Japantown

community, San Francisco, California, United States

Also known as: Nihonmachi

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June 29, 2026

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Japantown, also known as Nihonmachi, is a Japanese community located in San Francisco, California. Before World War II, the Japanese community in San Francisco was significant, but it was largely dismantled when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps due to Executive Order 9066 in 1942.1

The present-day Japantown is a commercial and cultural center situated a few blocks east of Fillmore Street. While younger generations of Japanese Americans visit Japantown for events and to purchase goods, their primary residences are often elsewhere. Japantown is recognized as one of San Francisco's ethnic enclaves, contributing to the city's vibrant popular culture alongside other communities like Chinatown and the Mission District.12

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San Francisco
People of San Francisco
…of the Japanese community is Japantown (Nihonmachi), a few blocks east of Fillmore Street, now an ambitious commercial and cultural centre. Though the rising generation of Japanese Americans go to Japantown as visitors, bound for church services, social or cultural events (such as the annual cherry blossom festival), or to…
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…of the Japanese community is Japantown (Nihonmachi), a few blocks east of Fillmore Street, now an ambitious commercial and cultural centre. Though the rising generation of Japanese Americans go to Japantown as visitors, bound for church services, social or cultural events (such as the annual cherry blossom festival), or to…
Read More