Heart of the City

Japantown

Japantown’s history is plainly written in its neighborhood businesses. Some rank among the oldest continually operating establishments in the city. Soko Hardware on Post Street has existed since 1925. Phil Ashizawa represents the third generation of his family to run the store.

Originally, Soko was focused on serving the local residents; but, as Phil explains, “over the years, there was increasing tourism in the area and an interest in the Japanese culture.” The store began to expand its inventory to include the items that stoked visitors’ curiosity, like Japanese woodworking tools and traditional kitchen utensils. Phil continues to source these items, despite a growing scarcity. “Even in Japan, the traditional stuff’s getting harder to find.”

Restauranteur Masao Kuribara represents the fourth generation to run his family business, Hinodeya. Unlike Phil, who was born and raised in San Francisco’s Japantown, Masao was born and raised in Tokyo. How did he find his way to the City by the Bay?

“San Francisco is a city of innovation,” he says, which made it the perfect proving ground for Hinodeya’s unique dashi ramen on the other side of the Pacific. Masao credits San Franciscans—“people who have [a] sense of the diverse”—for his success. “I took up the challenge, and I opened the first dashi ramen restaurant in the United States.”

Asian pop culture, particularly from Korea and Japan, is being celebrated in America in a way it never has before. TV shows and musical acts break the language barrier. Anime and manga are no longer considered nerdy or niche. There’s a hunger for products and styles from that part of the world, and the Japan Center Mall is the best place in San Francisco to find them.

“I’m really, really excited with the resurgence of the Mall,” says Jeremy. In attracting a younger crowd, the shops and restaurants inside have given a new spark to this old anchor of the neighborhood.

Step outside the Mall’s doors and you’ll find yourself in the Japantown Peace Plaza. This public space has been the center of neighborhood celebrations, including the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival and the Nihonmachi Street Fair.

“A lot of the older Japanese population that used to live here have moved out,” notes Phil. Yet that demographic change doesn’t worry him.

“I think the restaurant scene here definitely attracts a lot of young people,” he adds. “I appreciate the mix.”