Japantown

Japantown is the best. I’d recommend going to Daiso/​Ichiban Kan to pick up some knick-​knacks, Benkyodo for mochi is a must, and Nijiya Market for snacks and food. There’s also a good bookstore near Benkyodo that has alot of interesting books from Japan.

Cute place with lots of Japanese treasures to discover! Restaurants, clothes, manga, movies, etc., this place has a lot to offer!

Japantown is so cute! So many shops and resturants and shops to explore! Parking can be a pain. Definitely eat at Benihannas when you’re here!

Went during the Cherry Blossom Festival, so part of the road were blocked and there was whole bunch of people– though it wasn’t worst like I imagined.
Soo hard to find parking, seriously took my brother 30 mins or more just to find parking and took my friend 30 mins just to get her potatoes on a stick snack. Those who’s reading this needs to understand that I went during a festival so this is expected, but it’s still a hassle
This «J-​town» is pretty small, but looks cute. I suggest going when there isn’t a special things going on; it’s so much easier to find parking and don’t need to wait a long line just to eat some sushi or some noodles
I love the foods here, so delicious. I also think Japantown has some cute and Japanese-​like stuffs, but in about an hour and a half or so I was done looking around. Anyways though, This was the closest interaction I could get of Japanese culture

I’ve been hanging out in Japantown for over 20 years and I can’t believe it hasn’t really changed. This is a good and bag thing. Some of the stores are still cool such as the Auto Racing Store and Bookstore and Mifune and Isobune are great but the lack of restrooms amazes me. Why haven’t they added more restrooms??? For as old as Japantown is, it has been at least kept up and I love hearing Japanese people speak their language. They’ve kept the culture alive here.

I like this 4 blocks small neighborhood. Lots of Korean and Japanese restaurants. Such as shabushabu, tofu ya, sushi plate etc. make sure you read the reviews of some of the restaurants and make a sound judgment lol.
I also like the bookstore in japantown, which has lots of imported books and magazines from Japan. (I wish I could work in that bookstore! It hired bilingual staff all the time– Japanese and English)
And yes, I like the hair dressing shop (Japan beauty salon). Their hair stylists are FROM JAPAN!(who know how to cut Asian hair), though it does a little bit more than you get in Chinatown lol.
Last but not least, I love Nijiya market, where you can get tons of authentic imported snacks from Japan. I love sweet stuff :)

Great place for the whole family, for strolling and some shopping .A lot of shops to choose from (small item, collectibles, beauty products and etc), restaurants and more .
We went to:
Daiso
Misfune (for our dinner)
Kinokuniya Mall, East Mall, and West Mall.
Belly Good Café & Crepes (yummy dessert, ordered crepes with strawberries and chocolate)
Playland (for kids, games /​Arcade)
Katachi Japanese Gifts (we bought wooden katana for my son (they have real ones), and key chains)
Japan Town Collectibles (cool toys and small collectibles here)
Andersen Bakery and Café (ohhh pastries & bread!)
Great experience and its a beautiful place!
Directions: Just north of Geary and south of Sutter, between Laguna and Fillmore. Yo can also take Muni buses #2, #3, #4, #22, #38, and #38L (Limited) take you to Japantown. You can’t miss its landmark – the Peace Pagoda
Japantown San Francisco Website:

As requested by Peter L, I’m writing a review about Japantown. I haven’t explored many Japantowns in the US, but I do adore this area of SF. There are so many cute shops, restaurants, etc. After looking through Japantown’s directory, I realized I’ve visited a number of establishments here.
*Benihana
*Benkyodo Company
*Daiso Japan
*Do Re Mi Music Studio
*Dosa on Fillmore
*Festa Wine & Cocktail Lounge
*Mogura Lounge S.F.
*Nijiya Market
*Playground Korean Fusion
*Ramen Yamadaya
*San Wang Restaurant
*Sophie’s Crepes
*Super Mira
*Tanpopo Restaurant
*Town Music Studio
*Waraku Ramen Dining
*Yakini Q
*Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop
*Yoshi’s San Francisco
Though I don’t get to Japantown as much as I used to, I still stop by for the occasional night of karaōke. Festa is the bar of choice with some of my friends, but you can also go to Do Re Mi, Mogura, Playground or Town Studio if you’re in the singing mood. I have another group of friends that prefers private rooms, so we used to go to Do Re Mi all the time.
Food wise, there’s a bunch of options. You can go to Benihana for entertainment while you eat. Dosa for delicious Indian food. Yamadaya, Tanpopo or Waraku for ramen. San Wang for korean chinese food. Or Yakini Q for korean bbq. If you want something sweet, there’s plenty of places to grab dessert. Benkyodo has the best mochi. Sophie’s got delicious crepes. And Yasukochi’s coffee crunch cake is to die for. You MUST try this if you’re in the area.
Parking is typically easy at night, but during the day, it can be a pain. If you can’t find a spot after a couple of loops, just park in the Japan Center Garage. The roommate and I drove around for 20+ mins once before giving up and just parking here.
Such a charming Japantown. One day, I’d love to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival. So pretty!

