A Local’s Food Guide to Japantown San Francisco: 13 Hidden Gems You Can't Miss
Nestled between San Francisco’s Pac Heights and the Fillmore district is one of the last and oldest remaining Japantowns in the country.
A living memory of the Japanese-American immigration that started in the 1880s, this neighborhood has seen the Great Fire of 1906 and the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. 155 years later, this 20-square block radius remains home to a flourishing community, where old-meets-new and generations of families, restaurateurs, and small business owners have created one of San Francisco’s most distinctive food destinations.
If you’re craving a taste of Japan, consider this your local guide to some of the best places to eat in Japantown — and what to order when you get there.
1. Super Mira Market
What to get: Bento boxes and crispy fried chicken from their hot bar.
Don’t be fooled by its unassuming appearance: this locally owned, mom-and-pop Japanese grocery store is a goldmine for freshly made, authentic Japanese bento and hot deli items.
Be warned: the most popular items sell fast, so stop by before lunchtime if you want your pick of the best options. Our favorite? The crispy fried chicken.
2. Yasukochi’s Sweet Stop
What to get: Their famous coffee crunch cake.
Located inside Super Mira, this tiny, family-owned bakery has been selling out of its homemade coffee candy crunch cake every day since 1974. If you’re lucky enough to snag a slice before they’re gone, you’ll understand why.
Local guide tip: guarantee yourself a slice by joining our Japantown food tour on Fridays and Saturdays.
3. Kissako Tea
What to get: Onigiri (rice balls with savory fillings), mochi, and mitarashi dango (skewered rice dumplings with a sweet-and-savory soy glaze).
Located on the lower level of Japan Center’s West Mall, this cozy, family-run tea shop specializes in traditional Japanese snacks (sweet and savory alike). Their onigiri is fresh to order and served warm, making it the perfect grab-and-go bite to enjoy while exploring Japantown.
4. Soba Katsu
What to get: Freshly made soba noodles.
Co-owned by soba masters Shuichi Nihira (“Shu san”) and Yoshihiro Shinoda (“Yoshi san”), Soba Katsu is San Francisco’s first and only restaurant dedicated to house-made soba noodles.
With just eight seats, lines regularly form outside. If you’d rather not gamble on getting a table, join us on a private Japantown food tour where we give guests a fast pass to a guaranteed bowl of delicious, slurp-worthy soba.
5. Sushi Bar & Restaurant Kui Shin Bo
What to get: Okonomiyaki (a savory Japanese pancake, also known as “Japanese pizza”).
For no frills Japanese comfort food, Kui Shin Bo is a must-try on our list. Prepared Kansai-style, their okonomiyaki rivals the ones you’ll find in Osaka, where the dish is a local specialty.
And if you’re craving more Japanese classics, Kui Shin Bo also serves ramen and fresh sushi from the counter.
6. Yamachan
What to get: Classic takoyaki (savory battered balls filled with octopus and topped with mayo, seaweed, and bonito flakes).
Another Osaka street food staple you can get here in Japantown: takoyaki.
Just like in Japan, you can watch the workers through a glass window prepare each batch in the signature round molds that give takoyaki its distinctive shape. Fair warning: once the smell starts wafting your way, you won’t be able to resist.
7. Yakitori Edomasa
What to get: Negima (chicken thigh and leeks), Nakamoto (chicken wings with homemade sweet miso), shiitake mushrooms with black vinegar sauce, and paitan chicken broth soup.
Tucked away in the corner of the second floor of the Kinokuniya Building, Edomasa brings a century of Tokyo yakitori tradition to San Francisco.
Originally a small stall in Tokyo’s Chuo district in 1924, Japantown’s Edomasa serves up delicious skewers in the old-school food-stall style that will transport you to a side street in Tokyo.
If you end up here for dinner or happy hour, don’t pass up their sake menu.
8. Bangkok Street Thai Street Food
What to get: The pad see ew.
