A thanks to someone

I want to thank my friend, Sophia Q., who has helped me edit the current layout of my blog.

Thanks again Sophia :D

Happy holidays everyone!

(Pictures were taken by me LOL)

Finals impressions of Japantown/Western Addition

Two communities full of history and culture established on each side of Geary Boulevard: Japantown and Western Addition are clearly divided and tell two different stories.

Japantown stretches for two to three blocks along Geary Boulevard as it showcases an oriental aura surrounding the mall. On the other side of Geary, the Western Addition carries an atmosphere closely related to intimacy.

The amount of time I’ve spent in the two communities involved a lot of walking and taking in what the neighborhood offered. I observed what I considered the norm and talked to a small amount of people who only had good things to say about their communities.

I saw that he two communities are independent from each other. It’s apparent that Geary Boulevard acts as an imaginary barrier and division between the two neighborhoods.

Japantown:

Japantown (or in Japanese, nihonmachi) is a mall full of Japanese restaurants, souvenir shops, and miscellaneous stores related to the culture of Japan. In the surrounding area around the mall, there are community centers that serve the residents, i.e. Japanese cultural center.

I knew what to expect from the mall as I’ve visited the mall several times. I know I’ll find Japanese-style restaurants, stores, souvenir shops, and other services, but after visiting the mall since last spring semester, it was a breath of fresh air once again.

Japantown went through a reduction in size since it was first established.  It once spanned 20 blocks altogether and was considered the largest Japanese community outside of Japan.

When the United States entered World War II and Executive Order 9066 was passed, the Japanese community was forced to move away. After the war, many Japanese people didn’t come back to the area.

The mall was built to bring back the former glory of its past self, but it was ineffective.

Although the mall is only a shell of its past self, I found myself enjoying the bits and pieces of the Japanese culture. Pika pika, a purikura shop, showcases a part of the Japanese modern culture while visiting stores that sell Japanese trinkets, food, or other assorted items allow customers to view other parts of the culture.

Western Addition/The Fillmore

In terms of the Western Addition, I wasn’t able to stray very far from the crowded Fillmore Street, but I was able to see what neighborhood had in store.

As you head down Fillmore Street passed Japantown, you’ll find many stores, Korean restaurants, and other conveniences you may find in a neighborhood.

One thing I noticed was that this part of the Fillmore is totally different from the other side of Geary Boulevard because of the demographics here. There was a significantly larger population of African Americans here than other parts of the city.

At first, I wasn’t expecting a lot from this neighborhood, but after making trips back and forth throughout the semester, I found the neighborhood to carry a great amount of hospitality.

The people I’ve talked to throughout the semester had only praise about the safety of the neighborhood. I certainly felt that way while I was there.

My time in the neighborhood was interesting while it lasted. I recommend first time visitors to check out Japantown and its surrounding neighborhood. You’ll find a different perspective on the city by the bay.

This may be the last post on this blog, so I hoped you enjoyed your stay. ありがとうごさいました！まだねえええ～（Thank you very much. Hope to see you again~)

Pika Pika

About a month ago, I had to change my beat neighborhood to Japantown and the Western Addition. After getting my beat neighborhood changed, I decided to start my exploration with the Japantown mall. As I head upstairs and looked around, I see this business that seems out of place within the mall.

The business has a pink and black sign on the top left corner that say “Pika Pika”. I found myself curious about the shop and entered cautiously. The shop has many pictures of Japanese girls posing, but as I looked around, they are actually photo booths with many Japanese characters plastered around the confined space.

Ryan Kimura, the owner of Pika Pika, was the person who brought puri kura, Japanese version of the photo booth, to the San Francisco Japantown community. Puri kura was introduced to Japan in 1995 and continues to be popular. He learned about puri kura while teaching English in Japan for two years.

When he came back, his parents bought this business and asked if he wanted to join in. It came with a puri kura machine and decided to expand by buying more machines from Japan.

“It has grown to what I expected. It’s loud and crazy,” said Kimura. “And it has become a part of the community.”

Also, he said it’s a place for young people to be creative and crazy with no shame involved.

The people who work at Pika Pika are just as fun as the place itself. The employees there will help you with the process since the photo booths are only in Japanese. They will leave a lasting impression on you like the place itself.

In the future, I would like to visit Pika Pika again, but I am going to bring someone to get the full-on experience of puri kura.

*On a side note: After talking to Kimura, he suggested I go experience puri kura for myself since I have never tried it. My experience was awkward because I was taking pictures of myself, but I still had fun and decorating my pictures with random additions was just as addicting.*  

blog #1 - Impressions

           A nice clear, sunny day beats down on walking pedestrians and on the cars sitting in traffic.

It’s the Labor day weekend and the streets are filled with tourists and locals walking down Chestnut Street checking out the many stores and restaurants. Lombard Street is congested with cars waiting and hoping to get to their destination.

         My neighborhood is the Marina district. I didn’t know what I was getting into besides the great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. I’ve only passed by this neighborhood when I was heading my way to school and probably played a few baseball games when I was in little league. Other than that, I have had no interaction with the residents nor do I have an attachment towards this neighborhood.

       My impression of the neighborhood was peaceful, lively, and secured. Even with the many tourists exploring the neighborhood during the Labor Day weekend, I felt that the neighborhood didn’t have anything to worry about except the heavy traffic.

I guess what made my experience there peaceful was there was no worries about anything that would trouble the residents. The residents know they are not expecting any sort of trouble from any outside sources.   

  

Although things may seem that way, crime still lurks around.

“Break ins are seldom” said David, who works in a family-run business called All Star Donuts.

There is Marina Middle School, but it doesn’t look like they cause problems to the nearby businesses. Also, the noisy night life on Chestnut doesn’t give the neighborhood problems either. That’s the case for the time being.

I met two residents who only had good things to say about my neighborhood.

“There are many young families here, but there is a vibrant nightlife” he said. “It’s a neighborhood with two faces is what I would call it.”

“There is very little crime” said Bill, 72, Marina resident “At night, I feel safe.”

Moscone playground seemed to be a popular gathering spot for these young families to socialize and let their children play in the playground or out in the grassy area nearby.  

Another area where people hang out or relax is the grassy area of Fort Mason. When I went there, it was filled with bikers and people were laying out in the grass to enjoy the sun beating down on them. With the nice view of the Marina and the Golden Gate Bridge, people are going to find it relaxing to be there on a sunny day.

Although I didn’t find about any neighborhood groups, I did find the neighborhood’s newspaper. “The Marina Times” covers issues within the Marina district. The newspaper covers issues that may not even appear in the Chronicle or the Examiner. If you wanted to learn more about the Marina, this is what you should be reading online or in paper form.

Overall, my first impressions of my neighborhood is positive, but I know there is more to meets the eyes. My neighborhood will get dissected by me in some way or the other.