Visitors guide to Japantown

 

Grab sushi, boba tea and a Hello Kitty backpack and lounge around at the Peace Plaza, with its huge pagoda, beneath beautiful Cherry Blossom trees. Welcome to Japantown (Nihonmachi), a smaller and more quaint Chinatown, minus the T-shirt stalls. 
 

One of only three Japantown neighborhoods in the country (another is an hour south in San Jose), the one is San Francisco is the oldest and largest. It’s nowhere near as big or lively as Chinatown, but it’s a first-rate place to visit for ramen or manga comic books.

 

Japantown - technically, it’s not a neighborhood, it’s part of the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood - is about six square blocks, centered along Post Street between Laguna Street and Fillmore Street. It goes up to Pine Street and down to Geary Boulevard. Buchanan Street (also called Osaka Way) is in the heart of it, and that street is closed to cars.

 

Japan Center, with its load of stores in two malls (East and West), is the center of it all and a popular place to shop for Japanese-centric wares.

 

Kabuki Springs and Spa is a traditional Japanese bath house at 1750 Geary Blvd. Make a reservation and relax in their sauna and baths. 

 

If you’re looking for sushi, try an original - Isobune Sushi (on the first floor in the West Mall) is where sushi boat-style eating was invented. Watch the little boats of food sail by your table and grab what you like. 

 

Looking for ramen? Head to the Kinokuniya Mall and pull up a chair in the sleek dining room at Marufuku Ramen. It’s one of the hottest restaurants in the city. 

 

The Hinodeya Ramen Bar at 1737 Buchanan Street is another good choice, or go over to the Suzu Noodle House (1825 Post Street) for their scrumptious fried chicken ramen.

 

If you have never been to one of those cook-your-own-food places, here’s your chance. You can't miss at Shabu-Sen (1726 Buchanan Street), just don't cook too much all at once.

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Have some fun at dessert time by designing your own crepes at Belly Good Cafe and Crepes. Nearby, at 1747 Buchanan Street, the Benkyodo bakery has been family-run for more than 100 years, offering up some of the best mochi (rice cakes) and manju in the city.

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Shopping is a big reason to visit Japantown (J-Town to locals). If you are not familiar with Daiso, check out the store on the East Mall. It’s the Japanese equivalent of a dollar store. Everything is $1.50 or so. Even Japanese candies including Pocky sticks. Also in the East Mall, stop by Ichiban Kan for fun Japanese knick knacks.  

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You can shop for Japanese housewares at Soko Hardware on the corner of Post and Buchanan streets. The huge Kinokuniya Bookstore at Post and Webster streets is a good time. Kinokuniya, a popular chain in Japan, devotes its entire bottom floor to manga comics. The Paper Tree at 1743 Buchanan Street has tons of origami. 
 

On a hot day (the kind San Francisco tends to get in September), cool off in the Kabuki 8 movie theater at the corner of Fillmore and Post streets. It can feel like a bar at night. Reserve a seat at one of their tables and you can bring your own alcoholic beverage of choice, provided you buy it at their bar just outside of the theater.

 

Hot tip: The best time to visit is in April, when the gorgeous cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. There is a popular Cherry Blossom Festival at that time each year, at which you will share the air with some 200,000 other folks. There is a smaller street fair in Japantown every August.

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Getting around: The No. 38 bus goes straight up Geary Boulevard from Union Square to Japantown. If you drive, you could find street parking troublesome in more ways than one: There isn’t that much of it, and if you’re driving a rental car, you are a prime target for an auto break-in. Instead, hit the Japan Center Garage, which has an entrance on Post Street between Buchanan and Webster and another at 1610 Geary Blvd. near Webster Street.

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Nearby: Fillmore Street takes you a few blocks to the Fillmore District, which has a terrific tradition of music venues, particularly known for its live jazz. The music scene there is grooving a lot more lately.

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Photo op: The Peace Pagoda, a five-story, concrete gift from Japan that sits in the main square of Japantown between Post and Geary streets, is by far your best bet.