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Every spring, San Francisco’s Japantown blushes with tender pink petals, not the least bit shy to show off for the hundreds of thousands who flock to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival of music, food and culture. Others are drawn to the Nihonmachi Street Fair in the fall and the occasional Japanese film or J-Pop bash.
But much of the time, most folks drive right by with nary a glance at the giant Peace Pagoda that rises up alongside Geary Boulevard near Fillmore Street, leaving Japantown as a private playground for those in the know. If you haven’t been to this off-the-beaten-tourist-path neighborhood, you’re missing out on a delightful day trip. You could be dipping into Japanese culture, art, karaoke, fashion, oodles of noodles and maybe even some hot springs.
This roughly six-block area is centered around San Francisco’s Post Street, branching out to Fillmore and Laguna streets one way and Geary and Pine Street the other, with a pedestrian-only walkway in the middle. Shops and restaurants dot side streets, but you’ll find most of them in a series of connected indoor malls that run for several blocks with uniquely Japanese businesses. There are eateries, of course, plus clothing boutiques, bookstores, and anime and kawaii knickknack and gift shops. (Kawaii means “cuteness” – think the ubiquitous Hello Kitty.)
And there’s food galore. To be sure, you can’t swing a stuffed Pikachu without hitting a ramen shop.
“Seems like there’s a new ramen place popping up every other day,” says Kenji Yick, third generation owner of Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop inside the Mira Grocery. If you come to Japantown for nothing else, go there and get the famous Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake. Really. (More on that in a bit.)
And – shhhh – here’s a secret. Japantown has some of the least expensive parking garages in the city, some just $6 an hour. Might as well park here and walk everywhere else. Just don’t tell anyone.
OK, so now that we’ve parked, let’s get started — first with a little history and then on to the origami shop, Japanese baths and fish-shaped ice-cream cone stand.
Japantown history
First off, it’s good to know a little about the neighborhood before you go. San Francisco’s Japantown (or Nihonmachi, in Japanese) was the first Japanese-American community established in the U.S. when the 1906 earthquake drove many Japanese immigrants from other parts of the city to this minimally-damaged area of the Western Addition. By World War II, it was one of the largest enclaves of Japanese residents outside Japan — until 1942 when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. Some Japanese returned after the war and the area has maintained its Asian character. It’s now considered the largest of only three Japantowns in the country; the others are in San Jose and Los Angeles.
Doing a self-guided tour? Look for 16 informative history plaques placed on various buildings, and stop in at the National Japanese American Historical Society store at 1684 Post St. for more tips. Or take a guided walking tour with someone like Alice Kawahatsu of Edible Excursions, who shares history and cultural facts while stopping at fab food spots.
Stroll Peace Plaza
Head for the large, concrete pad on the pedestrian-only section of Buchanan, which crosses Post and gaze up at the landmark Peace Pagoda. The five-tiered concrete stupa was a gift from San Francisco’s sister city of Osaka, Japan in 1968. At night, it’s colorfully illuminated, but it’s a striking sight at any time of day. With its benches and stone paths, the pedestrian walkway that continues on the other side of Post is meant to mimic a Japanese landscape curving along a stream.
Be sure to visit the 50-year-old Paper Tree origami shop. There are rolls and rolls of beautiful silk-screened washi papers and origami exhibits in glass cabinets that include amazing dragons, trees, roses and spiders. There’s even an origami Yoda. Plus: origami classes, books and tables where you can try your hand at the ancient art.
Pop in to Soko Hardware, owned and operated by the Ashizawa family since 1925. There are two levels of hammers, lightbulbs and other supplies — as well as butsudan shrines, sake bottles and shoji paper.
Explore the malls
Many suburban malls are failing in the internet age, but Japantown’s are thriving. From the Peace Plaza, you can access the two-level East and West Japan Center Malls, built in the 1960s as part of a redevelopment effort. They have an old-school feel, but they’re filled with modern-day sushi bars, ramen restaurants and cute shops.
In the East Mall, there are indeed a few empty storefronts, but go anyway. You need to visit Uji Time for a matcha or purple yam soft-serve ice cream, presented in a tai fish-shaped waffle cone. There’s always a line out the door.
