Notice: Japantown for Sale
With two malls, two hotels, and a theatre up for sale in San Francisco’s Japantown, many worry about the historic area’s survival.
When Aaron Kitashima thinks of “home” he doesn’t talk about a house or the city where he lives. For Kitashima, home is San Francisco’s Japantown, an historic area where he grew up and where his family has deep roots in the local Japanese American community.
The AMC Kabuki Theatre and the Radisson Miyako Hotel are some of the properties currently up for sale in San Francisco's Japantown.
With the recent announcement that several properties in Japantown are up for sale — including two malls, two hotels, and a theatre — Kitashima, a 22-year-old San Francisco State University student, worries about the survival of Japantown. The timing couldn’t be more ironic: this year Japantown is celebrating its 100th year anniversary.
Refusing to sit back and stay silent, Kitashima has launched a petition drive to protest the sale of the properties and “possible destruction of San Francisco’s Japantown” (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jtown/petition.html.), one of only three Japantowns left in the country. So far the petition has collected over 11,000 signatures, some from as far away as England.
“We’re losing three-quarters of Japantown, it’s a real eye-opener,” said Kitashima, who is the grandson of local icon Sox Kitashima who recently passed away. “If [my grandmother] was still here, she would do practically the same thing.”
“We’re trying to preserve the heritage and culture of Japantown for all Japanese Americans,” he added. “We need to make sure the later generations remember the history of Japantown.”
In late December Kintetsu of America Corporation announced that financial difficulties had forced the company to sell its properties in Japantown which include the Miyako and Kintetsu Malls, and the Miyako Hotel and the Miyako Inn Best Western. The AMC Kabuki Theatre, the home of several events including the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, is also up for sale. AMC Entertainment recently merged with Loews Cineplex and due to an anti-trust agreement the State Attorney General’s office has forced AMC to sell the Japantown theatre.
Kintetsu is hoping to finalize the sales of its properties by the end of March and the AMC is aiming for the middle of April. When the sales are finalized, Japantown will see a change in ownership in three-fourths of the area.
The sale of the Kintetsu properties has so riled the local Japanese American community that a meeting was held Feb. 21 with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and Kintetsu representatives. Close to 200 Japantown merchants, residents, and community leaders attended the meeting to ensure their message was clear: any new owner must respect the unique history and culture of Japantown.
“I hope we get a good neighbor that’s committed to the community,” said Linda Jofuku, executive director of the Japantown Task Force, Inc., a non-profit organization that works to preserve and develop the historic area. She noted they want to avoid what happened in 2000 to the Kintetsu owned Japantown Bowl when developers converted the historic site into condominiums even after community protests. “This neighborhood is important to preserve and revitalize what we have left.”
“I know the properties will likely be sold but I am expecting the owners to find people who will ensure the integrity of the culture and neighborhood will remain the same,” said Kitashima.
Community members believe the best way to do this is to keep the property in the hands of the JA community. Allen M. Okamoto, a prominent realtor in San Francisco, is currently working on a deal to buy the Kintetsu properties. The deal would involve a pooling of pension funds which would mature in 5 to 7 years at which time a new buyer from the JA community would be sought.
But the offer may be too little too late since Okamoto admits it is still “a work in progress” and the short time frame set by Kintetsu to sell the properties leaves him “caught between a rock and a hard place.” They are also working in the dark since Kintetsu has not revealed an asking price for the properties.
Still, many believe Okamoto is going in the right direction.
“We would like to see Kintetsu consider the offer from the community, to allow the community to have ownership in its own community,” said Paul Osaki, executive director of JCCCNC (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California). “The community wants to direct its own future. If we lose the land, we’re eventually going to lose the community.”
“If we get an outside buyer and they decide to unload the property, 15 years later we’re going to go through the same thing again,” said Patty Wada, NCWNP regional director. “The best thing is to put it into the community’s hands. If we care about the community, why not consider it? We’re talking about the future of Japantown.”
But the community’s offer has not gotten much response from Kintetsu representatives. Attorney Don Tamaki has been hired by Kintetsu to handle the negotiations for its properties. He believes the community offer is “not in the best interest of J-Town.”
In the past several weeks Kintetsu has considered several offers for the properties and have rejected many, including pensions fund offers structured much like the community’s recent offer, he said. Since the community offer will be comprised of 95 percent pension funds and only 5 percent local ownership monies, in 5 to 7 years a new buyer will need to be found.
“It’s not good for J-Town to face another sale in five years. A pension fund candidate is not a good candidate,” said Tamaki, who noted that Kintetsu has some potential buyers right now who he believes will respect the history and culture of Japantown. “We risk losing them if we open the process again.”
Many believe the current situation in Japantown is placing stress on current U.S.-Japan relations, especially if Kintetsu, a Japanese owned company, does not seriously consider an offer from the JA community.
“If the sale leads to the demise and loss of the community. It will set back U.S-Japan relations 100 years,” said Osaki. “It’s an unfortunate thing.”
“In my view it’s not just about a sale. In the long run it will impact the way we view each other,” said John Tateishi, JACL executive director. “JAs are not going to forget this if this turns out badly for us. Our concern is preserving the Nihonmachis that are left.”
But Tamaki believes Kintetsu has been open with the community. In addition to disclosing the property sales, Kintetsu is making a concerted effort to find buyers who are interested in holding the properties long-term and have rejected any buyers who want to flip the property.
“[Kintetsu] is being sensitive to the community and they are working with the city. They are not going to turn it into a Walmart,” said Tamaki. “Change is difficult but they want to manage the change so the culture and vision of Japantown continues.”
Makoto Yamanaka, consul general of Japan, supports the current efforts to preserve the history of Japantown. “I sincerely hope that negotiations concerning the sale of a large portion of Japantown’s commercial facilities, involving Kintetsu, community leaders, and other parties, will result in the cultural preservation and development of Japantown as a vibrant landmark in this community,” he said.
City officials are working to ensure Kintetsu and any new buyer it selects will work with the Japantown community to preserve and develop the historic area. Mayor Newsom and Supervisor Mirkarimi have already come forward in support of preserving Japantown.
“Any future owner should be put on notice that the City will require the preservation of the cultural significance of Japantown,” said Newsom in a letter to Kintetsu. “The importance of preserving San Francisco’s Japantown is even more significant given that only three Japantowns remain in the United States.”
Jofuku believes the current property sales are a reality check for the community and shed a harsh light on the current economic realities of the area.
“I think it’s good that people heard everything today but I don’t think it’s going to change anything,” she said. “We need to take a good look at what this means … everything can’t stay the same forever. Kintetsu has been bleeding red for years — they have to sell.”
In the early 1900s and 1920s JAs numbered around 4,000 to 5,000 in Japantown where many community members lived, worked, and played. The area has gone through a number of changes including the World War II internment and redevelopment in the 1960s to make way for the Geary Expressway. Today, JAs only number around 1,000 and many of the area businesses are no longer JA owned.
Although weekend traffic in the area continues to be brisk, especially when planned events are held like the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Asian American Film Festival, weekday traffic is slow and many businesses continue to struggle to make ends meet.
And with the end of March around the corner, reality is settling in. Many believe the pending sales of the Kintetsu properties will play a vital role in determining the future direction of San Francisco’s Japantown.
The properties “are the core of Japantown. If that falls, it will be a domino effect,” said Okamoto.
“These properties represent so much of Japantown, so much of our economic revenue,” said Osaki. “Its loss can devastate the community, devastate Japantown.”
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