I love Japantown, so many great stores, restaurants & creative fashion statements walking by. The Nihonmachi Street Fair is a C grade compared to the awesome A+ Cherry Blossom Festival. Nihonmachi always feels slapped together, bunch of folding chairs facing the stage for older people to rest on. And they get to watch a lot of setting up, inexplicably loud rock music & a couple numbers that got some people dancing. Off in the corner was a small stage with grade school to young adults dancing to traditional music. The children were adorable. Lots of interesting costumes.The entertainers were surrounded by proud parents & grandparents with cameras. Someone brought their well-fed rabbit in a stroller. A side table was showcasing cute little dogs. Ok, got some fun photo-ops. The rows of tents had many goods for sale, wasn't my thing, way too "crafty". You can find better stuff in the adjacent mall. At least it got me out of the house. read more

See all

2025 - Saturday August 2 & Sunday August 3 - 11am to 6 pm Buy a t-shirt to support JAM - Japantown Art & Media Movement $30. Eat Kimochi Teriyaki burger $10 read more

Recently took my little pup to the Nihonmachi in Japantown celebrating their 50th anniversary! There was a doggie pageant on Sunday (which we didn't attend because we went on Saturday) and lots of vendors selling cute doggie attires and accessories. There was the Sounds of Thunder Car exhibition on both Saturday and Sunday featuring American Muscle cars and Import cars. There was the Summer of Love Stage featuring everything from lion dancing, taiko, to lots of talented musicians featuring everything from Motown, reggae, disco to blues. Can't wait to come back next year. Located in San Franscisco's Japantown (within the Western Addition neighborhood) on Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Streets. read more

See all

Having not been to the Nihonmachi Street Fair in a while, I recently attended the second day of the Aug 3rd and 4th weekend festivities. This year marked the 46th annual for the six square block fair with Post St from Laguna to Fillmore streets being the fair's main street. The fair features many aspects of Asian-Pacific American and San Francisco life through music and dance performances, arts and craft, food and community outreach. There are two performance stages. The Clear Channel Outdoors stage in Peace Plaza hosted dancers, musicians, Taiko drummers and even doggie parade and pageant. Many people gravitate to the Webster St stage to hear the performances from 14 bands. Popular local bands featured were Jest Jammin, Kickback and Rendezvous. There was a classic cars display between Webster and Fillmore where you could vote for your favorite car. Food vendors were located on Webster from Post to Sutter. There are also games for the kids too. It was nice that I reconnected with the fair and saw friends there too. The weather was sunny to boot. If you haven't been to it, check it out next year during the first weekend in August. read more

See all

So far I have been to the Cherry Blossom Street Fair and now I had a chance to go to the Nihonmachi Street Fair which was my very 1st time going to this event!!! The one thing that I really like most about the The Nihonmachi Street is the Street Food and what caught my interest in one of the food vendors was the Okonomiyaki Tent... And I decided to go to that area and what I bought myself to eat was the Spam & Cheese Okonomiyaki and this was my very 1st time ever that I have ate the Spam & Cheese Okonomiyaki which cost me about $8.00 anyways who cares how much it was all I know is that it tasted really good!!! And another thing that I liked most about Nihonmachi Street Fair is the Freebies that some of the Tents had and my favorite one going to was the K-Pop Tent!!! If your tired of walking through the street fair you can find a seat and relax while listening to some good music or you can go to the other side and watch a performance show which is fun to see as well!!! Now that I got a chance to go to the 2017 Nihonmachi Street Fair for my very 1st time and I have to say that I really liked it!!! read more

See all

The fair was ok, small but interesting vendors. Very few food vendors, only 1 sweets/shaved ice vendor that I saw. We ordered from a korean benton stand and was NOT worth the money. Ordered chicken ($20) and tri tip ($25), the sides: japchae/egg/kimchi were flavorful but the meats were absolutely horrible. Chicken only had flavor on the skin because of the sauce, inside is tasteless and dry. Tri tip wasn't even chewable because it was so grainy and had no taste. We only ate 1/3 of our meat. Don't waste your money at this vendor. read more

