A great first stop in Little Tokyo, this is the country’s first museum dedicated to the Japanese immigrant experience. The 2nd floor is home to the permanent 'Common Ground' exhibition, which explores the evolution of Japanese-American culture since the late 19th century and offers moving insight into the painful chapter of America's WWII internment camps. Afterwards, relax in the tranquil garden and browse the well-stocked gift shop.
Japanese American National Museum
Transportation
- metro: Gold Line to Little Tokyo/Arts District
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
19.76 MILES
What started as a simple berry farm is now a sprawling 160-acre operation with rides, live shows and lovable Peanuts characters roaming the grounds. Knott…
5.92 MILES
With eyes on both the galaxy above and palm-flanked boulevards below, the Griffith Observatory hovers above LA like a hulking spacecraft. This is one of…
14.2 MILES
Prepare for a sensory overload on Venice's Boardwalk, a one-of-a-kind experience. Buff bodybuilders brush elbows with street performers and sellers of…
15.24 MILES
Once the very end of the legendary Route 66 and still the object of a tourist love affair, this much-photographed pier dates back to 1908 and is the city…
0.92 MILES
Perched atop the city's tallest building to roof level, this is LA's loftiest observation deck, offering knockout views of LA, its hills, ocean and…
8.97 MILES
Dodge dinosaurs, hang with Homer Simpson and morph into a Minion on the sometimes hair-raising, always entertaining attractions at Universal Studios…
7.42 MILES
If you go to Los Angeles and don’t catch a glimpse of those nine letters looming large on a Hollywood hillside, did you really even visit Tinseltown? Just…
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
0.7 MILES
LA is unlike any other city, and this cathedral is unlike any other cathedral. Seat of the US's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese (some five million…
Nearby attractions
0.06 MILES
MOCA showcases its big names and blockbuster exhibits at its main building on Grand Ave, freeing its original site in Little Tokyo to focus on more…
0.07 MILES
The unusual-looking tower is a yagura, a traditional fire-lookout tower typically found in rural Japan. It’s the gateway to this kitschy outdoor mall,…
3. Caltrans District 7 Headquarters
0.3 MILES
OK, maybe Caltrans didn’t earn its $150-million digs based on performance, but that doesn’t change the fact that this floating steel-mesh-and-glass…
0.32 MILES
The LA outpost of internationally acclaimed gallery Hauser & Wirth has art fiends in a flurry with its museum-standard exhibits of modern and contemporary…
0.38 MILES
Until 1966 no LA building stood taller than the 1928 City Hall, which appeared in the Superman TV series and 1953 sci-fi thriller War of the Worlds. On…
0.42 MILES
El Pueblo’s central, magnolia-shaded square is crowned by a pretty wrought-iron gazebo. Sleepy and a little sketchy during the week, it often turns into a…
0.43 MILES
Follow the red lanterns to the small 1890 Garnier Building, once the unofficial Chinatown ‘city hall'. Changing exhibits highlight various historical,…
0.44 MILES
The city’s oldest fire station (1884) is now a one-room museum filled with dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
- placement: superzone
- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
- possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
- targeting:
{ "url": "usa/los-angeles/downtown/attractions/japanese-american-national-museum/a/poi-sig/1071110/1324609", "position": "superzone" }