San Francisco is a city full of character. I noticed there are lots of characters are all around…read moreSan Francisco all four seasons. Then there are characters on social media without any character being performative in SF at the restaurants and public spaces. It's interesting to see so many characters all over the city especially in the Summer time . There is one place which has lots of stuffed characters ( not from eating food) at a mall in SF. It's at the Japan Center Mall in Japantown of San Francisco and it's called Amiko. On a Japantown stroll I landed at Japan Center Mall West and entered Amiko. Inside you will see some interesting stuffed characters and other items usually from the land of the rising sun. You will also find different characters to fill a public trinket box. Inside you will find shirts and bags. You will also find hats and bracelets. This place has blind boxes and a Kawaii vibe. Amiko has a lots of character. Japantown has lots of good places to go and lots of places to eat and "shop" like getting some sushi with Tonkatsu the Japanese fried "pork chop" and then go to Amiko and see a stuffed bunnies that don't "hop" and grabbing an ice dessert treat with a cherry on "top" Go on a stroll in Japantown also known as a "crawl "you see lots of characters in SF during all four seasons Winter, Spring , Summer and "Fall" you will also see lots of stuffed characters and it's not from eating its seeing a stuffed character "doll"and it all takes place at the "Japan Center Mall"

I've been looking for Smiski and didn't want to risk buying a fake online, so I checked out…read moreJapantown. A few shops were sold out, but I eventually found some at this store. All Smiski items come in blind boxes. I chose the "Let's Exercise" series and ended up getting the Balance one. I also picked up a strap blind box and got a secret, which was a nice surprise. Customer service was great, and the prices were decent. This was my first time buying Smiski, glad I was able to find them here. :)

I finally got a chance to stop by and so glad I did! I bought many BT21 items and BTS photo cards…read more The two employees were very friendly and helpful! After my transaction we just chatted for a few mins. I told her I would come back and bring my sister and I mean it! Thank you for your hospitality and see you soon! Everyone please give them a visit!

We came into KPOP Nation right before the TWICE concert looking for a lightstick. It was a last…read moreminute stop, and they did not have the exact version we were originally looking for, so we were ready to walk out without buying anything. Then we were helped by one of the employees, and everything changed. She was incredibly kind, understanding, and patient. She genuinely wanted to help us and made the experience feel welcoming rather than rushed or transactional. Because of her attitude and customer service, we decided we wanted to support the store anyway. To top it all off, she told us ahead of time that the lightstick needed batteries and then gave them to us. That honesty and generosity completely caught us off guard in the best way possible. Thanks to her, we were prepared and stress free going into the concert. Experiences like this are why local shops matter. We will definitely come back whenever we are in the area. Thank you so much.

So glad there's a local kpop store in the city where I can buy albums, lightsticks, albums, and…read moreother merch. Their store has a very wide selections of albums from probably every kpop artist out there. As a Stay my only complaint is that I wish they're more stocked with SKZ albums haha. Staff and other fans are very friendly. Prices are pretty standard, their product are all authentic!

I originally rated SarangHello 5 stars, but ever since they merged with Kpop Nara my experience has…read moregone down a little bit. Sadly, it seems that they have stopped giving freebies which made me really sad because that is what made them stand out among so many other K-pop stores. Also one of the employees was a little cold towards me when they first merged. But the other workers this time were really nice, also the selection of TWICE albums was good as well, and is always a good value. Definitely will always come back, just a little disappointed that merging with Kpop Nara affected my original opinion.

Awesome store with great selection and we visited them all and had so much fun! Super nice staff…read morewho mailed me my package I accidentally left there. I live two hours away and appreciated that so much! So nice of them!! Check out Anime Pop while you enjoy beautiful China Town! Seriously, our favorite shop, my son loves their selection and chill set up!

I have been a lot of Anime pop stores places all over the San Francisco Chinatown Ca USA Area &…read morealso went to some Anime Pop Stores out of San Francisco..... Not only do they sell Funkos they also sell Japanese Animated Girl Figurines Sailor Moon, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Venus & Exc..... If you like collecting this Japanese Animated Cartoon Girl Figurines or Funcos..... My Suggestion to you Yelpers & Yelpettes try going to this Anime Pop Store at the San Francisco Chinatown Ca USA Area!!!!!

