Best Place to Buy Gifts for an Aspiring Geisha

Sakura Square gets that Gion feeling in the gift-laden aisles at the back of Pacific Mercantile Co., where flirty fans, kimonos, Chinese shoes, hair ornaments and bamboo screens entice Japanophiles away from more conventional grocery shopping. The merchandise ranges from practical to playful: Sake and sushi sets, rice makers and workmanlike woks are shelved alongside framed art, lacquer Tokyo-style lunchboxes and elegant imports for dress-up time. For the essential element of the exotic that it injects into LoDo, we give Pacific Mercantile Co. a deep bow.