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Answerman - Is California The Otaku Promised Land?

Two words: Reverse importation.

I mean, they want HOW much for 2 episodes on Blu-ray?! Haha fat chance.
Sure you can't beat the source for selection, but things aren't always so ideal across the pond.

Granted where I live is way closer to Japan than the US [...].

Especially with AnimeExpo and other covention around , it is pretty much an Otaku's haven.

I live in SouthBay for 11 years now and it a much laid back community and the weather here is cooler .There use to be a very strong Japanese community here and there are still alot of Japanese restaurants and store around but it can be tough for some business too.Most of the restaurant are actually run by Japanese descendants or those who moved to Los Angeles and those who are assigned to the LA office from Tokyo..My mechanic is nihon jin .There is a Japanese hotel and a very convnient Mitsuwa next door. Alot of Japanese business people stay there.
A Tokyo Central has opened on the northside and its pretty cool place to shop and eat.
Although you can buy stuff online from Japan easily now, but its the experience you get from these stores that makes the difference.
I love Nijiya grocery and I go there once a week like I go to Ralphs.
I am lucky that there is a bit of Japan where I live .

Even thou taxes are higher in California and stuff, it is still a good cool place to live.

As usual, leafy sea dragon, you are on point! So many great options to choose from. It was fun seeing Frank & Son on an episode of Supergirl last season.

If you do find yourself in Anime Jungle in Little Tokyo, ask for Tetsu. He is the best! He'll try his hardest to find you that long lost or missing item to add to your collection, and he's a great guy to boot!

In Japan, Yoshinoya is (quality-wise) what McDonalds is in the US. Yoshinoya in the US (in my admittedly limited) experience is WORSE than Yoshinoya in Japan. I was surprised to learn recently that Gyu-Kaku has expanded to the US, I really hope to try the Houston location soon.
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/#!houston/c1moz

It is in the sense that although there still is a drought that is ongoing (despite the constant rainfalls this past winter season), it's not something exclusive to CA. There's plenty of regions along the Pacific Northwest that are experiencing rather severe droughts, due to recent extreme heat. To be honest, I'd say that this is probably the most mild Californian summer I've experienced, with many cool, windy nights this month.

Wow I've been missing out, I didn't know Little Tokyo had any of that. I visited once before a concert in the area but I didn't look anything up and all I found was this one little plaza with little food shops and trinket stores. I'll definitely be saving this for the next time I'm in the area.

If you want legit high quality food, Little Tokyo is actually not the place to go - it's become a lot more touristy in recent years, and, like the article says, a lot of places are secretly Korean places selling Japanese food. Generally speaking I don't go there for food, so if I drop by it's always for the Kinokuniya and Anime Jungle. If you do go to Sawtelle, however, a really small neighborhood in the West Side, there are actually more Japanese immigrants living there and a lot better food. Torrance, which is a bit further, also has good Japanese food, particularly good ramen places.

There are plenty of other places that have those things and more. Well, except Jeff Goldblum. I will comfort myself with the knowledge that it's unlikely I'll ever even feel an earthquake.

Other than housing prices, the worst thing (and most genuinely dangerous thing) about living in California is the drivers. Unless you go 20+ over the limit you'll be tailgated almost continuously, and most of the luxury-car owners drive like they're in an action movie. At least we don't need to worry about police funding.

As rent/housing prices, well that's a problem that can be solved by more relaxed zoning laws to allow more multifamily structures in less urban areas and more and taller apartment buildings in urban areas. Just compare the housing and rent prices in places like Texas, Atlanta, and even Washington (State not D.C.) and Oregon. But people like things the way they are, and high housing prices in places like California (especially San Francisco) and New York are, well, the price for that preference. Washington, Oregon and the province of Ontario get around that by making zoning decisions at the state level (province level for Ontario but same same). Not saying it's wrong to like your neighborhood the way it is, just that that is not without costs.

Yeah, San Diego doesn't have a Yoshinoya but there is a great place in the Marukai Market that serves gyudon (same dish but better) and there is even a Marion crepe' place where I get strawberry/choco creme to feed my inner Japanese Schoolgirl (oiishi!!). Tokyo Central is here too. Come on down!! I really miss Yoshinoya, I don't care what anybody says, but there is one in Tustin and there is also a Gyu-Kaku there that was mentioned earlier.