Deviating from Japanese cuisine, Bangkok Street serves what we’d argue is the best pad see ew in San Francisco (and given there are over 300 Thai restaurants in the city, that’s saying something…).
With its eclectic, colorful decor reminiscent of the streets of Bangkok where it gets its namesake, Bangkok Street is a fun alternative for those craving a hearty meal at the end of their Japantown excursion.
9. Best Boy Electric
What to get: Okinawa kokuto latte, black sesame latte, matcha yuzu tonic.
If you need a caffeine pick-me-up to combat your inevitable food coma, look no further than Best Boy Electric, located just outside the mall near the corner of Post and Webster Streets.
Their coffee- and tea-based drinks pair high-quality Japanese ingredients — like Okinawan brown sugar and single-origin matcha sourced from a family-owned tea farm in Miyazaki — with seriously good barista craft.
A new favorite of ours: the matcha yuzu tonic, but don’t just take our word for it:
And while you’re at Best Boy, pop over to Fog Cats & Yanchako next door, a cat lover’s dream filled with adorable art prints, stationery, clothing, gifts, and more.
10. ChaTo
What to get: Premium-grade matcha (and whatever they’re sampling that day).
Matcha has exploded in popularity thanks to TikTok, but if you want real, high-quality matcha that’s made to be authentic, not trendy, head upstairs to the second floor of the Kinokuniya Building to family-run tea shop ChaTo.
Their premium loose leaf teas are sourced from small producers across Japan, including Shizuoka, Kagoshima, Uji, and Fukuoka, with a selection spanning matcha, genmaicha, hojicha, sencha, gyokuro, and more. The serene, Zen-like shop is also worth lingering in to browse their beautiful selection of cups, teapots, and other Japanese teaware.
11. Fermentation Lab
What to get: Japanese-inspired cocktails, duck tacos.
For drinks and dinner, Fermentation Lab brings a modern gastropub energy to the neighborhood. Their unique menu of small plates is inspired by fermented foods, with a tasteful selection of craft beer and cocktails to match.
Come here for the eats and libations, stay for the awesome atmosphere.
12. Jina Bakes
What to get: Cream puffs (or really any of their pastries).
What started during the pandemic as boxes of freshly baked treats to bring joy to friends grew into Jina Bakes, which found its permanent home in Japantown in 2021.
The Korean-inspired bakery combines Korean flavors with French pastry techniques, resulting in some of the most insanely decadent cream puffs you will ever bite into. Also worth the extra calories: a slice of their Basque cheesecake.
13. Uji Time
What to get: Taiyaki ice cream.
Soft serve meets Japan’s popular, fish-shaped dessert at Uji Time, the Bay Area’s original taiyaki ice cream shop. No Instagram vs. reality here — the taiyaki ice cream does, in fact, taste as good as it looks, with flavors including matcha, ube, and black sesame.
Other Japantown Gems Worth Visiting
Paper Tree, an origami and paper craft store, has been family owned and operated in Japantown for more than 55 years. The Mihara family’s history in the neighborhood stretches even further back to a publishing and import business in the 1950s.
Today, the family’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue their legacy through sharing the art of origami:
Stop in to see their intricate origami art, browse their assortment of beautiful Japanese papers and stationery, and hopefully be there on a day when Moira, Paper Tree’s very friendly store dog, is around to say hello.
We also love 3 Pillars, a locally owned shop showcasing work from local artists with deep connections to San Francisco and Japantown. If you’re looking for a souvenir, it’s a great place to find something that feels genuinely connected to the neighborhood.
Take a food tour of Japantown in San Francisco
Ready to experience Japantown like a local? At Edible Excursions, we focus on neighborhoods our guides live in, eat in, and know personally to give you a truly local experience. Our food tours are about more than just eating great food — they’re about sharing the stories and showing you the places that connect you to the people who’ve shaped the landscape and food culture to be what it is today.
Come get a taste of Japantown with us! Book a Japantown food tour