Check out the app TourWithMe for best local experience. You can download it in iPhone App Store or Android Google Play Store. :)

Only come here for the andersons bakery, the many japanese restaurants, and mochi! other than that, i’d pick chinatown over this spot. the mall is overly crowded BUT at least they have bathrooms. the hubby loves getting ramen and sushi in the area.

Being a San Franciscan for more than 2 decades, I’ve begun to see a pattern to my shopping and living while I spin around the city running errands and exploring the city in search of places new or necessary: All of them now pivot around my child.
The nursery school years meant our little world was largely centered around the Inner Richmond: the Safeway on 7^th & Anza (the *only good Safeway), the Cal Academy, Ton Kiang, Nagano Sushi and the Carousel by McLaren Lodge.
Preschool was all about the Inner Sunset: Andronico’s, Art’s Café, Crepevine, Mothers’ Meadow in Golden Gate Park, Giorgio’s Pizza, 19^th Avenue 76 (hello, Joe!) the Irving Street Post office and the shops along Irving Street.
But Japantown has always drawn me to it again and again since the first month I lived here. I’m not here seasonally but rather cyclically. I return and I’m reminded what I’ve missed: Soko Hardware, Nijiya Market, Sundance Kabuki Theater, Peace Plaza and all the shops and restaurants in Japantown Center.
Japantown is evergreen and since we drive past it constantly we tend to forget about its place (its beginning after WWII, an ugly chapter in U.S. history), its treasures and San Franciscan-​ness.
I wonder what it will be like once the Board of Supes decides to finally fill in the tunnel of Geary Boulevard so people really see and travel through Japantown by whatever means of car, foot or bike and not just whiz past it 60 feet below at 50 mph on their way east towards Union Square and the FiDi.

#6/​2016
Being a San Franciscan for more than 2 decades, I’ve begun to see a pattern to my shopping and living while I spin around the city running errands and exploring the city in search of places new or necessary: All of them now pivot around my child.
The nursery school years meant our little world was largely centered around the Inner Richmond: the Safeway on 7^th & Anza (the *only good Safeway), the Cal Academy, Ton Kiang, Nagano Sushi and the Carousel by McLaren Lodge.
Preschool was all about the Inner Sunset: Andronico’s, Art’s Café, Crepevine, Mothers’ Meadow in Golden Gate Park, Giorgio’s Pizza, 19^th Avenue 76 (hello, Joe!) the Irving Street Post office and the shops along Irving Street.
But Japantown has always drawn me to it again and again since the first month I lived here. I’m not here seasonally but rather cyclically. I return and I’m reminded what I’ve missed: Soko Hardware, Nijiya Market, Sundance Kabuki Theater, Peace Plaza and all the shops and restaurants in Japantown Center.
Japantown is evergreen and since we drive past it constantly we tend to forget about its place (its beginning after WWII, an ugly chapter in U.S. history), its treasures and San Franciscan-​ness.
I wonder what it will be like once the Board of Supes decides to finally fill in the tunnel of Geary Boulevard so people really see and travel through Japantown by whatever means of car, foot or bike and not just whiz past it 60 feet below at 50 mph on their way east towards Union Square and the FiDi.

Japantown is awesome! Lots of shops and restaurants! I thought it was just going to be a small little plaza with only a handful of stores. Boy, was I wrong. Japantown spans several blocks and it seems the area is well maintained. I could easily spend half a day here. It us totally worth checking out J-​town if you haven’t been here before.

