Sawtelle Japantown

We’re exploring one of our favorite neighborhoods – Sawtelle Blvd a.k.a Little Osaka but officially named Sawtelle Japantown while rocking our Rowdy Sprout tees from Kamari kids!  If you’re not familiar with this West Los Angeles street, the area is surrounded by a large Japanese American community and its hard to miss the beautiful Japanese influence through the landscapes and gardens in nearby homes. The strip between Olympic and Santa Monica Blvd. is where you’ll find diverse eateries, shops, and an art gallery. I’m working hard on raising FOODIES, so we love coming here to eat but with kids in tow…we try our best to avoid the rush!

One of our go-to-sushi spots, which happens to be Caiden’s favorite restaurant, is Kula Revolving Sushi Bar. It’s good fresh quality sushi that’s $2.25/plate…and the best part…they’re placed on a conveyor belt for you to grab! If you don’t see what you want, every table is equipped with a touch screen for you to order. How fun is that?

FYI – you can be waiting for up to an hour to be seated but there’s Daiso and Nijiya Market located in the same plaza to keep you busy.

Think Daiso as the Japanese version of 99 Cents Only Store and Dollar Tree! You’ll find useful (and cute) household, craft, travel, office, kitchen goods and more for $1.50!!! It’s dangerous when the kids and I go in.

Travel + Bathroom aisle in Daiso.

You can find Japanese Snacks at Nijiya Market, including Pokemon treats.

Now on to the sweets! After we eat, we like to take a stroll (you know- to burn some calories) towards the amazing dessert spots on the strip. When the weather is nice and warm, the kids love going to Brain’s Shave Ice for authentic Hawaiian shaved snow. They get three flavors to choose from, a filling (always DOLE WHIP) and it’s topped with snow cap (condensed milk). Another nearby favorite is Blockheads Shavery, if we’re not in the mood for shaved ice…we opt for their shaved ice cream. But if you’re looking for desserts on the warmer side, B Sweet Dessert Bar has amazing bread pudding as well as nitro cold brew coffee to help keep us awake. Oh! I can’t forget about Boba or Bubble Tea…and luckily there’s plenty of places to chose from on Sawtelle, like Volcano Tea House and MJ Cafe Express.

Brian’s Shave Ice has Dole Whip!

B Sweet Dessert Bar – Salted Caramel Bread Pudding + Nitro Cold Brew Coffee

And finally, after a little sugar high, we like to check out Giant Robot, a fun store that sells knick knacks like vinyl figurines, books, clothes, Japanese anime merchandise, collectibles, and more! Whenever we go in – Caiden comes out with lots of wish list add-ons. Across the street, you’ll find GR2 Gallery, where you can walk-in to check out their current exhibition and shop for prints from local artists.

Blind Boxes at Giant Robot

Thanks for following along and I hope you get a chance to explore Sawtelle Japantown. And for more Rockin’ style clothes like the Kurt Cobain and Beastie Boys tees the boys are wearing, head over to www.kamarikids.com.