I lived in San Pedro, California, which is, you know, on the west side of California, and it's where many, many Japanese lived.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Growing up in California, I obviously knew about our deep connections with the Japanese.
I'm Japanese, but restaurants in my hometown served the most sanitized versions of California rolls. I grew up eating a lot of Japanese food at home that my parents or grandparents made.
I go up to San Francisco on holidays and spend time with my family there, but whenever I go to Japan, I enjoy every moment. I try to go back there every year or so. It's a phenomenal place, and I absolutely love it. It's not my second home; it is my home. Whenever I go back, I feel very connected with Japan.
There was a Japantown in San Francisco, but after the internment camps that locked up all the Japanese, Japantown shrunk down to just a couple tourist blocks.
My life was very Japanese.
Japanese is sort of a hobby of mine, and I can get around Japan with ease.
I was fortunate to live for 3 years in another country, and although we lived in an American compound, still as a young adolescent I did venture into the world of the Japanese with great interest and enjoyment. But many Americans never left that safe and familiar life among their own people.
I grew up in the countryside in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo.
I have a lot of Japanese friends: I grew up in Vancouver, and there's this huge Japanese population over there.
I grew up in Japan. It's my first memories of life are Japan.