Nihonmachi = Japantown The 42nd annual Nihonmachi Street Fair was held in August earlier this year. Similar to any fair held in Japantown within the six block radius on Post Street between Fillmore and Laguna, the food vendors are set-up on Webster between Sutter and Post, the sponsor booths are on Post between Webster and Laguna, non-food vendors are set-up along Buchanan Mall, band and music stage on the corner of Webster and Post and the main stage is by the Peace Plaza. If you've been here during the Cherry Blossom Festival, it's pretty much similar without the parade.The food options are pretty much the same (Spam Musubi, Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Chicken BBQ, Hawaiian, Rice, Noodles etc...) as well as the vendors selling shirts, artworks and nic nac paddy wacks. Even the bands playing on the second stage and the different performers that includes people dressed up in cosplay are pretty much the same lineup. Although the best part of the show on the main stage on Peace Plaza was probably the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Now these guys can sure beat a drum and put on a show. They also had classic cars lined up along Post in front of the Kabuki Theater, but I wish they had a few more of them than a select few. I'm pretty sure they could have gotten a few more classic cars and Lowriders from the Mission and drove them over here. Oh wait, I take that back - the people who owns those cars were pushed out due to gentrification. Snap, let's go back to J-Town and give it some love. But all in all, it's a good, fun time with lots of stuff to see and do if you're into this kind of thing. J-Town is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the City and I'm not hatin' on it. I just wished they'd spice it up a bit and add something different next time. So if you want something to do on a weekend next year, the next Nihonmachi Street Fair will be held on August 6 & 7, 2016. read more

See all

Mark your calendars for the first weekend of August. This is when the Nihonmachi Street Fair is held every year in Japan Town, San Francisco! This is their 42nd year celebrating the heritage of all Asian ethnicities. All week the news on television warned its viewers that Bart was canceling its route from Oakland to San Francisco for the weekend and to prepare for major traffic jams! Was this going to deter us from going? NO WAY! To beat the traffic this morning my wife and I decided to leave a little earlier than had planned. It usually takes us approximately two hours to drive to San Francisco. When we arrived in Japan Town this morning, all the volunteers were still working hard trying to finish setting up all the booths. This gave my wife and I time to walk around and to see what the food vendors were going to sell. One of my favorite food to buy here is the "spam musubi." Other vendors this year were Kimochi Teriburger, Saigon BBQ Restaurant, Irma Pampanga Restaurant( Filipino food) and many more. There were also local food trucks serving Korean food. I had the chicken bowl for lunch. This had a bed of rice in a bowl with marinated spicy chicken , kim-chee,and green onions sprinkled on top. My wife had the marinated chicken on a stick. Both were delicious ! The children had a play area where they could play games or have their faces painted. While the grown-ups had the opportunity to listen to live music, eat fantastic food and to drink to your hearts content. This year the San Francisco Police Department had a "DUNK TANK"to raise money. Every time an officer went into the water, a police siren horned. There was also a car show with beautiful vintage cars. I personally liked the red Ferrari. And let's not forget to mention the dog parade. This is were the dogs were dressed up and paraded down the block. You should have seen them. "SO CUTE."One dog was dressed as a lady bug, while another wore SF baseball attire. The main reason my wife and I were here was to listen to the live music. Two of our favorite bands were playing here today(Ascension) and (Rendezvous). The Bay Area weather was gorgeous! This was a perfect event to enjoy with family and friends. One other nice thing about this fair "FREE ADMISSION." So mark your calendar for next year and be ready to dance the night away. "PARTY" I read more

See all

Sad to say that the costume contest was rigged this year. I watched a guy win 2nd place in the Dog/Owner Lookalike division, yet neither he nor his dog had a costume or were dressed alike in any way. Everyone was taken aback when his name was called for 2nd place. Can someone from the judging panel please explain how this gentleman and his dog won 2nd place? Most contestants invest time, money, and effort into entering your contests. Giving away 2nd place to a friend is corrupt and unfair. I added a photo so everyone can judge. read more

