Bay Briefing: How S.F.'s Japantown could disappear FacebookTwitterEmail The Japan Center Mall sits at the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown, one of the last in the country.Marlena Sloss / Special to The Chronicle Good morning, Bay Area. It’s Thursday, Mar. 4, and California is changing the way it allocates vaccines, aiming to address inequities. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. Dozens of businesses under threat San Francisco’s Japantown has persisted, even as others throughout the United States faded away. Today, Nihonmachi is the country’s oldest and largest Japantown, one of three remaining, but it covers only about six blocks, anchored by the Japan Center malls. Many worry the neighborhood is in danger of disappearing.