Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
See what old Sawtelle looked like. Well, not really, it’s just a hand drawn out map of what was there before. I wonder what the block south looked like. We also got a few comments on the site too. Naramura Realty is where GR1 is at now, Ben Jewelers is where GR2 is at, gr/eats must be an Ikkanda auto service. I remember Ben Jewelers from way back and Naramura Realty was always something else, before we took it over it was Tim’s printing and was a huge mess. The sign remained the same until we took it over. I wanted to keep the old Naramura Realty up there, but oh well. It just wasn’t cool enough. People do say we made it look like we built the whole thing, so at least we retained the original look and didn’t ruin it.
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See what old Sawtelle looked like. Well, not really, it's just a hand drawn out map of what was there before. I wonder what the block south looked like. We also got a few comments on the site too. Naramura Realty is where GR1 is at now, Ben Jewelers is where GR2 is at, gr/eats must be an Ikkanda auto service.
I remember Ben Jewelers from way back and Naramura Realty was always something else,...
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I remember Ben Jewelers from way back and Naramura Realty was always something else,...
Yamaguchi is a general store that practically made Sawtelle Blvd. Growing up in the area, I have distinct memories of being in the store and strolling through the aisles. My mom would buy me fragrant erasers which I’d take to school to amaze the non-Japanese American kids. On top of that, I’d get cool Japanese pencils, Japanese super hero pencil cases which even had pencil sharpeners and secret compartments built in, Japanese ruled notebooks for hiragana, katakana, and kanji practice, my “Year of the Cock” t-shirt, and Mazinga and Raideen robot toys. This is Deluxe Raideen purchased from Yamaguchi. If it were in mint condition in the original box, it’d be worth over $500. But know this: “There are many like it, but this one is mine.” As I got “older,” in later elementary school, Yamaguchi was the destination to buy candy and a soda either before or after Japanese school which was conveniently around the corner. The shortened name was “Yama’s” as in, “Do you want to go to Yama’s?” It was almost a writ of passage to leave the campus which is really just a small lot with a few classrooms. We’d walk either before or after class that one block to make a purchase without ours parents scrutiny. Picking out candies or erasers, we’d then get a handful of change, which at least for me, would make me feel good about buying something. It became almost a daily trip, and was an important part of the day. A lot of us might say that going to Japanese school was a waste, “I wish we studied more” in retrospect, but part of my memory of the school, is it’s indelible and unbreakable link it had with Yamaguchi’s. Going to school wasn’t a waste of time, as long as I got to visit my favorite shop. It was definitely part of “growing up” which to me meant joining the economic force of the real world and perhaps spending my first bits of saved money. In the middle years, my 20′s. I’ll admit, I visited very little. I thought I outgrew the shop. My memories of the store still remained from my juvenile days. Erasers, toys, construction paper, candy, ice-cream, and soda. But maybe five years ago, I discovered Yamaguchi’s carried Dickies pants for the gardners! I went in maybe twice and bought years worth of unpleated and denim Dickies. If I bought 8 pairs, I got the 9th free, which explains why a lot of you might think I’m wearing the same pants over and over. Before I was born, I’m sure this shop was already a community fixture. Yet today the sign reads, “After over 60 years in business, we’ll be soon closing our doors. It has been our pleasure to serve 4 generations of loyal customers and friends. We thank you for your loyalty and patronage these many years. Henry and Jack Yamaguchi.” I can only guess that in later 40s and 50s, this was the place...
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Yamaguchi is a general store that practically made Sawtelle Blvd. Growing up in the area, I have distinct memories of being in the store and strolling through the aisles. My mom would buy me fragrant erasers which I'd take to school to amaze the non-Japanese American kids. On top of that, I'd get cool Japanese pencils, Japanese super hero pencil cases which even had pencil sharpeners and secret...
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A good point was brought up. Is the mobile video store cool for the actual neighbors? The mobile video store does park outside of an office building’s parking lot, but I did see it outside of someone’s house earlier. The area is fairly dense, and I guess the area is used to foot traffic as it is, since people come and go from parking spots to Sawtelle. I find this guy wanting to stay low key, so I think he’s cool. But like everything else, it’s ok somewhere else, just not at, or, or near your house. Here’s some examples of shit you don’t mind far away, graffiti, dude selling fruit on the street, homeless dude taking shits, name it, almost everything fits. Doesn’t it? The new issue is out, GR43. Hope you like it.
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