Nihonmachi Street Fair - Too bad their dog contest is rigged. This is the 2nd place winner of dog/owner lookalike. 3rd and 1st had great costumes. - Festivals Near Me

I spent a couple of hours there this afternoon after attending the Gumball 3000 Rally. The attendance was kind of low, but that gave me plenty of space to hang around the stage area to watch and listen to CC Carter and his new funk band, RYZE. I had assisted Mr. Carter and his previous band, Nu Day, by setting up their stage equipment at the two (now-defunct) San Jose Grand Prix events that his band participated in. Once again, CC had the crowd moving to the sounds of their infectious funk. A few of my co-workers rented a food booth this year so I also wanted to drop by and wish them well. From the looks of it their Saigon BBQ booth was very busy. Brandt Fuse and Sumofish Design created another amazing design for the 35th annual Nihonmachi Street Fair (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cl2iSixzokbOoPG4RAQX9w?select=sBskAaiBqyqvJ8fRlDdysQ). Most of the exhibitors are still very much community-based, and I prefer that over the more commercialized street fairs in the City. read more

Nihonmachi Street Fair - 2008 artwork by Brandt Fuse & Sumofish Design - Festivals Near Me

Had a lot of fun here. Lots of stages of entertainment and plenty of food to enjoy. We actually just stumbled upon it accidentally. I arrived later in the evening on the last day so it would've been more fun to come earlier and see more of the life. But a perk of coming late was when we ordered food we got extra because otherwise it would just go to waste. Can't wait for next year...especially since I literally live down the street. read more

San Francisco is home to many home grown thinking. The Nihonmachi Street Fair is one of those events held on the 2nd weekend of August that brings together the Asian / Pacific Islander nonprofit communities, as well as talented Asian artisans, musicians and hard working volunteers to put on a FREE 2 day outdoor event. Japantown is changing, but hopefully with events such as the Nihonmachi Street Fair the community spirit can live on. High Five to all the volunteers who put on a great event. read more

Nihonmachi Street Fair - Festivals Near Me

Small street fair has big pros! Parking is not nearly as hard as one would imagine. Though not as big as the Cherry Blossom Festival...the goods offered at the booths are more interesting. Some unique items that you might expect to find here...CUTEST tees by Fat Rabbit Farm (www.fatrabbitfarm.com) for $20. Hello Kitty keychains/ $2. Paperweight with a real scorpion inside/ $6. Variety of very reasonably priced handmade pottery for sale, with profits in support of local youth programs...how cool is that? All/ most of the food booths are staffed by volunteers and help to fund local non-profits. Delicious Teriyaki Burgers/ $5, are a hot item at any J-town fair...knowing the money is going to a great local cause (Kimochi)- even better! read more

I went to the Nihonmachi fair last year and again this year because I thought last year's was pretty fun. Eh, I was a bit bored at this fair. I was really looking forward to getting some fresh takoyaki, but there weren't any vendors! WHAT?! Ok well maybe they didn't want to come to this event? So we looking around the food area... burgers, kettle corn, Viet food, Korean food, and pearl drinks? Ok where's the Japanese food?! So I guess we had to go into the mall for some food. Ack, all the restaurants had a horrendous wait time. Saw a lot of the same vendors at this event. I love the Fat Rabbit Farm people! read more

What's great about San Francisco summers? Yes, besides the Giants, the almost weekly street fairs that are held on weekends here. On a bright, breezy Saturday, the Nihonmachi Fair drew me to Japantown. There were the usual arts and crafts booths, community group tables, hip t-shirt and clothing tables, and the usual food stalls, though fewer than usual. The two new entries were two food trucks, selling plate lunches along Webster Street (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cl2iSixzokbOoPG4RAQX9w?select=RdWsZnj86wi1KJG4-N2HpQ), (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cl2iSixzokbOoPG4RAQX9w?select=NmDSHXJtPsNeFKrEwurGOw). I bumped into Jason G. and three other Yelpers, meeting for a Yelp UYE. Never know who you'll see here. There were two stages playing a variety of music, ranging from hip hop, Hawaiian, and golden oldies. Misreading the performance schedule, I watched Big City Review to close the fair today. Will try to catch Pulse tomorrow! Update: Made it to the fair on Sunday, but Pulse started about 30 minutes late. The crowd was pretty good and it was even windier than Saturday. Unfortunately, due to a dinner engagement, only caught the first three songs: a) Michael Jackson medley of "Rock With You", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller" and b) You Got the Love - Rufus (Chaka Khan). Yeah... they still got it! read more

