Japanese Village Plaza: Snacks Under $5!
By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22
Looking to explore Los Angeles, but not really sure where to go? Check out the Japanese Village Plaza in Little Tokyo! With great scenery, great music, and great food, it’s the perfect place if you’re looking to get off of campus. Simply hop on the expo line right from campus, ride eastbound to 7th St/Metro Center, transfer to the Red/Purple train eastbound to Union Station, transfer one last time to the Gold Line southbound towards Atlantic Station before getting off right at Little Tokyo. From there, use this guide to score some of the best snacks available!
Mitsuro Cafe
Mitarashi Dango ($2.50) is one of my absolute favorites and I always get it any time I find myself in Little Tokyo. This warm dumpling is made from rice and covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze!
Dorayaki ($2.00), or Red Bean Cake took a while to grow on me, but maybe it won’t for you! This crispy pastry has a sweetened bean paste filling.
Yamazaki
This bakery has a wide variety of homemade pastries, but Madelines ($3.00) are my usual go-to. These sweet, spongey butter cakes that are absolutely delicious.
Steamed Buns ($2.20) are my little brother’s (yes, he’s the one in the picture) favorite. He always asks for the chicken curry one, but Yamazaki offers vegetable, pork, and a bunch of other fillings.
Mikawaya Mochi
Mochi Ice Cream ($1.50), as the name suggests, is a confection made from Japanese mochi with an ice cream filling and Mikawaya Mochi is near the top of the leaderboard in terms of unique flavors. This particular one is sundae flavor, but in the past I’ve had s’mores, birthday cake, and vanilla blueberry!
‘Lette Macarons
You cannot go wrong with a Macaron ($2.40)! This particular shop has the option of placing a spoonful of ice cream right in between these french cookies, so if it is not super cold when you visit (like it was for me), I totally recommend trying it out!
Nijiya Market
I’m not really sure how to sell someone on Gummy Candy ($1.89), but if you enjoy the ones you get at typical convince stores, you will probably like these ones too!
Pocky ($1.89) is a pretty popular snack, but the Nijiya Market has a wide range of unique flavors that you’re way less likely to find in a traditional grocery store. If you don’t know already, Pocky are basically biscuit sticks with flavored coatings and are absolutely delicious. Try them out!
Onigiri ($1.89) are balls of rice, usually wrapped with nori seaweed and containing a meat or vegetable filling. This particular one was filled with bonito flakes, but there were tons of other ones available too!
Tanota Takoyaki
Now this might be a little bit of cheat, but considering it’s 8 for $8.00, I still thought I would put it in. Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack that is usually filled with diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onions. Maybe it was because I had already been eating so many snacks throughout the day, but this was super filling; so either come on an empty stomach or share with a friend!
Sushi & Teri
I know California Rolls ($5.00) get clowned for being one of the most basic versions of sushi, but hey, people like it for a reason! If you’re okay with being basic, go grab a few from Sushi & Teri or try some of there other options.
Cafe Dulce
This was my first time trying both the Fruity Pebbles and Bacon (not pictured!) Donut Holes ($1.00) and yes, they were both delicious. Cafe Dulce also has a multitude of other offerings all under $5, but I could only justify spending so much on a bunch of donuts. I will definitely be coming back for their Cinnamon Toast Crunch Donut though.
Happy eating!
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