Japantown Walking Tour

Our walking tour will meet at the Japanese American Resource Center/Museum at 535 N. 5th Street in San Jose. Limited free parking for attendees is available at the Museum; paid on-street parking is also available. We will return to visit the Museum after the walking tour. Admission fee to the Museum (www.jamsj.org) is included with the tour price. Our tour guide will be Vernon Hayashida from the Museum.

Japantown has a long history in Santa Clara Valley and its inhabitants are dedicated to preserving its past. Japantown is one of only three surviving official Japantowns in the United States and is the only one still in its original location. We will visit the Issei Memorial Building (a former Japanese hospital), the Buddhist Church, the Ken Ying Low Building constructed in 1887 within the then Chinatown called Heinlenville, and much more.

We will pass by local monuments, each honoring a part of Japanese-American history, such as the Civil Liberties Monument, the Issei Voices, the Issei Pioneer Stone, and the Nikkei Lantern. Along the way there are special sculptural benches and resting places that tell stories of Japantown.