Ito, Hirano, Wada, Murata Oppose Starbucks

[Mulboyne]

Nichibei Times: Community Opposes Starbucks Bid for Japantown Location

SAN FRANCISCO – Where bowling pins once fell, another Starbucks may soon be selling coffee. In the face of stiff community opposition, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency recently approved a plan for a Starbucks and UPS Store to be set up at the site of the former Japantown Bowl at Post and Webster streets in San Francisco. Many in Japantown are alleging a breach of trust by the Agency...Caryl Ito, vice chair of the Japantown Task Force, said that during a meeting with the Agency and developers in 2002, she had specifically mentioned Starbucks as a business Japantown did not want to see in the neighborhood. She added, "To me, it's contradictory. With the monies that you have invested in our community to preserve the cultural and the neighborhood character, this is really inexcusable."...more...

I wonder if Starbucks have made the case that their store would make Japantown more culturally authentic.

[FG Lurker]

I wonder if Starbucks have made the case that their store would make Japantown more culturally authentic.

I was wondering the same thing actually. Something tells me Caryl Ito hasn't been to Japan for quite a long time...

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

AP Wire: Fears of Japantown's demise as neighborhood celebrates centennial

As organizers prepared for the centennial of the nation's oldest Japanese-American community, some worried that Japantown's birthday bash could become its memorial service. The excitement surrounding the festivities was quickly overshadowed by news that three-quarters of the real estate in the historic San Francisco neighborhood, which grew from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake, had been sold amid weak revenue and lagging tourism. Beverly Hills-based 3D Investments, which agreed earlier this year to buy two hotels and two malls from Osaka, Japan-based Kintetsu Enterprises of America, has not publicly disclosed its plans. A representative did not return calls for comment. The fear in the Japanese-American community is that 3D could push out family-run businesses in favor of big-box retailers and write the final chapter in the neighborhood's slow decline...With its modernist pagoda and pedestrian thoroughfare lined with noodle and sushi restaurants, Japantown was once a big tourist destination. But it has nearly fallen off the map since major traffic routes into the area were closed and aging buildings made it less appealing in a city brimming with must-see attractions. "They don't come by the busloads anymore," said Rosalyn Tonai, executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society. "They're individual tourists, and even then, they'd rather go to other attractions, like Alcatraz"...more...

[Mulboyne]

[mr. sparkle]

Really sad. Japantown in SF is going downhill fast. The spirit of the J-community here will continue, I am sure. They will continue to have the cherry blossom festival, etc. as time moves forward.

[Taro Toporific]

Really sad. Japantown in SF is going downhill fast.

Sheeee-it. I distinctly remember asking road vacation in 1959, "What is wrong with this Chinatown Mommy?" Japantown in SF was a dump in 1959 when I first saw it. And it was dead in 1975 when I lived in Miyako Hotel for a couple months. There's nothing to "save" in Japantown because there aren't any unassimilated Japanese to beathe life into it.

[maraboutslim]

I still see lots of Asian faces in SF Japantown these days, but few of them are Japanese. My wife actually works in the neighborhood and we go there regularly but it doesn't really have the feel of a "_____town" the way most Chinatowns (including SF) still do, that's for sure.

[GomiGirl]

I kinda agree - the few times that I have been to San Francisco, I have been most disappointed by Japantown. Chinatown was amazing though!!

[Captain Japan]

I kinda agree - the few times that I have been to San Francisco, I have been most disappointed by Japantown. Chinatown was amazing though!!

Where in the world is there a sizable Japantown worth visiting? I can't think of one.

Sawtelle in Los Angeles has some nice places but it is small. The downtown Japantown spot is really small and the last time I was there I was really underwhelmed.

[Mulboyne]

Where in the world is there a sizeable Japantown worth visiting? I can't think of one.

Liberdade might be interesting but probably just as much for being in Brazil.

[Mulboyne]

AsianWeek: J-Pop Theme for Revamped J-Town Hotel

Local boutique hotel operator Joie de Vivre has unveiled its conceptual plans for the renovation of the Miyako Hotel and Miyako Best Western Inn to the general satisfaction of Japantown leaders...more...l

There's no real indication in the text of what a J-Pop hotel might be. By the way, I can't find the thread with pictures of Japantown Cherry Blossom Queens. Here's 2006 winner Emily Yukiko Leach.



EDIT: I was looking for the wrong thread. That one is for the Nisei Week Queen.

[Mulboyne]

LA Downtown: A New Chapter for Japanese Village Plaza

For nearly three decades, Japanese Village Plaza has served as a barometer for Little Tokyo. Japanese Village Plaza, built in 1978, has been purchased. The new owner's plan for a major renovation has sparked some concern from area stakeholders. Built in 1978 as a symbol of the neighborhood's up-and-coming status, the outdoor mall later lost luster as the neighborhood grappled with an economic downturn and weak tourism market. Now, with Little Tokyo entrenched in the residential revitalization sweeping across Downtown Los Angeles, Japanese Village Plaza appears poised for a comeback. That could occur soon. Malibu-based American Commercial Equities purchased the property last month from Cathy Chang for an undisclosed sum. The company has announced plans to upgrade the plaza over the next year.

