa Fe complex.
Food & drink3 places
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Family-owned mochi and wagashi maker in business for more than 120 years, selling traditional mochi, peanut butter and chocolate mochi, rainbow dango and boxed assortments.
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Japanese bakery inside the Miyako Hotel using Hokkaido flour for breads like curry pan and mentai salt butter rolls, with Groundwork coffee and an Ohtani mural outside.
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Bright, spacious ice cream scoop shop on the E 3rd St gallery strip, open until 11pm every night, which suits a stop after an evening gallery visit.
Records & music2 places
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Funk-focused record shop inside the Hello Stranger event space, with US classics, European 45s, Japanese city pop and new funk releases.
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New and used vinyl across genres with deep punk and metal bins, a few doors from POP Little Tokyo on 2nd Street.
Vintage1 place
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Kimono shop selling authentic kimono and accessories alongside Edo- to Showa-era craft objects, woodblock prints, old publications and rare collectibles.
Fashion1 place
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Streetwear label remixing Japanese motifs such as Mt. Fuji, bonsai and maneki-neko onto tees and hoodies; the brand sells in this Japanese Village Plaza shop only.
Gifts1 place
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T-shirt shop known for tongue-in-cheek tees packaged like LP records, plus original in-house graphic designs, on the 2nd Street strip.
Specialty1 place
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Anime collectibles shop stocking figures, trading cards, tabletop games, books and DVD and Blu-ray releases on the 300 block of E 2nd St.
Coffee1 place
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Japanese Village Plaza bakery-cafe pouring LAMILL coffee and tea, known for matcha roti, donuts, pastries, cakes and tarts, with sandwiches later in the day.
Galleries1 place
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Free gallery with rotating large-scale exhibitions, a garden, a bookstore and the restaurant Manuela on site; entry never needs advance booking.
Luxury1 place
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The Los Angeles outpost of the multi-label designer store, stocking avant-garde designer and streetwear collections on Imperial Street in the southern Arts District.
Menswear1 place
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Los Angeles flagship of the denim-focused menswear label, selling its jeans alongside shirts, jackets, blazers, shoes and small accessories like enamel pins.
Home1 place
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Warehouse store for one-of-a-kind antique and aged furniture, decor, pots, planters, troughs and fountains sourced worldwide, with new containers arriving weekly.
No shops in that category here yet.
This week
In Little Tokyo this week.
Typical hours
Most shops keep the hours below.
Hours vary by individual store. Always check with specific retailers.
Eat, drink, stay
Between shops, close by.
Top restaurants nearby
All of Eat →- Fugetsu-DoJapanese sweets (wagashi) · Family-run Japanese confectionery on 1st Street in Little Tokyo making mochi and manju, including peanut butter mochi, strawberry anko and rainbow dango.
- Marugame MonzoMichelin pickJapanese udon · Udon shop on 1st Street where cooks roll and cut wheat noodles in a window. Order the kitsune udon, cold plum shiso bukkake or miso carbonara udon.$$
- BestiaMichelin pickItalian · Italian restaurant on 7th Place in the Arts District serving pizza, pasta and house charcuterie. Reservations on OpenTable.
- BavelMiddle Eastern · Middle Eastern restaurant on Mateo Street in the Arts District. Order the malawach platter, grilled prawns with tzatziki and lamb neck shawarma.
- CamphorMichelin pickFrench · French restaurant on 3rd Street in the Arts District. Order the Comté tartine, the bar burger and the chicken ballotine; reservations on Resy.
- HojokbanKorean · Korean restaurant on 3rd Street between Little Tokyo and the Arts District. Order the crispy kimchi pancake, beef tartare and the galbi platter.$$
Top hotels nearby
All of Stay →- Hotel
kodō hotel
8-room Arts District hotel in a century-old former fire station, with Japanese-inspired rooms, a Japanese restaurant and kodō Café.
710 S Santa Fe Avenue ·
Ratings are the scores saved in our directory and are not live. Check the listing for the current score.
Getting here
Parking and transit.
- PParkingMetro A and E Lines stop at Little Tokyo/Arts District station, 402 E 1st St, between the two neighborhoods. Hauser & Wirth points drivers to lots at 222 S Hewitt St, 713 E 3rd St, 830 Traction Ave and 606 E 1st St, and there is free street parking on Mateo and 8th Streets.
- SMetro A and E LinesLittle Tokyo/Arts District station, 402 E 1st St.
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Guides for Little Tokyo
All guides →
Little Tokyo to the Arts District in a Day
Start with mochi and manga on 1st Street, crawl the record shops on 2nd, then walk east to Hauser & Wirth's free galleries, two great art bookshops and the warehouse stores of the Arts District.
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