Japantown - San Francisco

Japantown first sprung up with the original influx of Japanese immigrants in the mid-1800s. After the mayhem wrought by the 1906 earthquake, many more Japanese settlers moved to what is now the Western Addition. Eventually, by the time the Second World War rolled around, this district had grown to have one of the largest concentrations of Japanese outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. Pictures from this era show that Japanese shops, temples, restaurants, teahouses, and community halls abounded in the quarter.

Today, Japantown is a 6-block collection of restaurants, shops and temples on Buchanan and Post streets. There is also a pair of sublime bronze works by noted Japanese-American sculptor Ruth Asawa, which were recently restored to their full original beauty. Japan Center, a five-acre complex of hotels, shops, theaters, sushi bars and restaurants at Post and Buchanan Streets. It is crowned by a five-tiered pagoda, a symbol of eternal peace.