New restaurants including Japanese izakaya Binchoyaki, Southside Super, and pop-up Mecha Mucho are helping reinvigorate a part of downtown Sacramento that was once home to a thriving Japantown.
A Sacramento family is keeping tradition and recipes alive as they serve up a bite-sized taste of Japan. Family establishment Osaka-Ya is one of the few remaining mochi shops in California and the only one in Sacramento.
California was home to over 30 thriving Japantowns, but after World War II when Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps, Japantowns began to disappear.
From Fugetsu-Do in Los Angeles to Nisshodo in Honolulu, century-old wagashi confectionary stores continue to provide mochi, manju, and a taste of community.