Welcome to Japantown

By Jameson Datoc ’23

A quick trip to Osaka, Japan is a little closer to the states than you think. Welcome to San Francisco’s Japantown–an area known by San Franciscans as a place filled with a vibrant atmosphere.

Where Japanese trinkets, art, and cultural items fill the stores. Where people can explore and immerse themselves in Japanese culture. Where people come to take great photos in Peace Plaza. And where people come to take part in seasonal cultural festivals and of course have some authentic Japanese food.

San Francisco’s Japantown, located on Post and Fillmore streets, has been the center of the Bay Area’s Japanese and Japanese American community since 1906.

It is not only the largest and oldest out of the three Japantowns, which all happen to be in California: Little Tokyo in Los Angeles and Nihonmachi in San Jose, but also in all of the United States.

San Francisco’s Japantown, or what locals call it, “Little Osaka” is sometimes overlooked by San Francisco’s Chinatown, but there is a lot to do in the seemingly small area.

Fun Fact

After the 1906 Great Earthquake and Fire, Japanese residents in Chinatown moved into what is now Japantown.

Mission Dolores

By Jameson Datoc ’23

In the heart of San Francisco, you will find the oldest building in the city, the old Mission.

Mission San Francisco de Asis was the sixth Mission in the state of California and after its completion on Oct. 9, 1776 it was named after Francisco de Asis (now a saint). The Mission was used not only as a house of worship, but also as agricultural communities, manufacturers of different products, hotels, ranches, hospitals, schools, and the center of the largest communities in the state.

Now, the Mission is a tourist attraction located between Dolores and Church streets, showcasing the rich history of the origins of the city, the history of the Native Americans who lived there, the beautiful original designs of the Mission, and the oldest cemetery in San Francisco.