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There are 3 Japantowns left in America. But they could be on the verge of vanishing. Claire Wang © Provided by NBC News Long before Snapchat and Instagram revolutionized social media with augmented reality face filters, Ryan Kimura opened a photo sticker studio in San Francisco's Japantown, the oldest Japanese enclave in the United States. PikaPika, a staple in the Japan Center since 2006, has become famous for its purikura booths, which let users digitally decorate their images and print them instantaneously onto stickable selfie strips. Like many brick-and-mortar businesse...

San Francisco's Japantown battles to survive Ariana Bindman FacebookTwitterEmail Japantown, San Francisco.eyfoto / Getty Images 2020 feels like the year of fallen icons. From the 83-year-old Coca Cola sign on Fifth and Bryant to the amber-lit O’Farrell Theatre strip club, COVID-19 has robbed San Francisco of its many historic institutions. Now, following the permanent closure of more than 2,000 businesses in the San Francisco and Oakland metro areas, Japantown’s family-owned shops and restaurants are fighting to survive the pandemic’s iron grip. In Japantown, small businesses represent ...