Street Fairs in Japantown are Being Threatened!

This past weekend, we were in Japantown, for the Nihonmachi Street Fair. We set up a booth at this fair every year and it's always a great time!! Big ups tp everyone who came by to say what's up, picked up some gear and just came by to kick it!!

We also learned that the Homeowners Association and the owners of the Condo building at the corner of Post and Webster, where the Japantown Bowl once stood, are threatening to try to put a halt both the Nihonmachi Street Fair AND the Cherry Blossom Festival... and even the Fillmore Street Fair!! What the heck??

When I heard about this, it really saddened me. Not because, they insulted me, as a vendor, by referring to the vendors as "purveyors of schlocky souvenirs", but because of the following reasons, which really don't sit well with me...

1. As newcomers to the Japantown neighborhood... you would think they'd embrace the neighborhood, its culture, and the cultural events that have been taking place in the neighborhood for decades.

2. The Japantown Bowl, a Japantown icon, was torn down to build the condos. So I feel it's almost like that building is stripping the life out of Jtown. No more bowling alley, no cultural shops on the ground-floor of the building... and now they want to do away with the street fairs??

3. As a kid, growing up in The City, the Nihonmachi Street Fair and the Cherry Blossom Festival, were and still are an annual tradition.

4. These festivals are in NO WAY dirty. 4fifteen clothing participates in three street fairs annually... the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Haight Street Fair and the Nihonmachi Street Fair... I can tell you that the two street fairs held in J-Town are so clean and well organized. Hands-down.

I wanted to write about this to help bring awareness to this issue. I will do whatever I can to help out in the fight to keep the street fairs in J-Town!!

Read more about this on
Curbed SF
Yelp Talk
Akit's Complaint Dept