A little fun fact about me: I’ve been to every single Japantown in the United States, according to this National Geographic article. Although I’d argue that there’s technically two more Japantowns, it’s a broader reflection on the redefinting of the ethnic clustering that predominantly self-segregated ethnic minorities into neighborhoods throughout American history.
Similar to Chinatowns, Japantowns were organically created by clusters of Japanese-Americans centering their businesses and livelihoods into a central location. This created a self-fulfilling prophecy of other Japanese-Americans coming together geographically, a phenomena that persists today in different forms. However, the traditional form of Japantown have almost disappeared from the fabric of American cities (driven by racism, World War 2 atrocities, white flight), with the exception of these three Japantowns.
Japantown | San Francisco
The Japantown that I’m most familiar with is the San Francisco Japantown – sandwiched between Pacific Heights and the Fillmore District along Geary lies a loud and proud center of Japanese culture. Centered around the Japan Center (a huge, 80’s style mall) and the Peace Plaza, Japantown remains a center of Japanese and East Asian culture in San Francisco, although overshadowed by the much larger, famous Chinatown by tourists.
Japantown I’d argue however, is a more American reception of a multicultural America with a Japanese twist. Japantown lacks a distinctive flair of “theme park neighborhood” that is omnipresent in Chinatown’s architecture, and replaces it with a close representation of a small Japanese city stuck in the 1980’s. Most of this is due to the extensive redevelopment of Japantown due to “urban renewal” projects initiated in the 1960’s and 70’s.
I go to Japantown often whenever I’m back in San Francisco because it’s a hub of entertainment, culture, and restaurants. In a city with no shortage of good restaurants, Japantown packs in a lot of great options in a six block neighborhood. Some highlights include:
- Udon Mugizo
- Marufuku Ramen
- Daeho
- Belly Good Crepes
- Philmore Creamery (not technically in Japantown but it’s nearby and good!)
In addition, there’s a lot of great shops and places to get your Japanese goods fix, including Maido Stationery (a must stop for me!), a branch of Kinokuniya Books, a Niijya Supermarket, a AMC theater, a Japanese Cultural Center, Fog Cats & Yanchako (please support!) and obviously the famous Peace Plaza Pagoda!
The annual San Francisco Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival is also a great event that I love, which takes place over two weekends in April (although I will say the one time I went the cherry blossoms already were way past their peak, probably could improve the timing). It’s a great event to see other local vendors and take in the resiliency of Japantown in an ever-changing San Francisco.
If you had to pick one Japantown to represent Japanese America, I would suggest this one. Although it no longer broadly reflects the Japanese diaspora, it’s a beautiful reflection of how the diaspora has grown and thrived.
Little Tokyo | Los Angeles
Little Tokyo, located in East Downtown Los Angeles and just south of Union Station, is one of two major Japanese hubs in Southern California (the other being Sawtelle). If San Francisco transports you to a post-war Japantown, Little Tokyo is more like the Disneyland of Japantowns. Usurped by the relocation of Japanese Americans into neighborhoods like Sawtelle, and the decline of Downtown Los Angeles led to the redevelopment of Little Tokyo into a themed shopping neighborhood, centered around the Japanese Village Plaza and the Japanese American History Museum.
Despite its location in Downtown, Japantown is a bustling space filled with restaurants and lively nightlife, which cannot be said for the rest of Downtown. It’s surprisingly safe for the area, which can be attributed towards the corporate nature of the neighborhood – the Business Improvement Area and the shopping center both contribute a lot of money into the security of the area, which gives it a huge outdoor mall energy. Unlike SF Japantown, the energy here is a bit less organic and more like Disneyland.
However, the neighborhood still retains a classic energy of Japanese spirit, with locals and tourists alike enjoying all the shops and eats in the area. The museum also contributes a lot to the neighborhood, by making it a de-facto center for Japanese American culture. Overall, while I like Little Tokyo, the spread of Japanese Americans throughout Southern California has diminished its role as a cultural hub. Japanese restaurants and stores are widespread, which makes Little Tokyo less appealing.
However, it still plays an important cultural role as a dominant ethnocentric hub in Southern California, and is a good reflection of the contributions of Japanese Americans into the fabric of the United States.
Japantown | San Jose
The last Japantown identified in the article is San Jose’s Japantown, which was originally founded by the surge of Japanese agricultural workers working in the Santa Clara Valley’s historic fruit fields (now replaced with blah suburban office parks home to tech companies and poor land use). After World War 2, many Japanese Americans who were removed from their homes settled in San Jose, leading to a thriving Japanese-American community in the valley.
Like every other Japantown in the list, the Japanese communities eventually dispersed all across California, and San Jose’s Japantown has quietly shrunk to a three block section of Jackson Street north of Downtown (4th to 7th streets). It’s charms and Japanese identity however, have remained as agricultural fields grew into Silicon Valley.
My visit to San Jose’s Japantown occurred on a Monday evening in November 2023. Although it was a warm day, most of the shops and restaurants were closed, as the community comes alive mostly on weekends. It was hard to ignore the neighborhood’s lack of life compared to San Francisco and LA’s Japantowns, although this is a common theme with San Jose. I loved the themed streetlights and logo of the neighborhood, but other than the historical markers and shuttered Japanese home stores, it was hard to picture this neighborhood as a Japanese community hub.
San Jose Japantown may have seen better days, but community leaders clearly care about keeping the identity of Japantown alive. While San Jose today may be more well known for some of the best Vietnamese food outside of Viet Nam, it’s legacy as a post-internment hub for Japanese Americans continues to cement it’s place in Japanese American society today.
Chinatown – International District | Seattle
One more Japantown exists in my consciousness: Seattle’s Chinatown – International District (CID). Unlike the other Japantowns featured in this post, CID comprises of three different ethnic neighborhoods, with Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese communities forming the core of this multicultural neighborhood. The Japanese portion of the neighborhood is bordered by Yesler, South Jackson, Interstate 5, and 4th Street.
Although the modern day neighborhood is dominated by Chinese people, the presence of Japanese culture continues to persist today. The neighborhood’s major supermarket is a branch of the Japanese–American retailer, Uwajimaya. Japanese cuisine continues to thrive in the neighborhood, and a Japanese inspired park continues to permeate the Japanese–American role in this neighborhood.
One gem I loved from my short time in CID was Kobo, a Japanese store selling artisan goods. What makes it unique however, is that it exists as a modern reincarnation of Higo, a Japanese–American variety store that existed as a mainstay of the neighborhood for decades. What I loved about the store was the fact that it was a thread that linked the heyday of Seattle’s Japantown to the current day iteration of it. An exhibit exists inside where you can learn more about the store’s role, and how it continues to drive Japanese spirit in the area today.
Connecting the Past
In my research, I try to make a visit to each Chinatown. As a Chinese–American, it’s ultimately a cultural identity that I am naturally drawn to. If you know anything about Japan’s role during World War 2, you may aware about the relationship between Japan and China. However, in America, Chinese and Japanese alike were bonded in the cultural roots of discrimination, sacrifice, and growth in an increasingly multicultural America.
Ultimately, the story of Japantown is also rooted in the story of Chinatown – two marginalized communities that bonded to form the urban fabric of America today. As a conversation around the preservation of Chinatowns permeates around the Chinese American community, it would be of abject behavior to not examine Japantowns and their identity today as well.