Japantown

But Japantown’s still got some good shopping, decent-if-not-spectacular food (my favorite Japanese places in SF are actually both in the Mission, curiously enough), and bits of culture high and low. I like the Japanese supermarket and the Super 7 toy and design gallery, among other places… if you like Japanese stuff, like the oh-so-stylish pop cultural ephemera which have captured the world’s heart in the past decade or two, you’ll find stuff you like here.

It’s particularly interesting given that so few Japanese people actually live here nowadays (it never recovered from the internment, like most Japanese centers in California). They certainly come back in droves to shop on the weekends.

Go during one of its several festivals for a good time.

my second home.

I think San Francisco’s Japantown is worth it only if you have never been to a Japanese-American community like that before. There are 3 major ones in California (Little Tokyo in Los Angeles and Japantown in San Jose) and as a Japanese-American, I say without reservation that they all suck but it’s what we’ve got so we must work with it to make it better. They are all quite small (as compared to other ethnic ghettos) and are not as vibrant as they once were (very sad to walk around and see all the vacant storefronts). The SF and LA ones are the only ones worth bothering about. What is great about these communities is that in a compact area one can absorb Japanese culture, whatever your background may be. The food at restaurants, books/music at bookstores, pop culture at anime/toy shops, etc. What I personally like about SF’s Japantown is that it is in San Francisco, of course! The mood is nicer than LA and since it is more compact, easier to see the whole. I have only been to a festival in Japantown once so I cannot really comment on that aspect of the community.

Kushi Tsuru is one of my favorte restaurants in Japantown. Its not that they make a a killer platter of sushi and sashimi… all the people who work there are fantastic. I having been taking classes learning Japanese and go there after class, and the young ladies who work there are always helping me with my homework!! Two of them became my language partners for a little while. I got to help them with their English while they helped me with my Japanese.

Still it all comes back to food there at Kushi Tsuru. Its really quite good. I have been to most of the other places in “Nihon Machi”-Japantown and I feel so welcomed there. One of my favorite dishes is “Otoko Yama”. They also have great Bento box dishes, Udon,

Yakatori, Green tea and Mango ice cream, and do serve tea (Ocha!)Japanese Beer (Biru!)and Sake.(Both hot and cold.) Kushi Tsuru is located in the center section of Japantown (Next to the Peace Plaza Tower) just past Mifune in the Mall.

When you go by Japantown check it out. The food there is

Totemo Oishiii desu!

Domo Arigato Gozaimashita!

Tanoshin o kudsai!!! Jaa Ne!!

One of the best restaurants in　the city

I never get tired of this place

its charm is boundless

元気です！