We may have just announced we're heading to the West Coast, but now we have even more exciting news for you: Outpost is opening our first location, in the historic Japantown neighborhood of San Francisco.

Our new house has two floors of spaces designed with comfort and community in mind, whether you want to camp out in our large co-working space to finish a project or lounge on the couch watching Netflix (it's included!). The house is close to public transit, parks, and plenty of shopping, dining and entertainment options. 

San Francisco is home to one of only three Japantowns left in the U.S., and the six blocks the neighborhood encompasses are packed to bursting with Japanese culture, from restaurants and theaters to locally owned shops and cafés. The first thing you'll notice, though, is the Peace Pagoda, a historical monument and gift to San Francisco by its sister city, Osaka. 

The five-tiered pagoda, situated at the heart of the neighborhood, was constructed in the '60s as a monument to friendly Japanese-American relations. Architect Yoshirō Taniguchi, who also designed the  National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, had this to say about the towering structure: 

"The Peace Pagoda lifts up its hundred-feet-high spire to the skies of California. It presents a magnificent view to all esthetically minded people who raise their eyes up to the horizon on the perimeters of San Francisco."

Photo: Michael Ocampo

In the pagoda's shadow lie a rich variety of neighborhood institutions. Make sure to pay a visit to Kinokuniya Bookstore, Japan's largest bookstore chain, for a variety of Japanese books, magazines and gifts, then head to Playground, where you'll find San Francisco's only combination restaurant-bar-private karaoke. 

When you're in the mood to explore more of what the city has to offer, you'll find yourself centrally located to many of San Francisco's gems, from Golden Gate Park -- which is even larger than New York's Central Park -- to the Haight-Ashbury (known as the birthplace of hippie counterculture) and the Mission (with its killer nightlife) neighborhoods. 

Once you're tired out, come home to Japantown and spend a few hours deciding what to watch on Netflix or lounge with your housemates over a glass of wine. As always, membership at Outpost gets you access to premium spaces and perks like exclusive events, weekly cleaning and household essentials that never run out -- and that's not to mention all the great people you'll meet!

Be one of the first to sign up to get special membership rates in celebration of Outpost x SF. Interested? Just shoot us your contact info here and we'll be in touch.

Top photo credit: David Sanabria

Tagged: California Updates