memoirs of a j-town

by krystle ignacio

For Bay Area natives, the thought of San Francisco without Japantown seems loony. It’s “J-town” – where you can delight in an abundance of Japanese culture within the confines of approximately eight city blocks, from Sutter to Geary and Fillmore to Laguna. Japanese-influenced restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, lounges, and specialty shops, many with authentic merchandise directly from Japan, make up the charming atmosphere of San Francisco’s Japantown. The city is privileged to be home to Nihonmachi (aka Japantown), one of only three in the entire U.S. So why sell nearly three-quarters of such a culturally thriving community?

Kinetsu Enterprises Corporation of America, one of two Japanese enterprises that owned a significant chunk of Japantown businesses, formerly owned two major malls, Miyako Mall and Kinetsu Mall, and two hotels, Miyako Hotel and Best Western Miyako Inn. In early February, the company announced their intention to sell all of their businesses in Japantown. There was serious community concern during the initial stages of the dealings that the distinctive identity of Japantown would fade and disappear through this sale. However, legal representatives of Kinetsu Enterprises Co. appeased the public by ensuring that the new owners would protect Japantown’s cultural legacy. 3D Investments, based in Lost Angeles, bought three of the businesses in late February and readily guaranteed that they would respect the community’s wishes to maintain the district’s culture. Still, many people remain unconvinced.

It seems as though the most profitable development for that future region would be building market-rate condominiums. For instance, back in 2000, a bowling alley which was also owned by Kinetsu Enterprises Co. was auctioned, despite the community’s intensely passionate resistance. Japantown Bowl was eventually sold to the highest bidder for $7 million. Today, what was once a place for youth and bowling leagues to get together is now just another extremely expensive condominium complex. This, however, is a fate for the rest of Japantown that the community refuses to accept. There has been strong support among community leaders in favor of constituting a Special Use District legislation for the area. This type of legislation would help to protect and preserve the cultural integrity of Japantown. The Special Use District legislation has been passed by the San Francisco Planning Commission and is currently under review by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

In addition, a popular movie theater, American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (AMC) Kabuki Cinema 8, was also for sale due to an anti-trust ruling. AMC and Loews Cineplex Entertainment, two major movie theater chains, merged in January under the government terms that they must put ten of their theaters on the market for independent buyers. As a result, Kabuki Cinema 8 was bought by Sundance Cinemas and is now called “Sundance Kabuki.” Representatives of Sundance Cinemas also expressed that they do not intend to alter the “community-based nature of the theater.” They anticipate continuing to maintain cultural traditions at the theater such as the San Francisco International Asian-American Film Festival, which is an annual celebration.

Skepticism remains in light of the changes made in the Japantown landscape. Although the Japanese-American population accounts for only 10% of the neighboring region as a whole, Japantown is nonetheless an icon for its culture. If 3D Investments follows through with their promise to keep the cultural integrity of the district, then there would be more reason to rejoice. The new ownership of Japantown could possibly breathe a new, revived life into the community. Modern structures along with age-old culture may be just what Japantown needs. Keeping in mind what happened to Japantown Bowl, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

A few facts about SF Japantown...