Japantown, Vancouver

Japantown, Vancouver

Coordinates: 49°16′59″N 123°05′48″W / 49.283146°N 123.096545°W / 49.283146; -123.096545 (Japantown)

Japantown, Little Yokohama, or Little Tokyo is an old neighbourhood in Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia, north of Chinatown, that once had a concentration of Japanese immigrants. It was attacked on 7 September 1907 by the Asiatic Exclusion League, which smashed many windows in parts of Chinatown, and then moved on to Japantown. Japantown received warning of the attacks, and though residents resisted the Asiatic Exclusion League members, considerable damage was done.

The centenary of these attacks was marked by a Riot Walk through Chinatown and Japantown on 7 September 2007.

During World War II when Japanese Canadians had their property confiscated and were interned (see Japanese Canadian internment), Japantown ceased to be a distinct Japanese ethnic area. Although some Japanese returned after the war, the community never revived. The area is now part of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Along Powell Street, a few remnants of the former Japanese neighbourhood still exist. The Vancouver Buddhist Church, formerly the Japanese Methodist Church, still exists at 220 Jackson Street (at Powell), as does the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall at 475 and 487 Alexander Street (at Jackson), which was established in 1906.

Until the boom in Japanese restaurants in the 1980s, two restaurants on Powell Street were among the only Japanese dining in the city.

Oppenheimer Park in this area is the site for the annual two day Powell Street Festival which began in 1977. It is held every August, in the first weekend of the month, and is a community celebration of Japanese heritage as well as the alternative and street culture of the Downtown Eastside.