Japantown

The Japanese have been coming to San Francisco and the surrounding bay area since the 1860s. While they first lived in Chinatown and other areas south of Market Street, the fire caused by the great earthquake of 1906 forced them from those areas and prompted them to find homes in a neighborhood known as the Western Addition, untouched by the fire, located west of Union Square.

As the Japanese moved to the area, they began establishing not only homesteads but also stores and eateries. The neighborhood soon became known as Nihonmachi or Japantown (sometimes also called J-Town).

The start of World War II resulted in the internment of most Japanese Americans on the West Coast of the U.S., so much of Japantown was empty during the war years. After WWII ended, many Japanese returned to the neighborhood to resume their lives. As a matter of fact, the overcrowding in the area after the war resulted in redevelopment of the neighborhood and the awarding of an urban renewal grant that allowed for new buildings to be constructed.

In 1968, the 3-square-block Japan Center (originally the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center) was completed. The center includes a deluxe hotel and two malls – the Kintetsu and Miyako. Another mall, the Osaka Way, was completed in 1976.

Today, nearly 12,000 live in Japantown and more than 80,000 Japanese Americans call the San Francisco Bay area their home.

A visit to Japantown is a must for any San Francisco visitor, especially those who enjoy Japanese food and culture. There's also a large variety of stores, from those offering traditional Japanese fare to fancy boutiques and well-priced electronics vendors. Also located there are a handful of art galleries and a subsidiary of the largest bookstore chain in Japan, Kinokuniya Bookstore, which sells books written in both English and Japanese.

Restaurants – mostly Japanese – are plentiful. You’ll find national chains like Benihana as well as small “mom and pop” operations that offer some of the best Japanese food on the West Coast.

Don’t miss a visit to the Peace Center and five-story, 100ft (30m) tall Pagoda, the centerpiece of Japantown and a good photo opportunity. The pagoda, designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi, was given to Japantown by the people of Osaka, San Francisco's sister city in Japan.
Another landmark in Japantown is a Japanese mountain temple gate, built in 1976 as the symbolic entrance to the Buchanan Mall, now the Osaka Way.