Nihonmachi!

Aside from the tea gardens, Japan Town is one of my favorite places to go in San Francisco. The air smells less polluted than the rest of the city, or so it seems to me, and the giant white pagoda in the corner of Peace Plaza lends shade and a very cultural aura to the entire area. One can almost see a semi circle of kimono-clad dancers with their hair up in ornate pins and sticks waving uchiha (petal) fans and kachi-kachi (noise makers, something like castanets) to the beat of taiko and the wail of a koto. All of my memories of the place are warm, even though last September it was very cold in the evening. The sun seems to shine on Japan Town even when other parts of the city are shrouded in cloud and fog.