The time
10am
The date
Sat Jul 27, 2013
The place
Little Tokyo
There is a place that this site writes about often. That place is Little Tokyo and one weekend this editor went on a quest of it. Though it only was a three hour event, it was as devastating as the the three-hour tour that had Gilligan and his friends lost on that damn island. There would be no Harlem Globe Trotters to play basketball against, but helpful citizens of Little Tokyo. The quest was done with sometimes photographer for the site Angello P. and myself as team Things To Do In LA. I did not know we could choose names before and looking back it would be team Gurren Lagann, watch anime to get that.
As the competition swelled to 23 teams and better names like Prometheus and Bob, an old reference to a Nickelodeon show, we knew on team Gurren Lagann the competition would be fierce. As soon as we were waking up to this new game we were handed packets, a blue answer sheet and the confidence of the CityRace Urban Adventures guy. Off we went reading our short, but sweet guide. First, we bustled over to the adjacent JACCC gardens and counted the stone lanterns. From there we were on a true adventure. An adventure of yelling at each other and poor math skills that cost us some points.
We hit the bonus points like Mario hits bricks. Pictures of our two-man team in awkward to less awkward positions filled my camera phone. Hello Kitties were held up. City workers were bothered and wrong statues were shot. We thought we were suppose to take a picture with four holy men, turns out the holy men we wanted weren't in front of a Buddhist temple.
The scavenger hunt would go on and what people might think of three hours as a long time, with a scavenger hunt is not always the case. We were lost on some clues, which some I have to say are very "little" Little Tokyo themed. A lack of awareness of the new business and features on Little Tokyo had me wanting. Stepping out to find out about a business that borders Little Tokyo lacked the flare if it was a traditional Japanese business.
Many local businesses were helpful enough with the clues if asked. Stepping into a local supermarket or the recently remembered online Anzen Hardware asking for the oldest retail business in Little Tokyo let you connect with the community. If not confuse it by having to explain what you were doing.
Did team Things To Do In LA win? No, not even close. Team Prometheus and Bob won with the highest possible score, including all the extra points from pictures. Team TTDILA did so bad we were third from the lowest. CityRace does score you at the end with a ceremony of the top ten teams with prizes and taking pictures. For team TTDILA it was a humbling affair that reminded me of how short a distance everything is in downtown. You can park your car and spend the whole day downtown. The new Grand Park looks great and the iconic LA Times building is always a sight.
CityRace Urban Adventures has more than just Little Tokyo to explore, check out their future hunts. Don't forget about their huge event, the Race/LA set for Saturday, October 19, 2013
Registration will begin in August.