See all

Love street fairs, love Japantown, and love my dog...so I was happy to combine all 3 of them at this festival. Dogs were allowed and plentiful on Sunday when we visited...there was even a dog bone alley part of the fair with several dog-related businesses. A little smaller and less attended than the Cherry Blossom festival, as one Yelper noted. If I could only choose one, I'd go to that one, and skip this. Decent music...while we were there the stages had soul and island reggae...not very Japanese but good music anyway. read more

4.5 stars. I would have given it a full five stars because I expected that there was going to be more vendors and more food stands like last year. The food ranged from the all famous Teriburgers, chicken on a stick, polish dogs, roasted corn, Vietnamese food. What was a plus for me was they had FRESH BOBA!!!. none of this artificial stuff we get at Quicklys. On sat when the gf and I were wandering around looking for sumthing cold to drink i spotted a trailer wit BOBA! (I wrote a review for this separately) I have to give props to Blacklava for having some really cool t-shirts. I ended up buying a total of 4 T-shirts, 2 for me and 2 for the gf. There were many different vendors selling a variety of different things from little crochet bear wearing a Ultraman costume (^__^)V http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cl2iSixzokbOoPG4RAQX9w?select=a4I2NYf9kYwIcyscyz9vUg to different types of T-shirts like this one :D http://big-sumo.com/ramen_warrior.html The only thing I wished I had checked out but I didn't was the live music. :( maybe next year! read more

Nihonmachi Street Fair - A bear with an Ultraman costume (^_^)V - Festivals Near Me

Nihomachi Festival is something we locals look for around Japan Town .. After the Filmore Festival in July comes this festival... 2 stage continuesly entertainment festival goers .. One at the peace plaza where you can see Japanese, Hawaiian , Tahitian, Mongolian, Philippine, Nepalese Dance .. A variety.. Second stage on Webster St is the Live Band that plays latest music.. Along the streets are bazaars n Lots of food stalls to choose from... Overall I'd come here to entertain my self and friends for the whole day.... read more

It's like a Cherry Blossom Festival minus the hecticness from the crowds. It's small but its peaceful, and it seemed like people went for the actual dances/performances rather than the booths and food. More would food have been nice though. JONASAPPROVED! read more

See all

It was my first time at the Nihonmachi Street Fair, so I didn't have anything to compare it to. I have been to the Cherry Blossom festivals in Japantown in the past and that is usually a big deal with crowds and tons of vendors. The Nihonmachi Street Fair was the opposite; I was quite disappointed with the number of booths. There seemed to be at most 20 booths, not including food items, and not much to look at besides the usual stores in Japantown. The stages had traditional dance and song, which was nice to see and live music, but other than that, there was not much to see. Kids stuff included some games and a bounce house. read more

This festival was somewhat a disappointment. We came down Buchanan St. toward Post St. and for a minute, I thought it was already over. This was around 4:30p.m. Fewer booths with a very small crowd. Also the two stage areas were in different locations than the Cherry Blossom festival's held earlier this year too. We did stay for the band, Pulse who came on late around 5:35pm. They played a few songs, and then at 6:10pm, said they had to wrap it up with one more song. Must be due to street permit issues. Shouldn't the MC do a better job of managing the time, and herd the previous group off sooner? Not a very nice way to top off the festival. I did manage to buy some kettle corn; hubby had a cold one; and we did a little shopping at Ichiban Kan so the afternoon wasn't for not. read more

