Grace Horikiri, executive director of the Japantown Community Benefit District (CBD) says special events are among the area’s big draws, along with the permanent attractions like restaurants, karaoke bars, traditional art and anime shops.
Top of the list in the event category is Japantown’s Cherry Blossom Festival, one of the largest in America. It is held over two weekends in April, culminating in a parade.
Another significant occasion is the Niho Machi Street Fair, a celebration among the city’s Asian American, Pacific and Hawaiian communities.
Smaller events, such as Kodomo No Hi (Children’s Day) in May, are scattered throughout the year.
Hoririki says the area’s Peace Plaza, a focal point of Japantown, will soon undergo a US$33 million renovation.
‘The pagoda will stay but the surrounding area will have a major upgrade,’ she says. ‘It is where we hold all our festivals and it’s a welcome development.’
The district has a 117 year history, with a few surviving businesses having been there for 100 years and a number of others for 50.
Brandon Quan, deputy director of Japantown CBD, says that whenever people visit they are able to do a self-guided walk. There are 16 markers around the district with notes on ‘where we came from, what happened here, where we are today and where we are going.’
Quan points out that the past was somewhat chequered. ‘In the 1900s Japantown used to be much larger – 16 blocks now reduced to six blocks. Part of that process started in World War II and the incarceration of the Japanese through that time.
‘People did come back,’ says Quan, ‘but a lot didn’t and then through the 60s and 70s we saw the redevelopment of so-called ‘Blighted Areas’ and we were one of them. So it’s a very different place to what it used to be.’
That said, much effort has been put into supporting businesses and preserving cultural institutions. There is also a renewed and continuing interest in Japanese Anime, Hello Kitty, music, traditional art, clothing and food.
The result is that Japantown’s visitors are typically a young and enthusiastic demographic.
‘We’re attracting more European visitors and we see potential out of Australia and New Zealand,’ says Horikiri.
TRAVELinc Memo travelled to San Francisco courtesy of United Airlines.