Learning about Cultures in Los Angelos

We packed up this crazy bunch of kids for a full day of learning about Japanese and Chinese history and culture.

 Our first stop was the Chinese History Museum. No photos were allowed so I can't show you all the cool things we saw. Most of the Museum was about the Chinese coming the USA. I didn't know about the restriction our country had in the past on the number of Chinese allowed into the country each year. Some came into the country more easily because there was a fire that destroyed many records. Just like NY City had Ellis island, CA had Angel island where the immigrants were first taken. They went through extensive testing and interrogations. We were able to read some of the transcripts from these interrogations.

 Right next to the Chinese History Museum was the first fire station in LA. There was a Museum set up in the building with a few things to check out.

 Also unexpected was a Mexican market, Aztex dancers and the oldest house in LA was right there outside the Chinese Museum. So we couldn't move onto the Japanese Museum without first experiencing the Mexican culture right in front of us.

 I really enjoyed this museum. Again no photos allowed in the exhibits. We learned a lot about the Japanese concentration camps in the USA during World War II. It was sad the way this ethnicity was treated when so many of them were fighting for our country during the war. There was a gentlemen there that lived in the concentration camps from age 2-5. He shared his experience and pictures from the camp. There was also another gentlemen who taught us how to make origami shirts from dollar bills.

 This is a very popular comic that was on display for the year of the rabbit.

 When we finished all the museums, we walked around Little Tokyo. The bakery had many yummy sweets. I decided on a red bean danish. Each of the kids got to try a bit of it.

 We also picked a special treat from the Japanese Market after walking through and checking out authentic Japanese food. After having a few sweet treats, we decided on a Ramen Noodle restaurant for dinner.

 Curry chicken ramen

Dinner was absolutely delicious and we were all stuffed despite the fact that we all shared a bowl. I loved that we all got something different so we really got to taste many different types. Their noodles were awesome but I really enjoyed their fried rice. I would love to be able to make fried rice that delicious! Dinner completed our cultural experience of the day and we head back up the Pacific Coast Highway back home. It is such a beautiful drive along the coast.