I like this fair a lot more than the chinatown fair during chinese new yr and the new moon festival. I don't like buying stuff from booths but some of the booths had really cute stuff I enjoy looking at. I like how there is a booth that sold beer. Haha. I like how theres something for everyone. Theres a little hello kitty corner for kids and I think the second Sat they had these cars you can look at. I like how its not super crowded and there is actually room to walk around without bumping into someone. I like the feel the fair gave out. Felt like summer. =D read more

Although not quite as large as the Cherry Blossom Festival, I still found the Nihonmachi Street Fair to be a fun way to wile away a Sunday afternoon. A few interesting booths and there were some great jewelry sellers and unique T-Shirt vendors. I missed the Taiko drumming but got to see the tail end of a cover band that was doing a pretty sweet cover of Superstitious. And, I'm not even being facious using the words "sweet cover." All in all, anything that gets folks over to J-town is a-okay in my book. read more

Can I petition to have the "Nihon" part removed from this festival's name? Short of the old obaa-sans from Kimochi hawking their Teri-burgers for charity (hell, how authentic is teriyaki, even?), a few minutes of Taiko drumming, and some knock-off Hello Kitty schwag at some vendors' booths, there's hardly anything Japanese about this Japantown institution. While I appreciate that this long-running festival has given an opportunity for a diverse group of Asian-American non-profits to make their presence known and make a few bucks selling shoddy BBQ for charity, my Nikkei half isn't exactly brimming with pride to hear some hack DJs from Mild 94.9 or to see some doofus selling victim-mentality "RACIALLY PROFILED" t-shirts to the masses. San Francisco's Asian community is proud, resourceful, and world-class. Shouldn't its street festival be reflective of that? read more

Always happy to visit Japantown so that's an automatic 3 stars :]. The street fair is significantly smaller than the Cherry Blossom Festival so keep that in mind. I don't think there are any parades but there are performers, street vendors, and food. Vendors consist mainly of clothing and jewelry. I went this weekend and was delighted to pick up the new book from Fat Rabbit Farm, signed!! There were also many inflatable jumper things and games for kids to play. Again, not very crowded... a nice atmosphere for you to bring your family to without having to worry about your kids bumping into everyone or getting lost in a shuffle. I found a vendor selling anime goods inside the mall area and picked up some major goodies that I could not find on amazon. Such a steal! A great to be spent around cool things and good eats. read more

Not sure really what is Japanese about this festival anymore. It seems like another commericial event, in which vendors hawk their goods and this one is no different. T-shirts w/cliche statements on them. Sumos, rice cookers, panda bears and the pretty much any other Asian/Japanese Cliche you can think of. And you have the artwork, the cliche Japanese mountains, waves. I went around 12 and there was really nothing going on here. A few food vendors, the standard fare, Teriyaki, snow cones and of course the $5 beer. There was no music playing, the turnout was just meh and I can't say I'll be going here again in the near future. See one Cherry Blossom Festival/Nihonmachi, you've seen them all. read more

*Food Only* I was hoping they had more food stands but they didnt. =( I really wanted to eat some unagi donburi. Too bad they didn't have it. I ended up going to this booth. Forgot what it was called but I think the food was from Straits? Anyway, I ended up ordering their fried rice, chicken skewers, and thai ice tea for $5. I thought it was a good deal but it wasn't that great. They also had a Lappert's ice cream booth. If you're not familiar with Lappert's ice cream, well, go to Sausalito. It seems to be very popular over there. I wanted to try their Kauai Pie ice cream but my bf wouldn't let me buy any. Maybe next time. =( read more

Hey guys I tried some CBD infused honey but forgot the vendors name... can anyone point me the direction of them? I never tried CBD before so I didn't think to take their card until I realized how relaxed and refreshed I felt on my way home. read more

