History

Coming to America (When the Japanese First Landed in San Francisco)

See I do take in historic sites, not just bars and restaurants

Here’s proof from the time I was hiking through Lands End in SF, and I ended up at the Legion of Honor building.

Kanrin_Maru_Monument_-_Golden_Gate_Bridge2008.jpg
Peter Kaminiski’s pic is way better than the one I took. Image used under Creative Commons.

Outside they have a monument that commemorates the first Japanese ship to cross the Pacific to the United States.

sample_kairinmaru.jpg
37 days, and I complain about a 13 hour flight.

It took the Kanrin Maru a treacherous 37 days to make the voyage which arrived on March 17th, 1860.

Kanrin_Maru_members.jpg
Image courtesy of published by 東洋文化協會 (The Eastern Culture Association)

Also you may ask “why did the Japanese ship cross the Pacific Ocean?” Yes, you are absolutely correct if you answered “to get to the other side”, but they also did that to set-up the first Japanese Embassy in the U.S. I learned that because of this monument and you unfortunately cannot read that on a bar coaster/napkin.

Here’s a link to Google Maps at the Legion of Honor building in SF.

Legion of Honor Building

100 34th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94121
www.legionofhonor.famsf.org

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