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It's not just sushi on little boats

Most of Japantown's commercial space is suddenly on the market "prompting concerns that the historic district could lose its unique character." Unfortunately it doesn't have much character. A shopping center built forty years ago on Japanese models, it's a blandly confusing retail experience for Westerners and probably a tired one for most Japanese. Certainly it's not the Sony Metreon, built on Asian models of multi-story entertainment, food and retail.

It needs new owners, sensitive to the fragile past of the Japanese in Northern California and with the cash to make it a destination again. As for the hotels, best-use probably means turning them into condos.
· Cultural Center for Sale [SF Chronicle]