Kon’nichiwa San Francisco Japan Town.
It was the last day of my San Francisco trip and I felt like I have done most of the touristy stuff in San Fran. So, I decided to search on Unilocal and found out about this cool place! Coming all the way here from Downtown San Francisco, it was definitely very different. Around this area, I saw a lot more of the elder generation and school kids.
After walking around for a bit, we saw a bridge and the five-​tiered concrete Peace Pagoda. We knew we made it! Walking in, I don’t think we were at a normal entrance, but it was kind of sketchy, because there was a paper sign that said take the stairs or the elevator. We were debating between the two options, when literally 10 massive flies were in the small space and then flew closer to the elevator where a mop was blocking it. Guess the elevator was the only option. Going into the mall felt like Pacific Mall in Toronto or Aberdeen Center in Vancouver. It wasn’t nearly as big as either of them, but it reminded me of them because they had little stores and restaurants in a little section of the malls.
There was honestly SO much to eat, we couldn’t decide, so we literally just walked around until we were so hungry that we just walked into a restaurant. HIGHLY recommend coming here to check out DAISO, everything is only $ 1.50 there! Loved it so much. JapanTown’s «malls» are also not all connected, so there’s a section that you have to walk outside before you reach the West/​East Mall. We walked a little outside where the main entrance of Japan Town was as it had an arch. The shops outside are very cute as well, I loved the origami shop which also sold Tortoro backpacks. Outside on the sidewalks of this street, there were unique sections to sit in.
Definitely a cute little area in San Francisco. I wouldn’t say it’s completely Japanese though because I saw a lot of Korean stores in there as well!

One of my favorite neighborhoods to hang out in. Like Chinatown the architecture is different here. It a short bus ride away it feels much farther.
For my visits the center is around the big mall. With its shops and restaurants. Kabuki hot Springs around back. The hardware store across the street.
It’s fun and different here. And when I am one San Francisco it draws me like a magnet.
I first came for Kabuki Hot Springs, quiet. Warm, soothing. It is a retreat within the city.
From there I discovered the mall and the plaza with the pagoda where if I am lucky school kids are playing. Then there is the Japanese version of the Dollar Tree. My final stop is the hardware store selling odds and ends just hard to find.

My son’s favorite place in SF! Great place to explore for Japan fanatics. Anything from Sushi, Mochi, Boba, to Manga art and fans, bamboo plants, and katanas. Beautiful artwork throughout the mall and great events throughout the year like the Cherry Blossom Festival.

I love Japantown. I’ve only been here twice now and I still haven’t explored every corner. I’m very interested in the Japanese culture so it’s nice seeing buildings, stores, shops, food and people here. It’s a definite spot to stop by when you’re in town. Especially when there’s festivals!

Since I’m half Japanese, I really like any area dedicated to them. SF has many Japanese immigrants so I’m not surprised to see a section of the city centered around their culture. Small in comparison to Chinatown, but a good place to explore all Nippon type shopping and restaurants. Little Tokyo in LA, I think is better, due to the fact it’s bigger. But this is the nicer looking one. Not easily accessible from the BART, but a couple of city buses pass through here. I always visit this place when I come to the city. I will come back again.

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Japan Town Nihonmachi in San Francisco is spanned about 10 blocks. SF Japantown is one of only three Japantowns remaining in the U.S. today, I didn’t know that!
I’ve been here for years and dined at a few places. This time, I got to show my 11 yrs old niece around. She’s at that age where she’s into Japanese Animé, comic books, and anything Japanese!
I love how on their website, they show the parking spot availability on Japan Center Garage, Entrance on Geary between Laguna & Webster and Japan Center Annex Garage, Entrance on Fillmore between Geary & Post. You can check it out before you are heading there.
Plenty of shops, restaurants, and things to do, Japantown History Walk, and much more. They offer street fairs, festival, community activities, and more.
We went to the East Mall, the West Mall, Ramen Yamadaya, Ramen Underground, Kinokuniya Bookstore, Daiso, Auto Freak, Amiko Boutique, and a few more stores. We had such a great time. My niece got to learn about other culture, enjoyed Japanese cuisine, got new shirts, and toys. She told me when can I bring here back. It was a good day.

Lots of nifty stores and restaurants. Almost feels like your in Japan.
Loved the outdoor pavilion. Grab a snack or coffee and sit outside and soak up the sun. Very cool temple looking structure provides a nice shade too.
Daiso was my favorite store to go to. It’s like a Japanese dollar store. So much stuff to buy at a good price!

