Smack in the middle of Torrance is a wonderland filled with tofu, bean pastries, manga and Hello Kitty.
Mitsuwa Marketplace is a Japanese grocery chain whose website won't translate into English for me. Alas, we will wing it.
The South Bay outpost of Mitsuwa is large, about the same size as a Costco. Roughly half the store is a grocery market specializing in Japanese food stuff. Carlos and I didn't spend too much time checking out this section. Instead, we hit the food court and the boutiques that make up the other half of the facility.
Mitsuwa's food court is overwhelming. It isn't exceptionally large, at least not in comparison to your typical mall food court, it's that there is so many kinds of food that I have never tried. Plus, many of the signs are written primarily in Japanese. After about twenty minutes of perusing menu after menu, I finally settled on the curry shack that Carlos recommended. It's a basic dish, for $3.50 you get white rice and curry then for an additional $1.50 or more, you get your choice of topping. I picked the fried tofu.
The sinus-clearing properties of this dish cannot be underestimated. I could feel the spices burn through my nose and then, suddenly, I could breathe.
We hit up one of the tchotchke shops that lines the entrance to Mitsuwa, where we found this funny little display.
In case you can't read the sign, it says:
"Real tattoo hurts a lot. Well, if you get this, you don't have to go through the pain! Just stick it on your body. How easy is that?"
As you might recall, a little
over a week ago, I was freaking out because I learned that My Melody now has a goth frienemie called Kuromi. Well, I found a Kuromi key cap at this shop and had to get it.
Then Carlos got a
Shin Chan cell phone charm, which is actually charming his turntables now.
Interesting to note, Shin Chan the cell phone charm is, like Shin Chan the cartoon character, bare-assed under his Action Bastard cape.
We also checked out a bookshop, which was almost a fruitless venture considering that everything is written in Japanese. (Manga fans who know the language, you can get pretty much everything here.) However, I found the new issue of
Fruits. Judging from the magazine
website, I have a feeling that this is actually last month's issue, but it's pretty awesome nonetheless. I have spent a few hours flipping through the magazine and noticed the following trends.
- It's really hip to look like your grandma when she gets up in the morning.
- MIA is now a bona fide fashion icon.
- The Japanese confirm my sentiments that Docs are always hot.
- Leggings should be baggy around the knees and tights should be in funky patterns.
- Wearing a dead animal around your neck is tres chic.
- Big furry hats are not only warm, but totally awesome (I prefer faux).
- Always wear a scarf, the bigger the better.
- Charms and toys are meant to be dangled from the straps of your very large handbag.
- Short hair is super cool.
I love
Fruits. I love Mitsuwa. I really have to go to Japan.
Labels: fashion, food, Japanese Stuff, Kawaii
