Japan Center

Time-travel to 1968 as you cross Japan Center's indoor wooden bridges, with noren (curtains) and maneki-neko (cat figurines) waving welcomes from restaurant entryways. Hard to believe, but this kawaii-cute mall started with a knock-down fight. While Japanese American residents were interned during World War II, the city planned to tear down Japantown. Postwar, 1500 recently returned Japantown residents were uprooted to build the mall. But Japantown residents and businesses rallied, stopping evictions and converting the mall into a community hub.