Japantown, Vancouver

Japantown or Little Tokyo was a neighbourhood in Vancouver, North of Chinatown, that had a concentration of Japanese immigrants. It was attacked in the early 1900s by the Asiatic Exclusion League, which burned down Chinatown. Japantown knew about the attacks, and the Japanese defeated the Asiatic Exclusion League members from destroying their shops.

During World War II when Japanese Canadians had their property confiscated and were interned, Japantown ceased to be a distinct Japanese ethnic area. This area is now part of the Downtown Eastside.

Along Powell Street a few remnants of the former Japanese neighbourhood still exists. This includes the Japanese Community Volunteers Association (Tonari Gumi), the Vancouver Buddhist Church and a few Japanese grocers and restaurants.

Oppenheimer Park in this area is the site for the annual Powell Street Festival which is held every summer and is a community celebration of Japanese heritage.

A new enclave of ethnic Japanese is developing on Alberni street near the Central Business District.