Japantown: A taste of culture in San Francisco

A stroll through San Francisco's Japantown takes you past exquisite Victorian homes that escaped the urban-renewal wrecking ball, significant historic sites and elegant temples.

Today Japantown - generally comprising an area between Fillmore and Laguna to the east-west and Geary and Bush to the north-south - is only a remnant of its pre-World War II self. This is because Japantown was emptied during the war when its citizens were forced into internment camps. After the war, some Japanese returned, creating the core of today's Japantown, or Nihonmachi. The area suffered a second blow during the '50s and '60s, when block after block of Victorians were razed to widen Geary Boulevard and create the Japan Center malls.

At Post and Buchanan, the heart of Japan Center, look up at the five-tiered Peace Pagoda. Rising 100 feet over Japantown, the pagoda was designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented as a gift to San Francisco from sister city Osaka. Flanking the pagoda are indoor malls filled with restaurants and shops. Near the entrance to the Kintetsu Mall is an interpretive sign for the first stop of the Japantown History Walk, a self-guided tour through Japantown focusing on history and culture.

From the pagoda, cross Post to walk through Osaka Way (Buchanan Street), the outdoor pedestrian mall. Look at the circular benches and lotus-blossom fountains (now waterless) designed by sculptor Ruth Asawa. Wonderful shops line the mall. Step into the Paper Tree (1743 Buchanan St.), an origami store with a gallery of intricate origami works.

At Sutter, turn right and walk past gorgeous Victorians to the Japanese American Citizens League headquarters (1765 Sutter St.). The JACL works to ensure civil and human rights for Japanese Americans. At Sutter and Laguna, you will find two of Japantown's many religious institutions: the Buddhist Soto Zen Mission Sokoji (1691 Laguna St.), where students of Zen come to meditate, and the Christ United Presbyterian Church (1700 Sutter St.).

Turn left on Laguna and walk north one block to Bush to see the Konko Church of San Francisco (1909 Bush St.). "Konko" means "teaching of the golden light" and teaches Tenchi Kane No Kami, the parent of the universe existing in all things. Open the door and walk inside to feel the room's peaceful simplicity.