Originally Posted by
mlshanks
First off, I'd call that walk a bit more than one mile... And if he's already buying a transit day pass, he can bound from station to station along the red line
Google says 1.7/1.8 mi walking--okay, a
bit more than one mile
However, if you go the right way, there's something to see on almost every block. It would hit many of the attractions you mentioned. I wouldn't bother with the subway within downtown if I was just strolling around (as opposed to needing to be somewhere or make a connection in Union Station/carrying luggage)
...and the Gold Line to Little Tokyo.
Just for the sake of posterity--the closest metro stop to Little Tokyo is the Civic Center stop on the
Red Line. The Gold Line goes east toward Pasadena