Meet us in Japantown
Have you seen the cherry blossoms bloom in Spring? If you have, you know why we made this special trip into Japantown, San Francisco. This year was Japantown’s 51st cherry blossom celebration. We traveled from San Jose to SF by Caltrain and bus, with TWO children. I’d say that’s a win for the adults. When we strolled onto the platform at Japantown, we were greeted by some Taiko drummers. What a welcome to the celebration!
There was a large group of attendees gathered beneath the Japantown tower in the plaza to watch the drummers. Some attendees were dressed in cosplay, which is the practice of dressing up as a character from Japanese movies, books, or video games. Others were dressed in traditional Kimonos. There were so many families who brought their little ones for the event and if you’re a dog lover, this was the place to be. We saw some adorable Shiba Inu, Huskies, and Akitas. There were vendors and booths set up and the street was closed down for the event. Vendors sold everything from sake to cosplay. With so many people from various walks of life, there was something that connected us all together, the love of Japanese culture.
It’s no secret that Woody and I love Japanese culture. I grew up in Malaysia, which is a melting pot of so many cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Indonesian, and more. As a child, I spent so much time watching old school animes like Speed Racer, Astroboy, and Kimba the White Lion. My Tok Wan (Grandfather) used to comment that I watched so many cartoons that I’d turn into one someday haha. Japanese culture has always held a special place in my heart. I fell in love with their anime, storytelling, folklore, art, and style. Woody was exposed similarly to Japanese culture by anime. He used to watch anime with his older brother as a kid. It’s awesome to be around so many people who also have this deep appreciation too.
Do you want to know the best part of Japanese culture??? THE FOOD. The food is so yummy and delicious! So naturally, we went to one of the best ramen places I know. They’re also one of the few places that have a chicken broth for their ramen because we can’t have a pork broth. Marufuku Ramen ALWAYS has a line so be prepared to wait and kill time. They’ve been great about updating their processes and recently added the option to text you when you’re reservation is getting close. During the festival, we waited about 1.5 hours. They were exceptionally busy and we had 46 people ahead of us when we signed up for a table. That was the first stop we made so that we could kill some time before eating.
We did some sightseeing, took some photos, as well as grabbed some snacks along the way. This was the first time that we all had Teppanyaki ice cream at Uji Time. This special dessert is made up of a fluffy, fish-shaped waffle cone and unique Japanese inspired flavors. The flavors included matcha, tofu, and Sakura. Then you could top the dessert with your choice of either pocky sticks, chocolate wafers, red bean, sprinkles, or something else. Boy was it yummy! Their line wasn’t too bad and had only been about a 15-minute wait.
Another favorite spot for us is the Kinokuniya bookstore. This bookstore is a two-level store of wonders. The top floor has books in all varieties with a dedicated corner for studio Ghibli memorabilia. For those of you who know (or what to know) Japanese or Chinese, this is a great store to visit. They have shelves and shelves full or Japanese and Chinese books. They also have English varieties. The kids enjoy playing and reading new books in the kid’s corner. If you walk downstairs, you’ll find their manga collection. Manga is Japanese (sometimes Chinese or Korean) comics. This was my favorite spot. I’m a big reader of manga and enjoy finding new stories to read.
No matter who you are or what you like, you need to visit Japantown! There’s something here for everyone. If you like food, there are plenty of shops for you. There’s an arcade, a video store, boutiques with Japanese inspired clothes and accessories, books, art supplies, and so much more.