Food, History, and Resistance: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of San Francisco's Japantown

Highlights

  • Origami Fountains

  • Peace Pagoda

  • Japantown Mall

  • Cottage Row

  • Japantown Memorial

Summary

Discover the fascinating history, food and culture of San Francisco's Japantown

Tour info

Duration
50 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes
Group Size
Pricing (From)
Voucher Access Code: (6-99 years)
$4.99
Commentary
English
Meeting Point

San Francisco, California, 94115

Dropoff location

1010 Geary Blvd, Geary Blvd, San Francisco, California, 94109

Why take this tour?

Explore San Francisco's historic Japantown at your own pace on this self-guided audio tour. Japanese-American local Kristin Eriko Posner will guide you through the neighborhood, sharing little-known stories on how history shaped the food, culture, and landscape of the oldest Japantown in the U.S. This geo-tagged audio tour is best between 10:30am - 3:30pm on Wednesday-Saturdays, when all of the businesses on the tour are open. However, it can be taken at any time, on any day. Most stops are open until 6pm.

The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.

The tour starts under the red torii gate, the entrance to Japantown, and the beginning of Japanese immigration to the US through San Francisco. Throughout the tour, there are stops at historic spots, and little-known food and shopping institutions that are staples in the Japanese American community.  We'll end near where we started the tour at a beautiful monument honoring the Japanese American community of San Francisco. Throughout the tour, you'll hear interviews and stories with community members, as well as young Japanese American activists and artists. The tour is 50 minutes without stops, and about 2 hours with optional stops for meals and/or snacks- you can stop anytime to snap photos, reflect or enjoy a delicious snack or meal along the way. The tour integrates sound effects and music to create an engaging experience. 

Key landmarks include: 
 • Torii Gate 
 • Origami Fountains 
 • Paper Tree origami store 
 • Benkyodo (traditional Japanese confections) 
 • Soko Hardware 
 • Cottage Row 
 • Fillmore Street 
 • The Japantown Mall 
 • Peace Pagoda 
 • Japantown Memorial 

 The exact route can be seen upon downloading the tour and audio from the tour can be listened to anytime.  Once downloaded, the tour works entirely offline.

What’s included?

  • Lifetime access to this self-guided tour in English

  • VoiceMap App for Android and iOS

  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

  • Smartphone

  • Transportation

  • Food/drinks

  • Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route

Things to know

Before you book

  • This is a self-guided audio tour.

  • Entrance fees to all attractions mentioned on the tour are excluded from the price.

Before you go

  • Install the VoiceMap app beforehand and use the code included with your ticket to download the tour.

  • Remember your headphones, unless you've booked a driving tour.

  • Charge your phone's battery. The way VoiceMap uses GPS to play audio automatically can be battery intensive.

Redemption information

    If this is your first VoiceMap tour, please take a moment to read the important notes below.
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    DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS:
    1. Install VoiceMap from the Apple App Store or Google Play
    2. Create an account
    3. Select Tour Codes from the menu, then select Enter Codes
    4. Enter the code below then select Download Now
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    #
    YOUR CODE:
    JTWN1329
    This code can be used by every member of your party. If you have booked for three people, for example, three people can download this tour using the same code. Codes are not case sensitive.
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    PLEASE ALSO NOTE:
    • You can download the tour at any time, before or after your booking date.
    • It’s best to download the tour before you set off for the starting point.
    • When the download completes, you’ll see a screen with a photo of the starting point and directions to it. The red start button will become active when your are at the starting point.
    • The download should only take a few minutes to complete. If it takes longer, please cancel the download, go to Account, select Purchased and download the tour from there.
    • Remember to bring your own headphones, unless you have booked a driving tour.
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    :email:
    SUPPORT:
    For technical support and other queries, please email [email protected]


About operator:

VoiceMap makes audio tours easy and accessible. It has a beautifully simple tour app, a straightforward publishing tool, and a team of helpful editors.