Japantown

Why go

Japantown is defined by the street pattern and public spaces of Japantown. Another layer comes from architecture and daily movement across Japantown. Plan Japantown by remembering to set a compact boundary around Japantown before walking. After Japantown, choose a district beside Japantown; this keeps Japantown geographically coherent and avoids forcing Japantown into an unrelated crossing.

What to look for

• Look closely at the street pattern and public spaces of Japantown.
• Notice architecture and daily movement across Japantown.

The full story

Japantown (also known as J Town or historically as Japanese Town, "Nihonmachi") is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. It comprises about six square city blocks. San Francisco's Japantown is the largest and oldest such enclave in the United States. The main thoroughfare is Post Street, between Fillmore Street (to the west) and Laguna Street (to the east). The Japantown neighborhood is generally considered to be bordered on the north by Bush or Pine Street, and on the south by Geary Boulevard. Its focal point is the Japan Center, which opened in 1968, and is the site of three Japanese-oriented shopping centers. The Peace Pagoda, also at the Japan Center, is a five-tiered concrete stupa designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced all Japanese of birth or descent, including Japanese American citizens of the United States, to be relocated from the Pacific coast and interned. By 1943 many large sections of the neighborhood remained vacant due to the forced internment. The void was quickly filled by thousands of African Americans who had left the South to find wartime industrial jobs in California as part of the Great Migration.

Useful to know

• For Japantown, set a compact boundary around Japantown before walking.
• Pair Japantown with a district beside Japantown when the route and opening conditions align.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.