San Francisco Music Blog

Kirsty Evans

​The New People World center, which just opened with much fanfare in Japantown this last weekend, is a monument to the increasing American interest in Japanese pop culture. This modernistic glass and steel structure houses two clothing boutiques, a shoe store, a gallery, a store selling all kinds of cool toys and housewares, a coffee shop, and the brand new Viz cinema in the basement.

Kirsty Evans

​The mall opened on Saturday with a huge street fair centered around two stages, one in Peace Plaza and another just outside the mall itself, and a row of exhibitor booths. Highlights included the Harajuku Kawaii Experience on the main stage, during which TsuShiMaMiRe, Red Bacteria Vacuum, and Noodles all played live. There was also a makeover courtesy of temporary mall guests 6%DOKIDOKI, the winner of which got a return ticket to Tokyo courtesty of Japan Airlines. Other events included the premier of the movie 20th Century Boys, with a special appearance by one of the film's stars, actress Takako Tokiwa, and a fashion show by Baby The Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates.

Kirsty Evans

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The New People building itself is impressive. At 20,000 square feet, with a façade made entirely of glass, the entire structure feels open and full of light. The glass frontage also allows curious foot traffic to see right into the building, including an excellent view of the Baby The Stars Shine Bright boutique. The Superfrog gallery on the top floor is cute, but I suspect that the real draws will be the two boutiques and the Viz cinema.

Kirsty Evans

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Tucked away in the basement, the Viz cinema is a comfortable and well planned environment for watching movies. With big cushy seats, a floor that slopes down towards the screen, and the Delica shop upstairs offering Ito En teas, tasty little bento boxes and fresh brewed coffee, it offers an unusually civilized movie-going experience.

Kirsty Evans

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Walk upstairs to the next floor and you'll find the boutiques. Baby The Stars Shine Bright is one of Japan's leading brands for Lolita clothing (they were featured in the movie Kamikaze Girls), and this store is their first in the USA. The boutique itself is a lovely little jewelry box of a store, with racks of elaborately detailed dresses and shelves full of matching accessories. OK, so this style is not for everyone, but even those not interested in wearing the clothes can appreciate the loving attention to detail that went into its creation, which is also evident in the products.

Kirsty Evans

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Walk past a small shoe store, which displays some of its products on a lovely traditional tansu, and in the back of the second floor you'll find the Black Peace Now boutique. Deliciously gothy in an understated way, the store is almost totally monochrome other than the occasional flash of blood red or deep purple. Anyone who was ever a goth girl will hardly be able to contain her urge to squeal with glee over the assortment of pretty shirts and skirts and the gorgeous accessories. The only potential problem for Black Peace Now is that they're using standard Japanese sizing, which is considerable smaller than Americans are used to. Whether there will be enough potential customers slim enough to fit into their covetable clothes remains to be seen.

For the next month visitors can also check out a temporary boutique from 6%DOKIDOKI. No one seems to know what will be moving into that space next, so I guess customers will just have to keep stopping by to find out.