The Japan Center is a shopping center in the Japantown neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It opened in March 1968 and was originally called the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center. It is composed of three malls: the Kinokuniya Mall, Kintetsu Mall, and Miyako Mall. Anchor tenants include Books Kinokuniya and Sundance Kabuki Cinema.The Fuki-ya restaurant owned by Junko and Richard K. Diran is said to have been the first Robatayaki restaurant in the United States.The architecture of the site, created by Minoru Yamasaki, has been described as "Brutalist slabwork."San Francisco's Peace Pagoda is on the Japan Center site.