This is what I call true dedication! The lady who runs this store has an impressive collection of…read morecollectibles, especially ones that are difficult to find in the US. I don't usually stop and browse stores in Chinatown, but this one was calling to me. From the moment I walked in, I knew that this was the perfect place to get a late Christmas present for my mom. She LOVES the Badtz Maru character, but Sanrio does not sell Badtz Maru branded items anymore. Once I picked out a cute mug and luggage tag, the owner and I were geeking out about all the rare Sanrio items she has in her store and about how she orders them from Hong Kong. I never though I would feel like such a Sanrio nerd before, but I was so proud. This was such a unique and fateful experience. Now I know where to come back and shop around for more hard-to-find Sanrio gifts!

Love this place, been going here ever since they had their first store to their third store. They…read morehave a bigger shop now and its much more organized. Jackie was so helpful when i needed to find a gift, and they have pochacco items! Not a lot of stores sell pochacco anymore. She can order them for you from overseas have it ship to the store. Plenty of pretty & cute cases!

Had a fun time exploring here with a friend while walking around in SF japantown! It's such a…read morewhimsical and small shop filled with gacha machines from popular fandoms like Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi, and anime! They have niche machines like rings, foods, and so much more. Everything is self service with a credit card/money slot machine that only accepts $12 at a time. NO change is given if you pay cash, so please use the exact amount. Each token is $3 so a $12 purchase gives you 4 tokens. Each slot machine has an indicator of where it needs 2 or 3 tokens. They also have a great photobooth for your pulls! Definitely go to this place if you love gacha machines!

It's similar to the other Bandai Gachapon locations that I've seen all over, but it does have an…read moreadded feature of the photobooths. There's a Bleach one outside and a Fruits Basket one inside, as well as another fancier one inside, though I didn't get to see what it exactly was. Like the other Gacha set ups, there is also a photo area for you to take pictures of your new little figures in, so that's neat as well. I'm going to say that what I've seen here is mostly what I have seen all over SoCal at the Bandai locations, at Shibuyala, Mitsuwa, etc. so it's not THAT unique, but there are a few machines that I have not seen such as a bottle clip that was a pair of glasses among some other things. I believe you can use these tokens at other Gachapon locations, so keep 'em if you don't want to use them all here. Also know that on busier days this place gets super packed! Also see if you can trade with others if you have a specific one you'd like too!

I found bunch of New books and bought 11 today for less than $25. But books are not organized at…read morethe shop so you will have to spend time to look for them. It's like going to a thrift bookstore except these are brand new books

I LOOOOOVE China Books!!! I bought my first Chinese dictionary there at the old bookstore on 24th…read moreStreet in the Mission. They seemed to disappear since they moved, but I just found their website, and it's so much better than it used to be. I'll admit, in the old days, I loved all the campy propaganda stuff....the little Red Book, the peasant posters etc., but they've updated themselves. I just found all these cool Chinese comic books (did you know that there were comics in China--I didn't!) and they still have those cool posters. Apparently they don't have a store anymore, just the website.

Used to come here every now and then for anime figures, but haven't been back since I stopped…read morecollecting. I started coming again now that I got into model kit building and painting and I have a totally new appreciation for this place. Due to the small size of the store, the selection is not comprehensive, but I always find very cool things every time I come in. I usually shop for gunpla, military model kits, game miniatures, and hobby supplies like paints and glues. I'm fine with paying a bit more to support a local store, but I'm always pleasantly shocked that prices here are either roughly the same as online or cheaper! I don't keep up with anime figure prices anymore so I can't tell you if the prices on those are as competitive. I can only vouch for the model kits/miniatures/supplies. The biggest downside is the place is super cramped, but in a way it's also somewhat of a plus because I can look around at the various stacked boxes and find lots of treasures. Plus the person behind the counter (think he's the owner?) is very nice and patient.

A great store with a wide selection of figures, board games, and other animanga collectibles :)…read moreThis store is across from the bathrooms next to Suzu Noodle House. The store offers a variety of collectible/fun items at competitive and relatively low prices. They have a rotating and wide selection of figures from various franchises that other stores in the Japantown mall might not have, even the Kinokuniya. During my last visit (12/17/2025) in particular I remember they had a huge selection of Spy Family figures and many of the Project Sekai Sega Prize figures but they also carry other merch from many other franchises like JJBA, Love Live, and MHA. The store limits its capacity to six customers at a time but that's only because they have so much items in the store! The employees are very nice and help get the items you want quickly, every item I've purchased from here has been unopened and in perfect condition. Highly recommend this store