Japantown

San Jose's Japantown, centred on Jackson and Fifth streets about a mile north of downtown, is one of only three Japantowns left in the United States. The neighbourhood has been a Japanese American community since the 1890s and survived the upheavals of World War II internment largely intact. Today it is a lively commercial district with Japanese and Japanese American restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and cultural centres alongside newer businesses.

The Japantown Business District is compact and walkable. Good ramen, Japanese curry, and Japanese-American breakfast spots are the main draw for visitors. The neighbourhood also has several small temples and a Buddhist church, and hosts the Obon Festival in July — a Buddhist summer festival with taiko drumming and traditional dancing that draws the whole community together.

things to do neighbourhood
A story
San Jose Japantown is one of only three Japantowns remaining in the United States — the others are in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most US Japantowns were destroyed when Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated during World War II and their property was seized or sold. San Jose's survived partly because some Japanese American families had non-Japanese neighbours and friends who watched over their properties while they were interned.