JAPANTOWN

Seattle’s Nihonmachi, or Japantown, is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods alive with art and some of Seattle’s oldest restaurants and small businesses!

VISIT THE NEIGHBORHOOD

FRIENDS OF JAPANTOWN

Looking for something to do in Nihonmachi? Explore family-owned eateries, shops, and artist galleries.

NIHONMACHI ALLEY

History meets art to invite you to explore the often unseen community treasures in Japantown in this permanent outdoor exhibit

WING LUKE MUSEUM

Learn about accessibility, parking, and more details about visiting the museum located in the Chinatown-International District

NEIGHBORHOOD MAP

Explore this map for information about small businesses in Japantown/Nihonmachi and information about street parking, public pay parking, and public transportation stops in Japantown.

Hungry? Consider choosing one of the many neighborhood restaurants — find a list here!

JAPANESE AMERICAN REMEMBRANCE TOURS

These Guided Walking Tours take visitors through the past and present Nihonmachi covering approximately one mile over urban terrain giving guests context for what once was one of the largest neighborhoods in Seattle — previously spanning 72 blocks — and to what is now a cultural home for Japanese Americans in Seattle.

Visitors can also download a Printable Map or explore a Digital Interactive Map of the Japanese American Remembrance Trail.

Find printed maps at Wing Luke Museum, the JCCCW, or the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Museum

NEIGHBORHOOD CELEBRATIONS

JAPANTOWN JINGLE

This annual celebration highlights the many diverse small businesses of Japantown with live music and events!

SAKURA MATSURI

While the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) are in bloom, Kobe Terrace Park comes alive for Hanami picnics!

HAI! JAPANTOWN

This weeklong summer festival celebrates the best and brightest in Japantown with a Block Party to kick off the week!

THE HISTORY OF NIHONMACHI

Learn more about landmark businesses that made up Nihonmachi including the Kokusai Theatre, Maneki Restaurant, Sagamiya Confectionary and Uwajimaya Grocers by visiting Nihonmachi Alley

IN THE NEWS

Five Chinatowns and the Communities Working to Preserve Them, Nathalie Alonso, National Trust for Historic Preservation, July 20, 2023

Here's the latest list of the '11 Most Endangered Historic Places' in the U.S., Neda Ulaby, NPR, May 9, 2023

Seattle neighborhood placed on unfortunate historic places list, Mike Lindblom and Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks, Seattle Times, May 9, 2023

CID in Seattle named one of Most Endangered Historic Places in country, King 5, May 9, 2023

LEARN & EXPLORE

TOGETHER, WE ARE RESILIENT

Artist and community activist Erin Shigaki speaks about Japanese incarceration, the historical "othering" of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and what it means to find home.

OUR READING LIST

Check out this curated list of additional readings about Japanese American resistance movements during the WWII era and modern BIPOC justice movements and activism today

JA GRAPHIC NOVELS

Wing Luke Museum, Chin Music Press, and many voices from the Japanese American community produced and published three graphic novels detailing particular aspects of the Japanese American experience in World War II.