"What we really plan on doing is giving a new face to the project while maintaining its integrity," said Marvin Lotz, president of American Commercial. "We look at it as an opportunity to revitalize a center that's been very, very important culturally." But some community members fear that Japanese Village Plaza's renovation could push out some of its mom-and-pop businesses, compromising the mall's distinctly ethnic character. Japanese Village Plaza, connecting First and Second streets between San Pedro Street and Central Avenue, was built as a project of the Community Redevelopment Agency. It was part of a larger effort to revitalize the neighborhood.

Around that time, recalls Bill Watanabe, executive director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, there was concern in the community that the CRA seemed focused on bringing "big, high-profile projects" into Little Tokyo. Japanese Village Plaza, he says, "was sort of a response to the concerns; a way to keep the ethnic flavor of the mom and pop shops in Little Tokyo." To this day, the plaza retains its small-town feel, though it also has obvious tourist appeal. Its cozily situated businesses include Japanese restaurants, cafes, clothing stores and a specialty market.

Initially, Japanese Village Plaza thrived, fed largely by a steady stream of Japanese tourists, said Frances Hashimoto, past president of the Little Tokyo Business Association and owner of the mall's Mikawaya Mochi Ice Cream. During the '90s, the Asian economy took a downturn, and the effects were felt in Los Angeles. "The Japanese tourists stopped," said Hashimoto, "and as a result the Japanese companies here that rely on Japanese tourists closed and left." In the years that followed, she says, "It was a really gloomy type of atmosphere" in Little Tokyo and at the plaza, which fell into a state of semi-neglect.

In recent years, however, business in the neighborhood has picked up, helped by a slew of new, nearby residential projects, including the Savoy condominiums at First and Alameda streets, the 128-unit Hikari apartments on East Second Street and the Little Tokyo Lofts on San Pedro Street. Several other developments are underway. With an influx of residents and more than 40 new businesses reportedly opened in Little Tokyo last year, Japanese Village Plaza has benefited from the emergence of an increasingly active community. "If you look around, there are people walking at night now," said Hashimoto. "We used to close at seven, and now we're open until 10 and on weekends until 11."

Large-scale renovation plans for Japanese Village Plaza are still in the early stage and will not be implemented for at least six months, said Lotz. The complete upgrade, according to the plaza's new property manager, will be finished in approximately a year and will include renovating the currently vacant second-story office spaces, which the owners hope to eventually lease. In the meantime, improvements such as cleaning, tree trimming, repainting and enhancing the plaza's security are underway. "We're not doing anything structurally to the center now," Lotz said. In the long run, he added, "We have no plans to flip this center. Our plans are just to enhance it."

While tenants agree that a facelift for Japanese Village Plaza is long overdue, many also worry about the possibility of increased rents. "All the tenants are anxious," said Nikki Ikeda, owner of the plaza's Blooming Art Gallery. "The new owners invested a lot of money, and sooner or later, they'll increase the rent." Fueling the anxiety, she said, is the fact that many of the mall's current tenants have month-to-month leases. Lotz said that for now, "We haven't even entertained the thought of increased rents or anything like that." But property manager Mark Hong of CB Richard Ellis, who will handle leasing for the plaza, is more blunt about the future. "Not all businesses are successful," Hong said. "The ones that are not successful will not be extended."

That prospect has led to concern that the changes pending at Japanese Village Plaza could compromise its status as a Japanese-American enclave. "I think many of us are concerned that the plaza maintain its cultural identity," said Chris Aihara, chair of the Little Toyko Community Council and executive director of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. "I would be happy to see some consideration given to the uniqueness of some of the stores that reflect the culture." Aihara and others say they hope the plaza will continue to host cultural events, as it has throughout its history. Most recently, the mall offered an outdoor market with everything from handmade paper to Japanese-style clothes and a stage hosting martial arts demonstrations as part of Nisei Week, the annual festival celebrating Japanese-American culture that ended last week.

"We are very sensitive to the cultural issues surrounding this project," Lotz said in response to the concerns. Maintaining Japanese Village Plaza's character, he said, is "our number one priority." To that end, American Commercial has selected Rothenberg Sawasy Architects to collaborate on renovation plans for the plaza. The firm drafted the mall's original design more than 30 years ago. "The current plans for JVP will restore much of the original architecture detail character that has decayed with years of deferred maintenance," wrote RSA principal Mitchell Sawasy in an e-mail from Shanghai, where he is working on a project. "JVP has held up very well and the original concept is still valid today. With a few new twists it is my hope that the community will still appreciate it for many years to come."

For now, Little Tokyo community members seem mostly willing to give the new owners the benefit of the doubt and are ready to welcome new business. "As the neighborhood changes, the businesses also have to gear to a new customer base," Hashimoto said. "It's exciting to me that there's so much interest in our area, but at the same time I'm concerned that it stays Little Tokyo."

[Charles]

LA Downtown: A New Chapter for Japanese Village Plaza

Special thanks for that story. Wow, the Downtown News used to be my local freebie paper, I haven't seen it in many years, didn't even know they had an online presence.

I was not too surprised to see that J Plaza was owned by a Chinese woman. Last time I was there, the place didn't seem that rundown, but it wasn't exactly bustling with activity either. But if they're going to revitalize the neighborhood, they'll probably have to do something big with the old Yaohan Plaza next door, that's really the anchor property for the neighborhood (well, if you don't consider the JACCC which isn't really intended to generate big revenue or attract tons of people).

[Mulboyne]