Early Japantown in San Francisco: A Walking Tour with Naomi Hirahara
(The text for the San Francisco walking tour held on September 11, 2026.)
Discover historic sites and businesses of the late 18th and early 19th century Japanese immigrant community with historian/novelist Naomi.
The Japantown Mysteries of Naomi Hirahara may be thrilling historical fiction, but the backdrop of her stories was the real Japanese-American communities of Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Bay Area. Naomi draws upon her experience as a novelist, journalist, and historian for a walking tour of downtown San Francisco to discover historic sites and businesses of the late 18th and early 19th century Japanese immigrant community.
Sources:
CROWN CITY: A Japantown Mystery (Soho Crime) by Naomi Hirahara
“Crossing and Dislocations: Toshio Aoki (1854-1912), A Japanese Artist in California” in Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide 11, no. 3 (Autumn 2012) by Chelsea Foxwell
ENTER A SAMURAI: KAWAKAMI OTOJIRŌ AND JAPANESE THEATRE IN THE WEST, VOLUME ONE (Wheatmart) by Joseph Anderson
“Connections: A Family Tree of Japanese Design” in the Spring 2022 edition of Mill Valley Historical Society Review by Steven Pitsenbarger
SAN FRANCISCO’S JAPANTOWN (Arcadia Publishing) by Japantown Task Force, Inc.
“San Francisco’s Prewar Japantown: The Shaping of a Community” in National Japanese American Historical Society’s Nikkei Heritage (Summer 2000) by Gary Kawaguchi and Shizue Seigel
Naomi’s San Francisco-Connected Discover Nikkei Postcard History Essays:
The First in America: Japanese Presbyterian Church and YMCA at 121 Haight Street, San Francisco
About The Author
