10 miles to the other side of the world

Over the weekend my lovely wifey, Maisie, and I took a trip downtown to Little Tokyo. Although the little city is just several miles away, entering the tiny plaza is like going to another world. The signs were all in Japanese and the words swirling through the summer air were spoken in a foreign tongue. It was utterly enchanting. I have, of course, been to little Tokyo before. In fact, my 13th birthday was a scavenger hunt that took place in the plaza. My friends and I dashed through the stores, attempting to find the things on our lists. But this newer experience was much more intimate, much more personal than the last time. This time 'round, Maisie and I took time to enjoy ourselves. There was no harried rush, no sense of urgency to our adventure. Rather it was an opportunity to spend time with one another.

(ootd: dress - Urban Outfitters)

Some highlights from the trip included:

- Our trip to the Sanrio store where we saw Hello Kitty dolls dressed up as Kiss band members (they wouldn't let us take photos)

- Getting Maisie to try boba for the first time. This type of drink is a favorite of mine and the place near my work makes the best coconut boba ever!

- Trying macaroons for the first time! This was super exciting for me as I have a certain affinity for French things, and the small cookies did not disappoint. We got two, raspberry and salted caramel. I had a hard time deciding which one I liked more.

- Going into a video store where none of the movies had English titles and the children's movies were a bit to close to the porn section, which we wandered into by accident. As soon as we realized what was going on, we ran out of the store and started laughing hysterically. I don't think the lady who worked there was too happy with us.

- Visiting the Japanese-American culture museum. This was super interesting and had some wonderful art and photography exhibits. I highly recommend going. We also wrote our blog url's down in the message journals they had there. So if you found us in there - thank you for taking the time to visit.

The thing I love most about Little Tokyo is that it gives you a chance to experience a totally different culture without going so far away. If you ever have a free weekend, you should go check out whatever little city is closest to your home. There is no such thing as too much cultural exposure!!

♡