The Beginning... 33 years ago, an idea was formed by three young community organizers; Steve Nakajo, Ron and Kenny Kanzaki. Seeing the changes taking place around them, a new trade center was being built, where many families once lived, and Buchanan Street was to become a outdoor mall. Community festivals were scarce, and existing festivals seemed to be geared towards promoting commercialism. That's when the idea of creating a festival or event that Asian American youth could declare their own. But to make it their own, they felt young people would have to organize it and learn how to run it. That's how it began, the first Nihonmachi Street Fair was a meeting ground for youths in the center of San Francisco's Japantown on May 19, 1973. At that time, Nihonmachi, like other San Francisco low-income neighborhoods was targeted by the city government driving urban renewal. Acting in partnership with corporate interests, including conglomerates from Japan, the city's Redevelopment Agency uprooted small businesses and demolished low-rent housing and replaced them with corporate office buildings and "market-rate" housing with the vision of transforming San Francisco into "the Wall Street of the West." Eventually, under the leadership from the Japantown Collective (JTC), young activists joined together with residents and small businesspeople to create a new organization called CANE [Committee Against Nihonmachi Eviction], which became an intergenerational and multiracial formation to oppose redevelopment. Activists from the JTC also provided a larger analysis of redevelopment in Nihonmachi, linking the struggle not only to sister struggles going on throughout San Francisco such as the International Hotel where low-income seniors were being evicted, but also to the war in Indochina as related to the Vietnam War, the U.S. government's Pacific Rim Strategy [dominating countries lying on the edges of the Pacific Ocean], and growing corporate domination of communities. Organized by community volunteers, the Nihonmachi Street Fair is one of the premiere non-profit festivals for the Asian American community of the Bay Area during the summer. For the past 33 years the Fair's goals have been to create an atmosphere in Japantown where Asian American and Pacific Island people can celebrate the spirit of community and cooperation. It is also a place where we encourage everyone from the diverse Bay Area to come, learn, and see what our communities are all about. Check it out... http://www.nihonmachistreetfair.org/ Saturday 8/11 11:00am - 11:30am West Coast Lion Dance 11:30am - 12:15pm Pulse 12:30pm - 1:15pm Mestizo 1:15pm - 1:30pm DJ Jay Bee 1:30pm - 2:15pm Rendevous 2:15pm - 2:30pm DJ Jay Bee 2:30pm - 3:15pm Kapakahi 3:15pm - 3:30pm DJ Jason Pro 3:30pm - 4:15pm San Francisco Taiko Dojo 4:15pm - 4:30pm DJ Jason Pro 4:30pm - 6:00pm Pete Escovedo & His Latin Orchestra Sunday 8/12 11:00am - 11:30am Steven Espaniola 11:30am - 11:45am DJ MajestiChris 11:45am - 12:15pm Ka Ehukai Hawaiian Band 12:15pm - 12:30pm DJ MajestiChris 12:30pm - 1:15pm Big City Review 1:15pm - 1:45pm 1:45pm - 2:15pm Trade Mark/ Evan Kidera aka The Evangelist 2:15pm - 2:30pm DJ Sake One 2:30pm - 3:15pm Native Elements 3:30pm - 4:00pm 4:00pm - 4:30pm JBoogie (Dubtronics Science)/ Felonious 4:30pm - 6:00pm Jorge Santana & Friends read more

2007- August 11 & August 12...okay weather, sunny, windy. Gotta get there after 2pm for the crowds from the bridge and tunnel to make it into the city in time to drive around and spend an hour looking for parking downtown, then taking MUNI. FREE MUSIC by the PEACE PAGODA, yafriggingCOwYoung (thinking Santana's brother 4:45PM, DJ xxx, Pete Escovedo-4:40pm) Soo much music going on got to be deaf not to hear any of it. Plenty of SF Police and Highway Patrol to feel safer.Heavy duty BBQ. Supporting KIMOCHI, bought the Teriburger. Children's village had an inflatable slide castle, think it was 4 slides for one ticket. CUTE rabbit t-shirt. Food booths on Post Street and tables in front of TORAYA. PARKING....verrryyyy difficult. Try: walking, taxi cabbing, MUNI... usually held in August, signalling last of free summer festivals in San Francisco before school starts. read more

The food at this festival was great! However that seemed to be the only main part of the festival. The music didn't really fit the street fair, so it was mostly background music for eating. read more

See all

First time here and I was expecting something more traditional. But is great if you want to find bad and overpriced food.

