Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I was warned by a forum friend that something seemed amiss when, two or three weeks after I made the above post, they went to the link I provided and only saw info for the _up and coming_ Japan Expo in October of 2009.

Odd, said I.

Undaunted by caution or reason I scheduled a very rare trip outside of the Pomona Valley. It seems like it takes an act of god to get me to travel the So Cal freeways any more. So, on a Sunday when I should have begged for a shakuhachi lesson on the far west edge of  L.A. County, I instead rose (uncharacteristically early) and drove myself to the L.A. Convention Center expecting a long line to get in and overly expensive parking.

All I found were empty parking lots, feckless parking lot attendants, and banners for last month's Salami Packers Convention flapping in the empty breeze.

Dejected and confused, I spent decided to go to Little Tokyo and see if I could find a recent copy of the The Rafu Shimpo newspaper or someone to ask about the Expo that was supposed to happen. I went to the Japanese American National Museum, The young woman at the information desk said, "Oh that, yes. They cancelled it. Maybe they thought the economy was bad. I was so mad. I wanted to do my Christmas shopping there."

So did I. For myself.

Nothing on their website indicated that they had canceled the Expo, at least nothing in English.

"Economy" ... bah-humbug.  Excuses, excuses. I ate some miso ramen at Ramen House, bought an old Japanese postcard of a Kabuki play at the curio shop and drove home. Even the freeways were empty.