I am a big Japanese gadgets freak so here’s where I found one of my paradise corners in San Francisco. The place is a commercial store full of small Japanese shops and restaurants, although you can also find Chinese products everywhere. I recommend you to save an hour to look around and check some of the spots like the photo booth stickers place, OMG it’s amazing! You can personalize your headshots with crazy cartoons, Japanese letters and colorful designs for only 10 dollars.
Another shop I love is the one dedicated to Japanese ceramics, even though I never buy there because of the long trip, we all know they play soccer with the luggage between flights and connections.
And last but not least… the T-​shirts and million useless gadgets store! from cuddly toys in a shape of a smiling nigiri to spider shoes, you would want to buy everything! Be careful with the prices because sometimes is not that cheap and here you can get excited easily, but here you’ll see the most funny chop-​sticks ever, get them!
I’d refurbish some old parts of the store that doesn’t fit very much with the clean, colorful Japanese style.

We walked to Japantown from our hotel just west of Union Square and it took about 20 minutes. Am glad there were no major steep hills and it was a good walk. In the mall, there are stores that sell everything from cosmetics, toys, housewares, and more. Lover of Pocky? Ichiban Kan has lots of variety for Pocky and other snacks. We did most of our shopping in SF at Japantown for items we haven’t seen back home like cute rice bowls and dishes. The Daiso store ($ 1.50 for most items) was super crowded and long lines but it’s bigger than the store on Market.
There are many small restaurants in in the mall which were crowded on a Saturday evening. We walked around the streets around the mall and found many of the restaurants had a line up too. Was busy for a Saturday and saw some Cosplayers shopping too.

I loooooooove Japantown SO much. So very, very much. It is a 6-​block area in SF and is well worth visiting if you have any love for Japanese food or shopping. I have much love for both of these things so I’ve made three trips to Japantown so far. The first time I walked there from SOMA but I would recommend a taxi unless you’re staying close (I always think distances in SF look quite small and am completely wrong every time).
I’ve never eaten at one of the restaurants in Japantown (horror) but have had crepes which were pretty good. The area is a shopping centre split over two halves — one of which is mainly a Daiso (100 Yen store /​$ 1.50). Daiso is good but the one upstairs is better.
On the other side of the shopping centre there’s more shops and restaurants. My picks are the Kinokuniya bookstore and Maido for stationery, and there are some really sweet gift shops too. Definitely pay the area a visit — this is where I got most of my gifts/​presents for myself to take back home.

TGIF ! The weather in Sacramento has been in the high 90’s all week so my wife and I decided to take a drive to the Bay Area for some fun and relaxation. Our destination today is San Francisco. To be exact Japan Town off of Webster Street.
A parking structure is provided for parking and there is also additional parking on the street. Be aware that when parking on the street, they are metered 7 day’s a week.
Japan Town is not only comprised of the 2 shopping malls but also all the businesses that surround the center. They have many restaurants, a hotel, a book store, bakery for your morning coffee and unique one of a kind gift shops. A must place to visit if you are headed to the Bay Area!
We enjoy coming here for the Nihonmachi Street Fair which is held in the month of August. This fair is to celebrate the Japanese heritage. Traffic is blocked off and the street is lined with information booths, food venders and live music for your enjoyment. Lots of fun!
Not to mention Cherry Blossom Festival which is held in the month of April. This year the Hello Kitty desert mobile was here! You should have seen the line for that! They also had a large children activity area for fun and games.
Entertainment on 2 different stages. Food venders lined the street. Companies giving free promotions of sample products. They even had a Animé Cosplay contest for those who like to dress up.
Make sure you stay for the parade on the last day of the festival. IT’S AWESOME!
Fun and amazing things happening here throughout the year so the next time your in the area, make sure you stop by .Who knows I might be there.

TOURIST BEWARE!!!
So mad… my friends and I rolled up for ramen after the Giants game one night a couple of weeks ago. A lot of the places/​shops were already closed with the exception of some of the late night Japanese restaurants. As we weren’t from SF, we drove around a couple of times to look for parking. After finding parking off Geary (in a POORLY LIT area off the street), my friends and I parked and went to grab some late night ramen.
After an hour or so, we came back to find a burned out trash bin by the Japanese monument, and 2 car windows broken into off Geary. When we rolled up to our rental car, we found out our car was broken into as well (window broken). The street was poorly lit and no one was around on a Saturday night.
After returning the rental car, they lady asked if we got broken into in San Francisco. Apparently it is an epidemic and daily occurrence in the city. What a bad way to end the night. let alone end our trip up to SF (they stole our SF Giants toys and memorabilia).

