Japantown

The Pagoda

Japantown in Western Addition

Getting there:

District – Western Addition: 
For some Japantown is a great place to shop and eat great food, for others it’s experiencing the rich culture and history that made Japantown what it is today.  For whatever reasons for visiting you will likely start your journey from Japan Center. Set your GPS or Google Maps to 1737 Post Street in San Francisco and you’ll get there.  Once there, one of the best locations to park is the Japan Center Garage located below the malls. The garage can get pretty crowded at times but if you can’t find parking then drive around the city block for metered parking on the street. To get more information on parking see http://sfpark.org/ and under “Select a Neighborhood” select Fillmore / Japantown.  

  











Some sites to see:

Peace Plaza: When you arrive to Japan Center the best place to start your visit is at the center’s square commonly known as the Peace Plaza. Standing at the entrance is a three sided nine foot tall bronze and stone sculpture that tells the story of the struggles that the Japanese people endured when they arrived to California.  The sculpture depicts a story for each of the Japantowns located in California, namely San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. This beautiful landmark was designed by two nationally acclaimed artists, Lou Quaintance and Eugene Daub.  In scripted on the sculpture was a poem written by San Francisco poet Janice Mirikitani entitled, “Footsteps lead to destiny” and reads: “We dance honoring ancestors who claim our home and freedom to pursue our dreams. Our voices carve a path for justice, equal rights for all, we prevail. Our future harvested from generations. From my life opens countless lives. The Journey continues...”

Footsteps lead to Destiny

Upon entering the plaza you’ll notice a tall 100 foot (30m) tower known as the Pagoda.  This magnificent structure was built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii, a Japanese Monk who in 1947 deciding to construct these Pagodas in various locations around the world as symbols of world peace. In 1968, the Peace Pagoda was donated to Japantown by the City of Osaka, Japan, one of San Francisco’s sister cities as a gesture of goodwill and has become a major landmark in Japantown. The Peace Plaza is also host to two major annual festivals, the Cherry Blossom Festival in April and the Nihonmachi Street Fair in August, as well as several other events during the year.

100 Foot Pagoda

Japan Center Malls: There are three small malls accessible from the Peace Plaza, the Miyako, Kintetsu and Kinokuniya Malls which contain a majority of Japantown's businesses. Upon entering the Kintetsu Mall, also known as the West Mall, you will find a small sign that provides an account of Japantown’s history as well as information regarding a self-guided tour consisting of 16 interpretive signs along a 10-block area of Japantown.  For more information see http://www.nddcreative.com/sfjhw.htm

Japantown Malls

The malls themselves appear to be the center of attraction for many visitors coming to Japantown for the first time. These are not very large malls but they do have some interesting things to see and good foods to eat. The largest of the malls can be entered on the West End located in the Peace Plaza; again this is Kintetsu Mall and continuing through the mall over a small bridge that overlooks Webster Street takes you directly into Kinokuniya Mall.  The East Mall or Miyako is a little smaller and appears to have a little more artwork representing the Japanese culture. 

West Mall

Soko Hardware: Crossing Post Street from the Peace Plaza you’ll see a little store called Soko Hardware. The store originally opened in 1925 by the Ashizawa family and was actually located at 1683 Post Street, however do to redevelopment activities in the area, the family was forced to move their store to 1698 Post Street.  This is a unique Hardware Store that has almost a little bit of everything.  What is fun about visiting cultural areas is that there are things that you will find that you won’t see at your typical stores, and for that reason it’s worth a look.  

Soko Hardware in the Distance

Buchanan Mall: From Soko Hardware you can walk up Osaka Way towards Sutter Street and you’re in the heart of Buchanan Mall. Here you will find a number of small stores and restaurants along the way.  The main entrance is actually located at Sutter Street and has a large gate designed to represent a Japanese Mountain Temple gate, the cobblestones that seemingly appear to flow through the mall represents a river as it leads to a fountain located closer to Post Street.  The fountain was designed by Sculptor Ruth Asawa in 1976 and cast in bronze. It is approximately eight feet high and its designed is based on the concept of folded paper. 

Buchanan Mall

My Personal Perspective

Japantown is a place that you want to mark on your list if you frequent San Francisco and have the time.  For those with limited time, I would not put this on your list as there are much better places to visit in San Francisco unless you are fortunate enough to catch one of the festivals in April and August.   I visited Japantown on Saturday and found it relatively desolate for the exception of the Malls and the most active malls appear to be Kintetsu and Kinokuniya.  I must admit that the mall was fun to walk through but it didn’t take much time to see all three.  I found some of the shops entertaining and the restaurants abundant for the area.  Aside from more traditional Japanese restaurants there was a Benihana’s within the mall as well. 

What I truly like about the area is that you can find some stores with merchandise that you would not likely find at your local malls.  To me, that in itself was exciting and fun. 

I understand that the San Francisco Planning Department is in current discussions for future projects and redevelopments in the area.  Please see http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=1692 for more information. 

If you take advantage of the self guided tour around Japantown, then you begin to gain an appreciation of the rich history that Japantown has to offer and for some this may be well worth the visit.

Travel Score:

Click Here for a Map to Japantown 

Japantown, San Francisco, Western Addition, Japan Center, Peace Plaza