JANM’s exhibition, Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community is now extended through Sunday, December 14, 2025! If you love all things related to cars and Southern California car culture, then this is for you.
Cruising J-Town is part of JANM on the Go, JANM’s lively schedule of events and programs that are happening during the Museum’s renovation of its public galleries. While the galleries are being renovated, JANM is presenting this exhibition at ArtCenter’s Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery in Pasadena, California.
Photo collage clockwise from top: Coverage from Autoweek, KCRW Art Insider newsletter, LA Car, and Pasadena Weekly.
At ArtCenter, you can learn how Japanese Americans shaped car culture in the greater Los Angeles area from the early 1900s through today, and see the classic cars that encompass the exhibition’s themes of Speed, Style, Work, and Community. You can enhance your Cruising J-Town experience with related public programs, listening to short stories from the people who lived it on our Cruising J-Town audio guide, and reading about the stories behind the exhibition in Discover Nikkei’s series, Cruising J-Town: Detours.
Photo collage clockwise from top: Visitors at the opening of Cruising J-Town, photo by Doug Mukai; a 1956 Ford F100 pickup truck owned by Kirk Shimazu, photo by Doug Mukai; Brian Omatsu’s custom 1951 Mercury coupe known as the “Purple Reign”, photo by Cyan Hsu; Cruising J-Town exhibition curator Oliver Wang, photo by Alan Miyatake; the hot pink 1989 Nissan 240SX from professional drift racing driver Nadine Sachiko Toyoda-Hsu’s days with the Drifting Pretty team, photo by Alan Miyatake.
Highlights from the Cruising J-Town Audio Tour in JANM’s digital guide on the free Bloomberg Connects app.
The JANM Store also has a fresh collection of Cruising J-Town gifts that are available for purchase online. From the companion book and graphic tees to stickers, children’s books, and more you’ll want to collect them all, and see more new gifts in the Store’s 2025 –2026 catalog!
Featured and closing image: JANM Store’s Cruising J-Town collection. Photo by Doug Mukai.