I never turn down a festival so I was eager to go to this one for the first time. I love most things Japanese so why wouldn't I be? There were several vendors selling cute little overpriced onesies, which are my weakness, so I made a few purchases. I was able to catch some performances, including the Taiko Drummers, and they were all really good! Overall I had a fun time and ended up with cute clothing for my little one. The only drawback was the food. Festivals normally mean chow time for me. There wasn't a huge selection of food here. Also, parking was madness as the garages were full and I had to park street-side several blocks away... and I ended up with a ticket. Womp womp. read more

This fair just brings back good memories. Filled with booths of trinkets that you'll never use. Decent food. I remember one year they had a booth for food or drinks run by a high school boys volleyball team. It made me laugh really hard (sorry if I've offended anyone =T ) I volunteered about 4 or 5 years in a row in the children's game section during middle and high school. Had a couple of family friends on the staff: good pleasant people. I also used to dance during the fair at the pagoda (Hawaiian and Tahitian). *Sigh....ooooh the good ol' daysss I haven't been for a couple of years... but this place will always be in my heart :)) read more

Pretty good experience overall. It's always nice running into people you haven't seen in ages or taste food that you normally don't have on a regular basis. The food itself was interesting but somewhat expensive for the most part. The corn was a plus along with the teriyaki burgers. The mixed combo plates seemed a little dry but that's expected for mass production. There seem to be fewer food options every year so that's a small let down as if your not craving something they have specially then you might not care to be around there at all. The fair itself was great! Lot's of vendors selling various items but the best part of it all was the Taiko drum performance. I'm a huge fan of the Japanese culture and the arts so it was very rewarding to see an hour long performance of various drum techniques. The only bummer was how crowded the area can get especially in a 2 block radius. You can't beat the free admission either so if you have the chance to check it out one year you should do it! read more

I must admit, I was expecting more than the block of vendors selling random trinkets and jewelry and a block of food vendors selling a small assortment of food but I appreciated how laidback it was for a San Francisco festival. My favorite part was the two music stages which really made the walk to the festival worth it. When we got there one stage had this hilarious (but good) Japanese cover band that was covering songs like Journey and the like- fun, though, because the crowd was really getting into it. After that this amazing Japanese drumming troupe (taiko drumming) came on stage and I realized it would be difficult for me to see this for free anywhere else in San Francisco. Oh! And one food vendor was selling tacoyaki- some of the only authentic Japanese food but it was all i needed... All in all, research the music beforehand to see when to go and don't expect to be there for more than 2 hours- but definitely check it out! read more

My boyfriend had never been to Japantown. What better time to experience it than the Nihonmachi fair!? He luv'd it! The ambiance was great. Live music, food trucks galore, beer and sake tents and cool booths to visit. Not to mention all of the shops and restaurants. We stayed all afternoon and had a blast! Good company and good times :) read more

I wondered what Nihonmachi meant, so I googled it: Japantown. Duh. They had a pumping reggae band this year! It was a pleasant surprise and great change from the ubiquitous blues and funk bands that plague the SF street faire scene. Though not as big as the yearly Cherry Blossom festival, this gathering deserves a visit in it's own right if for nothing more than to support the local Japanese community (and a chance to dunk an SFPD guy in a tank of water.) The crowds are civil, there's room to walk around, the food stalls are great-- looked even better than the Cherry Blossom this year (with less lines) and there's Sapporo Beer on draft. Head on over next year if you missed this one... read more

Small street fair although very nice weather! It wasnt as packed as I would of imagined. We ate elsewhere before walking the streets, but ended up buying a terriyaki burger and beer that tasted somewhat like coffee (it wasnt guinness but it sure tasted like it)- delicious! read more

The first ever Doggy Pageant (supporting a charity in Japan) was held with this year's Nihonmachi Street Fair and it was our first time attending as well. The doggy pageant was a bit hectic for my little 7 month old frenchie. We were only able to participate half way before I decided to sit out and just enjoy the fair. Otherwise, I enjoyed the street food that was here especially the JapaCurry truck. read more