The West Mall is much more vibrant. Eateries are scattered throughout, but there’s also a dedicated Restaurant Row, a cute hallway with little windows, rooftops and lanterns as though you’re on a street in Japan. Alice Kawahatsu recommends Takoyaki Yama-chan, a great place to see little takoyaki balls — a Japanese street food made with octopus — grilled right in front of you. “Careful eating them,” she says. “They can be very hot!”
Don’t miss the new Marufuku Ramen for slurp-worthy noodles. Then head for Katsura Garden, a bonsai shop on the mall’s bottom level. There’s a jaw-dropping model of the Osaka Castle nearby. Also fun to check out: the Neat Asian Things store that sells, well, neat things including tatami mats, wind chimes and umbrellas with handles that look like katana swords.
Pop in to Pikapika, where large photo booths let you take funny pictures and decorate them with all sorts of filters and digital doodles. Yes, you can take selfies anywhere, but Pikapika offers the old-school fun of photo booths and a cute memento for the day.
Don’t miss the two-level Kinokuniya Book Store, the first outside Japan when it opened here in 1969. Browse the stacks of books on Japanese/Asian literature and culture, Japanese versions of Rolling Stone and other magazines, and children’s books about Gudetama, a languid egg-yolk character created by Sanrio. An entire downstairs level of the bookstore is devoted to anime and manga.
After all this shopping, you may need a good soak. You’ll find Kabuki Springs and Spa in the West Mall too. It’s a traditional Japanese bath house offering saunas, massage, facials, baths and more. (And reservations are a good idea.)
New People
Not that everything else is for “old” people, but this three-level, glass and metal, 20,000-square-foot modern mall — it opened to great J-Pop fanfare in 2009 just across from the Japan Center – is billed as an entertainment complex. A movie theater in the basement features Japanese cinema and film festivals. On the top floor — and soon on the mezzanine, too — you’ll find a Real Escape Game.
The second level holds shops with contemporary Japanese fashions, including Sou Sou‘s modern designer apparel with kimono-sleeve styles, and Baby the Stars Shine Bright‘s trendy Harajuku-style dresses, Japanese youth street fashion that developed about 30 years ago with cute, lacy outfits, says clerk Brittany Wood.
“In Japan, this style of dress is referred to as elegant gothic Lolita,” she says. “But here, Lolita has a negative connotation. So we call it Harajuku style.”
It’s also been called “anime-goth.” “We’ll take that too,” Wood says.
With the exception of the cinema and the two clothing shops, you might not exactly sense a Japanese theme in New People. That’s thanks in part to the ground floor, where the Crown & Crumpet tea shop greets you. It’s plenty adorable, with floral tablecloths and cute cupcakes. But you might think you were in Englandtown rather than Japantown.
Blum’s cake
But can we get back to Blum’s? This is a life-changing must-do. Tucked inside Mira Grocery, a corner market on Sutter Street with everything from vinegar mackerel to dried squid snacks, you’ll find the little bakery counter of Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop. Their most popular treat is the famous Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake, made from the original recipe of the legendary San Francisco pastry shop which closed in the 1970s. That’s when Thom Yasukochi got the recipe for the fluffy, four-layer pile of heaven with whipped cream, sponge cake and coffee crumbles from a former Blum’s employee.
The sweet counter is now run by Thom’s grandson, Kenji Yick. “I’ve been in and out working here since my childhood,” he says. “I guess it was inevitable.” While the grocery is open daily, the bakery counter is only open Tuesdays through Saturdays. And it’s cash-only. A slice is more than $5, but so worth it. Order ahead if you want a whole cake.
This is a must-do. Did we mention this is a must-do? Do it. You’re welcome.
IF YOU GO
Japantown shops: Learn more about Japantown and its attractions at www.sfjapantown.org.
Tours: San Francisco City Guides offers free Japantown tours two Saturdays a month; www.sfcityguides.org/tour/japantown/. For a fab food tour, try Edible Excursions, which leads 3-hour tours ($114) on Fridays and Saturdays, www.edibleexcursions.net/japantown.
Cherry Blossom Festival: The 2020 festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 11-12 and April 18-19 in the Peace Plaza; www.sfcherryblossom.org.