This is a great place for strolling and some shopping. It’s definitely one of the more popular tourist attractions here in SF. There is a shopping center on each side of the tower (not sure what that’s actually called). There are quite a few shops, but I usually just window shop and sightsee. Those shops include your typical Daiso, several small Japanese/​Animé shops, a few bookstores, clothing stores, food stands/​shops, and some restaurants. Most of these places are pretty affordable in my opinion. Some may be cheaper than others. But since this is a tourist attraction, there are some places that could be a little more expensive.
There are also a supermarket down the street and several restaurants and shops around the area (like across the street). I honestly only come here for one thing and that’s food. I come here for the Belly Good Crepes that is located in one of the indoor mall area. To me, there aren’t very much to do around here. People walk around, take some pictures, and eat mostly.
Overall, I do recommend coming here if you haven’t yet! It’s a nice place in the area even if you’re a native. It’s a nice place to take a walk without having to spend any money! I will most likely be back soon (to try out that Mitsu Teahouse that everyone is raving about).

Japantown oh sure I love everything about the Japanese stuff such as some animé characters & even their video games such as final fantasy and their food.
So I was super excited to visit japantown in SF especially to buy some plush from my favorite characters and of course for some foodie & Japanese snacks.
We parked in japantown parking structure which was very convenient.
We were surprised to see how old & empty and dead the place was.
Not a lot of stores to choose from only one store that had one of my fav character. No Crayon Sinchan or doraemon characters, FF characters such as squall, lightning figurine or a cute danbo. Very dissapointed.
Walked into Daiso Japanese store like a dollar store but nothing fun, it was only stuff that we are not gonna use (note maybe for some teenagers who like some cute /​Kawaīdesu /​kawaii girly stuff)
So ended with buy nothing from this store.
It seems wherever we went, we got bad looks from some older Japanese women, note only from the older women not the young people.
Oh yes the prejudice eyes and manner.
I am not a racist but geez cmon this is America. I knew it since they do the prejudice with their own race too if the people are born mix race not pure Japanese. Not believe me? Just watched the movie about it.
Wow ladies really? First of all I’m not a Japanese and second y’all now live in USA a country with a freedom so please get rid off your mind set from your origin country.
Actually, there’s not much here to enjoy here, little boring. There were few of restaurant choices.
We picked one and a dissapoinment.
We thought what better place to get a tea than in japantown but what a dissapoinment The best that I can say it was mediocre. No mochi shop inside the building only outside which wasn’t that good and bad service seemed like they didn’t want to serve us.
The only highlight of the adventure was the Japanese market. Everything of Japanese that you can think. So I bought many Japanese snacks such as kitkat that you baked in the oven, green tea and dark chocolate kitkat & and some instant ramen.
And the kinokuniya book store hmm disappointed. This book store was my fav place to go every weekend while I lived in my original country so I was excited to find out what they’ll have in real japantown and real Japanese book store but nada. Booo
The bakery shop inside was good, a small shop for some snack.
Unfortunately this japantown in SF isn’t my favorite to hang around, I prefer japantown in LA because it’s far superior with a great food, stores and pleasant atmosphere & close with Japanese museum.

I love Japan Town in SF~!
Maybe its because I love cute asian things and food! This is the best place to come to get your Japanese food fix. It’s also my favorite place to go shopping! I love love love the Daiso store, pika pika, milk tea, and the animé shops!
If your lucky, you might even see some cosplayers doing a photoshoot here!

Shake it Off — Dedicated to Japantown
I stay up too late,
Got Japantown in my brain.
That’s what Pika Pika say,
That’s what Japan Playland say,
I go on too many SF trips,
But I never make myself stay.
At least that’s what Kinokuniya says,
That’s what Kissako says.
But I keep cruising,
Can’t stop, won’t stop eating.
It’s like I got this mochi,
In my mind, says it’s gonna to be alright
Cause I am getting fluff, fluff, fluff,
And I am going to take selfie, selfie, selfie.
Sophie’s Crepes, I am just going to shake, shake, shake,
Shake it off, Shake it off.

Après une longue marche dans la ville pour arriver dans le quartier, une très agréable surprise ! Des jardinets inspirés de l’art nippon devant quelques immeubles. Puis les premières banderoles indiquant l’entrée dans le quartier.
Beaux espaces aménagés dans le style revisité d’une rue japonaise et surtout le Japan Center: des boutiques d’art traditionnel ou tournées vers des choses plus contemporaines (manga, animé et produits dérivés); cantines et restaurants; supermarché ou encore de très belles librairies (surtout celle dans le mall); espaces culturels…
Forcément avec tout ça, nous sommes ressortis avec des paquets, histoire de ramener des souvenirs «typiques» de San Francisco !