Rafu Bussan Inc. Little Tokyo
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Rafu Bussan Inc. is a spacious Oriental import store that carries various Japanese items such as gifts, chinaware, artwork, cookingware, etc. that is located on E Second Street in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Over 50 years ago, its original owners Yukio Tanaka and Junichi Onishi established the store with the ambition to provide basic Japanese goods such as rice, tea, and rice bowls to the surrounding families that were recently dismissed from the internment camps. In 1958, Kiyoshi "Skip" Kawaratani bought Onishi's share of the store, managing it alongside Tanaka for the next eight years until finally, Skip and his wife, Aiko, purchased full ownership in 1966. For the next several decades, Skip and Aiko maintained and cared for the store passionately, working hard with loyal employees to serve the local community and still continue to this very day, hoping to serve anyone who comes by with a taste of Japanese culture.