Address
1610 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94115
Experience Type
History & Heritage
Operator Type
Community Organization
EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION
Japantown is the oldest Japanese American community in the United States. The Japan Center malls along Post Street hold dozens of independent shops, specialty food stores, and restaurants, with the five-tiered Peace Pagoda rising above the plaza.
OPERATOR STORY
San Francisco's Japantown is the oldest of the three Japantowns remaining in the United States and one of the most significant Japanese American cultural districts in the country. The community was established after the 1906 earthquake, survived the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and has persisted through decades of urban redevelopment pressure. The Japan Center, built in the 1960s, houses independent shops and restaurants operated largely by Japanese American families.