SquadmemberRitsu wrote:

Granted where I live is way closer to Japan than the US [...].

So exactly where the hell do live, anyway? Guam? Australia?

zrnzle500 wrote:

As rent/housing prices, well that's a problem that can be solved by more relaxed zoning laws to allow more multifamily structures in less urban areas and more and taller apartment buildings in urban areas. Just compare the housing and rent prices in places like Texas, Atlanta, and even Washington (State not D.C.) and Oregon. But people like things the way they are, and high housing prices in places like California (especially San Francisco) and New York are, well, the price for that preference. Washington, Oregon and the province of Ontario get around that by making zoning decisions at the state level (province level for Ontario but same same). Not saying it's wrong to like your neighborhood the way it is, just that that is not without costs.

There are two major non-governmental reasons why housing prices are runaway in southern California. The first is that there was some rather reckless market speculation starting in the late 90's that drove prices up and kept going, which went hand-in-hand with the real estate craze around that time. (Anyone who lived in southern California in the late 90's and early 00's might remember all those advertisements about getting rich quick buying and selling homes--it was that.) The second is that people are willing to put up with these outrageous prices. Oodles of people are moving to the area, far more than there are people moving out.

Frank & Son was featured on Supergirl? No wonder finding parking there got so much worse recently.

Don't forget the absurdly prevalent refusal to come to a full stop at a stop sign, even at a 4-way intersection. I also see a lot of drivers using the right turn lane as a passing lane at stoplights and people modding their cars to be extra-loud (which comes with them having their high lights on at all times at nght). There's been a rash of hit-and-runs involving running over pedestrians (though pedestrians can oftentimes be just as reckless as the drivers, jaywalking out into heavy traffic expecting everyone to get out of ther way or using bicycle lanes as extensions of the siewalk). All in all, a lot of LA drivers like to show off or detest stopping or slowing down. The LA Can't Drive blog has to be brought up as it contains numerous examples of bad driving.

But yes, the hot spot for Japanese food is indeed the Little Osaka section of Sawtelle in West LA. Tsujita is possibly the best ramen in all of North America (and they're opening a 2nd location a mile from me in Glendale!! SQUEE!!!), and there are several Japanese-style crepe places there..

You can't pay me to move to California. Sanctuary cities everywhere, sheltering criminals. Earthquakes, droughts, no water, high taxes and expensive gas... I don't care if it's the anime promised land. I'll stick to ordering things online.

I dunno if anyone has mentioned San Diego yet (I'll admit I skimmed a bit...) but I have to say it's pretty nice down here We don't have the nightmare traffic that LA has to deal with (it can get bad, but it's definitely not THAT bad) and it's only a 2 hour drive to LA if you wanna brave it. Which I do. I love visiting Little Tokyo up there...Shinsengumi ramen is to die for <3

But yeah, San Diego has it's own little mini Asian district, complete with a Mitsuwa, Nijiya Market and a Book Off...as well as many different sort of restaurants. There also used to be a large population of Japanese immigrants in Chula Vista way back when, so there are still a few authentic restaurants there too where the retirement home, Kiku gardens, still resides. The city suits my (Japanese) grandma's needs just fine and there's enough stuff here where I can get her the occasion futomaki or komochi konbu for her rice needs, and I'm quite happy here myself!

Yoshinoya in the US (in my admittedly limited) experience is WORSE than Yoshinoya in Japan.

I was surprised to learn recently that Gyu-Kaku has expanded to the US, I really hope to try the Houston location soon.

This rudeness is nothing compared to San Diego though. It feels like outright bullying there, especially on the Interstate 5 coming south into La Jolla. Only around there do I find instances of trying to change lanes with a turn signal, only for the car immediately behind to honk, then zoom up and tailgate the car in front solely to block you from entering in front of them. Then again, most of the time I'm down in San Diego, it's because of San Diego Comic-Con (I'm passing on that this year though).