Hokka Nichi Bei Kai (Japanese American Association of Northern California / JAANC) is a historic Japanese cultural nonprofit organization based in San Francisco Japantown since 1895.

Originally established to support the early Japanese immigrant community and foster understanding between Japan and the United States, Nichi Bei Kai has continued for over a century as a place where Japanese language, culture, and community remain actively practiced and shared.

Centered around Kansoan Tea House (観桑庵), a traditional tea house designed by renowned Japanese architect Professor Masao Nakamura and constructed in Kyoto before being reassembled in San Francisco by Japanese craftsmen, Nichi Bei Kai serves as a living cultural space for tea gatherings, lectures, seasonal events, language programs, and traditional arts.

Rather than presenting Japanese culture only as history or performance, Nichi Bei Kai seeks to support cultural continuity through lived experience — through community, seasonal awareness, hospitality, aesthetics, and shared practice.

Today, Nichi Bei Kai continues to welcome people of all backgrounds who wish to engage more deeply with Japanese culture in San Francisco Japantown.

Programs and events may include:

• Tea gatherings and tea ceremony

• Kōdō (The Way of Incense)

• Japanese language and speech programs

• Cultural lectures and demonstrations

• Seasonal community events

• Traditional arts and intergenerational cultural exchange

As a nonprofit cultural organization, Nichi Bei Kai remains committed to preserving and sharing Japanese cultural traditions while supporting the continued presence of Japanese cultural community life in San Francisco Japantown.