You probably know about San Francisco’s Chinatown. It’s one of the oldest and most established Chinatowns in the United States, boasting the largest Chinese population outside of Asia. But did you know that there’s a Japantown as well in San Francisco?

The Japantown in San Francisco, aka Nihonmaki, is THE oldest and largest Japantown in the U.S. And it’s one of the only Japantowns left in the country, along with Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo and San Jose’s Nihonmaki.

They have many restaurants, shops and businesses in and around the Japan Center. And this really cool pagoda in the middle of the Japantown Center Mall:

Japantown Center Malls (Brief Overview)

There is a total of 5 large mall buildings in Japantown, including AMC Kabuki 8 and Hotel Kabuki. But the three main buildings: the Kinokuniya Mall, Japan Center West (formerly called Kintetsu Mall), and Japan Center East (formerly called Miyako Mall).

The Kinokuniya Mall has Boks Kinokuniya, a two-story bookstore that sells Japanese novels, books, mangas (comic books), Studio Ghibli related products and DVDs, and cute stationery.

Not to mention the many restaurants, cafes and shops that offer the best of Japanese food and goods!

Now moving onto Japan Center West! You can get to Japan Center West by taking an indoor bridge from the Kinokuniya Center.

I think this center had the most restaurants, with even one on the bridge itself. There’s also this dark alley with restaurants lined up, just like how it is in Japan.

Once you exit, you’ll arrive to the plaza where the San Francisco Peace Pagoda stands!

The plaza is right in between Japan Center West and Japan Center East. You’ll have to pass by the pagoda and the plaza and enter the third and last building to get to Japan Center East.

From my observation, Japan Center East had the most cultural decorations, including this red bridge and beautiful wall art of Japanese fans:

The Mini Art Mart

Now, the day I visited San Francisco’s Japantown was on July 16th, the day of the Mini Art Mart. The Mini Art Mart is a monthly market held in Japantown where local artists come together to display and sell their Japanese-inspired artworks.

There were so many visitors eager to look at the works created by independent artists!

Crowds of people were by the artists’ booths on the first and second floors of the Kinokuniya Mall, with more throngs hanging out by the restaurants, cafes and stores in Japan Center West. In Japan Center East, there were more booths, but they were selling jewelry and clothes rather than artworks:

My Favorite Artists

There were a bunch of booths with countless artworks hung up everywhere. Most featured characters from anime, manga, and Studio Ghibli, but there were some that were just artworks of cats, dogs and other cute animals.

Most of the local artists seemed like independent artists who weren’t well known. A few artworks seemed to be done by beginning artists. There was also Yanchako, an artist who is already well-established, with her works being permanently sold in the Maido stationery store. She left early with her assistant, so I don’t have photos of her work. But here is her IG account!

Along with Yanchako, I had two artists whose artworks I just HAD to purchase: Starry-Droplets and Starfish.

Starry-Droplets (Sandy K.)

As I was browsing through the second floor of the Kinokuniya Mall, I was drawn to this booth by Sophie’s Crepes:

Not only did this artist draw some of my favorite anime/mangas, but also her art style was just so lovely!

Although there were postcards, keychains and stickers, too, I was completely won over by the illustrations. The 5 x 7 illustration cards were $7 each – they’re definitely not cheap! But to show my support and to keep the lovely souvenirs, I purchased two. (I’ll reveal which ones I got at the end! 😉)

The booth of Starry Droplets (Sandy K.) was definitely one of my favorites that day. Her artworks were the prettiest, in my opinion, because I adore cute, bright illustrations. 💕

Starfish (Single Brain Cell Club)

The other artist that made me open my wallet was Starfish. She was located on the second floor, too, close to Starry-Droplets.

Her artworks were much darker, but regardless stunning. And I loved how her artworks weren’t only about anime/manga. For instance, look at this pin with the cutest little puppy sleeping!

Though all the illustrations were stunning, I couldn’t afford to spend too much more. So after purchasing the cute dog pin ($5, again not cheap!), I had to retreat, leaving these artworks behind:

But I got the artist’s QR code:

I honestly can’t wait to see more illustrations done by Starfish!

Mini Art Mart + Japantown = Ultimate Outing

It was such a fun day to visit San Francisco’s Japantown on the day of the Mini Art Mart! I got to see beautiful illustrations drawn by local artists AND eat a delicious bowl of curry udon at Udon Mugizo.

And I got these two lovely artworks! (Along with a very cute pin.)

I highly recommend visiting Japantown during the Min Art Mart. It was such a lively event where lovers of Japanese anime & manga got to connect with local, independent artists. If you don’t mind all the crowd, the Mini Art Mart will make your visit to Japantown even more fun.

P.S. For the full directory of stores at Japantown SF, visit their official website HERE.

For more info on the Mini Art Mart, check out their Instagram account HERE.

P.P.S. Want to learn more about the artists Sandy and Starfish? Use these links below:

Starrydoplets (Sandy K.) & Starfish (Single Brain Cell Club)