Mitsuwa in Little Tokyo is closing.

Leanne, Denise and I ventured over to the market this afternoon with the intention of finding some sushi for lunch. When we entered we were confronted with a barren produce section and aisle after aisle of half-empty shelves.

"What's going on?" we all wondered aloud. "I'm freaking out! I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack!" said Leanne who was a few steps ahead of me, leading the way to the refrigerated cases of sushi and bento boxes. While I was checking out, I asked the cashier what was happening to the store and she informed me that they were closing on the 25th of the month which just about broke my little Japanese-American heart. We sadly wandered over to the seating area in front of Sakura and had a forlorn little last lunch in the market that had become a ritual Sunday destination for us over the years.

Before any of us could drive, we'd get rides or walk over to Yaohan/Mitsuwa on Sundays after Sunday school while our parents were in various organization meetings. I'd ask my mom for money and she'd give me $5, which was generally enough for a small bento or a takeout combo from Sakura. As we grew older we started driving ourselves and each other over on most weekends. We'd get lunch and I'd stock up on things to take back to my apartment. Things like large bottles of peach water, Jones soda and strawberry chocolate. Sure there was a Mitsuwa fairly close to campus, but the selection was never as good as it was in LA. After starting to work full time and giving up coffee, I used my Sunday lunch trips as an opportunity to stock up on genmaicha for the office and pick up the occasional bottle of sake.

It was pretty clear that Mitsuwa (formerly Yaohan, remember that?) was dying a slow, painful death though. It started with the closing off of its second floor, which was nothing short of a tragedy to us as young girls since that's where they had their little stationary section. Next were the increasing number of vacancies in the rest of the plaza which served as an ominous reminder that shopping center as a whole was not doing well. The transformation of the bakery from a manned station to open shelving with baked goods (and no more delicious, overstuffed sandwiches!) was another bad sign...and now this. *sigh* You will be sorely missed, Mitsuwa Marketplace.

On a lighter note, it's Lina's birthday today! Happy 26th my dear! Will post photos later. For now, I'll leave you with this self-portrait of me with end-of-the-night hair and makeup. The bags under my eyes are scary and my eyeshadow and liner are all over the place, but I love my hair in all of its tangled, wavy glory. It was even better this morning after sleeping on it. I was actually considering not washing my hair but thought better of it and washed the awesomeness away.