Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents: Saturday in Sawtelle Japantown

Many people have asked me, what they should do with their parents in L.A. In the third post in the series Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents, I talk about our chill Saturday. I also cover a new neighborhood for the blog, Sawtelle Japantown. Here is my Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents Saturday edition.

NOTE: As of this update, COVID-19 regulations are still in place for Los Angeles county. A cheat sheet is located here.

Saturday

I find that building in that chill day, where you stay local, and regroup is helpful when planning your Los Angeles itinerary for parents. Although my parent’s visit this time was not as jam-packed, there were vacations when we were busier than we should have been. These visits really helped me to develop my blog and pages like this one.

My parents always want to find ways to help us around the house, which in a rental is really limited. Although there are things around the apartment that I definitely know could have been done better by my dad–looking at you person who didn’t prime the cabinets before putting on another coat of paint–we are limited in what we can do. You know, deposits and such. I racked my brain to find something that they can do until I realized that there were two things I have wanted in my home that I seem to never get around to doing myself.

Items checked off of the table of likes: Plants, craft beer, and Japan

Getting crafty in Los Angeles

Task 1: Turn my patio into a jungle

Is being a crazy plant lady a thing? I feel the same way about leaving plants at stores that some people feel about leaving pet stores without all of the pets. Maybe too many sad plants have come with with me from the grocery store to have a better life. Since I grew up surrounded by plants, having them around makes a place feel more like home. Now that I have a sizable patio, I really wanted a succulent garden. Fortunately for me, my mom has a green thumb and an eye for aesthetics.

Task 2: Hang some art

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When I knew that I wanted to start blogging about Los Angeles, I began a feverish desire to explore this city from end to end. Los Angeles is really a beautiful city and pretty photogenic if I say so myself. Since blogs are so visual, I made sure I had a good camera and proceeded to jump on trains, hike up mountains, stroll the beaches, and soak in as much as possible. I have a lot of photos and memories of that time and wanted to hang some of the photos I have taken around the apartment.

Having two specific goals in mind, I needed to think about where I could get them done in a city that is so spread apart. I didn’t want to go to Santa Monica for one things and then the San Gabriel Valley for the other thing. Although it might not come to mind immediately and you may think of this neighborhood as more of a food(ie) destination, there is a logical choice to get all of this done.

Sawtelle Japantown (nee Little Osaka)

For a few blocks between Santa Monica Blvd and Pico, Sawtelle is a street full of restaurants and businesses where decades old mom-and-pops meet new restaurants from Japan and Taiwan expanding to U.S. markets  This area has more restaurants per square block than any other area in the city. Some of the best ramen, udon, sushi, and fried chicken can be found on Sawtelle. Even better is that this is a great place to get something to eat after 9:00 p.m. This street isn’t all about eating. There are plenty of places to check out in between meals.

Just an FYI that a couple of years ago, Little Osaka was rebranded to be Sawtelle Japantown. If you are looking for Little Osaka, it is the same place. You can also file this Los Angeles Itinerary for Parents on a Saturday for craft lovers and exploring Sawtelle Japantown.

Giant Robot & GR2 Gallery

I had to sneak in some art somewhere didn’t I? Giant Robot and its sister GR2 gallery close by are both filled with art inspired by anime and manga. The gallery has one-of-a-kind art that you can buy and also hosts a comedy night. Owner Eric Nakamura explains both locations and gives some L.A. recommendations here. 

Nuart

The Nuart theater, on Santa Monica Blvd., specializes in independent and art house films that you would be hard-pressed to find showings for anywhere else in the city. They also have a weekly midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Blackbeard Crafts

Although the name evokes thoughts of pirate cosplay or renegade knitters, Blackbeard Crafts is really a craft beer paradise. We tend to stop here whenever we are in Sawtelle to check out the amazing variety that they have. This is a small but mighty liquor store that holds over 800 brands of beer, bottles of wine, and sake. Plus the people behind the counter know their stuff and they are nice about it. 

What we did

Because the sky opened up for a good 30 minutes of pouring rain, we decided to eat first and shop later.

Plan Check

Consistently voted one of the best burgers in Los Angeles and having a wide selection of craft beer, we thought that this would be a great place to stop to get out of the rain.

This is the original location of Plan Check. All locations serve elevated bar food with local ingredients. There are no reservations here. It is first come first serve, as many of the restaurants on Sawtelle. With a larger space than the average Sawtelle restaurant and not being as big of a draw as the Japanese, Filipino, and Korean restaurants on the street getting a table here isn’t as long of a wait.

Hours, cost, and other information

• Website: https://plancheck.com/
• Location: 1800 Sawtelle
• Eat: We had the bar dip trio–those house made potato chips are like crack. Most of us had burgers and one had the breakfast burrito, which is no joke. The size of a fire log and smothered in green chili. The burger is pretty darn good, but I am more of a fan of the smoked fried chicken.
• Cost: The dip trio is a great bet at $9, the burgers were $16, we shared fries at $7 for the large, and the breakfast burrito was $12, beers were around $9 and cocktails around $12

Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery

Since the rain only lasted during lunch, we thought it was okay to wander Sawtelle to peruse the three plant nurseries in the four square block area. We didn’t get too far finding everything we needed at our first stop, Yamaguchi. If you can think of a houseplant or really any plant, you can find it here. My inner plant lady was absolutely in heaven. We spent forty minutes or so picking out a giant pot and about a half dozen green and orange-hued succulents.

A section of the lot is dedicated to Bonsai that is artfully designed, some decades old. I think I would walk through there just to feel relaxed, although the upkeep of bonsai intimidates me.

I think you should support mom and pops like Yamaguchi when you can.

Hours, cost, and other information

• Website: https://yamaguchinursery.com
• Location: 1905 Sawtelle
• Cost: It really does depend on what you are getting. I thought it was going to be really expensive due to it being on a highly coveted street, but I thought it was really reasonable.

[Getting there: Sawtelle is accessible by Metro 4/704, 734, Big Blue Bus 5 &17. It is a walkable 4 blocks from the Sepulveda stop on the Expo line]

Dick Blick

A little further west on Santa Monica is one of the few Dick Blick stores left. This one is jam-packed. I have been mourning the loss of Aaron Brothers and their huge selection of frames. I heard that they were bought out by Michael’s. There is still a Michael’s in Sawtelle, but I found the selection a bit lacking–small and completely picked over. Luckily both Michael’s and Dick Blick are so close together. 

This place really is a paradise for artists, especially for people like me who still like to be able to look at things in person, since artists’ tools are so personal.

Hours, cost, and other information

• Website: https://www.dickblick.com/stores/california/west-los-angeles/
• Location: 11531 Santa Monica Blvd.

All in all this crafty adventure was a success.

Although people only think of Sawtelle Japantown as a foodie destination I hope I made you realize what a crafty wonderland this area can be. I didn’t talk about food that much in this post. The reason is that I really haven’t had too many bad meals on this street. A survey of the foodie groups I belong to had no real consensus because a lot of places on this street are good. Not surprisingly, I had one of the worst meals ever at the revolving sushi place that also, not surprisingly, has a revolving name. So, skip that one. If you have a personal recommendation, feel free to leave it in the comments.

Definitely do not skip areas like this one on your Los Angeles itinerary for parents.

Here is EaterLA’s list of 12 Essential Restaurant in Sawtelle Japantown.

Next up, we visit an icon.