Though the line did not extend around the block like the final days of the iconic Japanese confectionery, a crowd of guests lined up May 12 for Benkyodo, San Francisco’s now defunct manju shop in Japantown. However, instead of glutinous mochi, the crowd at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California was waiting […]
Hannah KC Mukai crowned 2023 Cherry Blossom queen
April 13, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Though the annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival moved its Queen Program out of Japantown to the Cowell Theater at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture April 8, the event maintained its focus on crowning the next queen and court who will represent Northern California’s Japanese American community for the next year. The […]
Cultural elements reinterpreted for Peace Plaza renovation
March 16, 2023 by Leave a Comment
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the Japantown Task Force held a virtual community briefing Feb. 28 to discuss the cultural elements that will be implemented in the Japantown Peace Plaza. The plaza, which will undergo a $32 million renovation expected to start in the spring of 2024, will reinterpret several key cultural elements […]
Committee presents 12 notables for history mural as community debates
February 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
The San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League held its fifth public meeting Jan. 30 on the proposed history mural at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California in San Francisco’s Japantown. Advisory committee members announced a slate of 12 people that they suggested the chapter board consider depicting on the […]
S.F. J-Town mural team narrows down nominees for depiction amid criticisms
January 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment
As the San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League works to further its plans for a mural commemorating the history of the city’s Japantown, community members gathered for the fourth installment in a series of meetings. The latest community meeting, focusing on the selection process of notable figures from the ethnic enclave to […]
SF: 17-year-old arrested in Muni attack that injured elderly woman
January 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy who allegedly kicked an elderly woman as he was getting off a Muni bus last month in San Francisco’s Japantown. Video of the incident showed the 79-year-old woman boarding the 38 Line coach at Geary Boulevard and Laguna Street at about 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 3, and the suspect […]
6 treated for possible overdoses on Christmas Day at Japantown home
January 5, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Emergency crews treated six people on Christmas Day for possible drug overdoses at a home in San Francisco’s Japantown neighborhood. Firefighters responded at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 25 to a home in the 1700 block of Post Street, according to San Francisco Fire Capt. Jonathan Baxter. Five people found at the home were hospitalized — two […]
Buchanan YMCA in S.F.’s J-Town set on fire
December 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment
The Buchanan YMCA caught fire during the afternoon of Nov. 27. According to the San Francisco Fire Department, the fire damaged the exterior of the building and two floors inside. Danielle Jones, director of public relations and communication for the YMCA of San Francisco, said the structure and interior of the building itself sustained minor […]
Japantown community discusses potential impacts of San Francisco Housing Element
December 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment
With the San Francisco Housing Element due to be finalized in January of next year, the Japantown Task Force hosted a community meeting Nov. 30 to discuss how the ethnic enclave will likely be affected by the latest “road map” for housing in San Francisco. The Housing Element is a document that is updated every […]
Countering misinformation on COVID-19 boosters among parents and seniors
November 24, 2022 by Leave a Comment
More than one million people in the U.S. have died due to COVID-19. And yet, as of Nov. 16, only 32.4% of eligible seniors in California have been vaccinated and received their bivalent booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website. As of Nov. 16, 12.9% of Asian Americans have received the […]
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