In and Around San Francisco

I've traveled northwards to the San Francisco area twice this year, found unique things to fill my days on both visits, and can still think of a dozen things I'd like to do. Mostly food-related, but it's not my fault people keep telling me "Oh, you have to eat here!" Well if I have to, I have to.

While I can hardly wait to visit San Francisco again to see what else it has to offer, I'd also happily do any of the things I've already done all over again.

Fisherman's Wharf

There are plenty of places to stay throughout San Francisco, but I really enjoyed staying in this area because of how much there is to see and so within walking distance. A long night stroll along the wharf, ending with ice cream in Ghirardelli Square, is pretty top notch romance.

I also tried out one of those toilets that wash themselves between uses. It was weird--it talked to me about itself the whole time I was peeing. For a narcissistic public toilet without boundaries, though, it seemed clean enough.

Union Square

I wasn't impressed with the idea of Union Square at first, but when I got there it was so very San Francisco that it won me over without seeming to try at all. For starters, a lady who didn't speak English sold me a strawberry hat, allowing me to go from zero to cool in fifteen dollars seconds. Then we went to the Westfield Mall, which has a pretty large Sanrio store. The part that had me most hypnotized, though, was the food court. They served actual food and have ambient lighting and everything. I walked around trying to find a good angle to capture its glory, but I failed. My inner foodie wept.

I consoled myself with an order of Japanese chips at Calbee, which opened their first American store in Union Square fairly recently. Halfway through my drive home I was thinking about going back and getting more.

Japantown

One thing I regret is not dedicating more time to Japantown, and not seeing Chinatown at all, even though I've been to the Los Angeles versions of each. Japantown had a little indoor street that reminded me of walking through the streets of Old Edo, and we found great food there.

We also found a Daiso, which is basically a Japanese dollar store. With exchange rates and the like, everything in it was $1.50, and I think I spent like $30 there. I even got a saucer that matches the bowl and plate I got at the Daiso in Harajuku!

Alcatraz

I honestly expected to get bored quickly here, but Poncho really wanted to see it and I like trying new things, so we gave it a shot. In the end of our audio tour, we had security following us to be sure we actually made it onto the last boat back to the mainland. The audio tour was amazing! It's narrated by an actual guard with a total "old cowboy" voice, and other guards and inmates occasionally chime in. It's timed perfectly, where he says "Look to your left. See that? It's super cool. Look above you. See that? Yeah, you're impressed. Take three steps and look down. Grenade damage. You're welcome."

There's vivid retellings of escape attempts, ambient noises that make it seem like the cells are full, and probably ghosts. Or so my brother says.

Bay Area Discovery Center

On my more recent trip north, I had six-year-olds with me, so we went to the Bay Area Discovery Center. The outdoor play area was huge and very fun! A couple of the indoor exhibits were cool too, and I clearly impressed some German tourists with my amazing building skills. There was a Curious George discovery room, which would've been a lot more fun if they seemed to put effort into maintaining it--it was kind of a hot mess in there.

The outside play area was still a lot of fun though, and they had giant foam blocks to build with. The parking lot also has a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Ghirardelli Square

Poncho and I really don't care for chocolate, so the big crowd in the Ghirardelli store did not impress us. In fact, the square has four Ghirardelli stores, which I swear makes up almost half the stores in the entire square. As long as you're not picky enough to have to have your chocolate from the original store, though, the other stores don't seem to ever have lines, so I nabbed a few free samples (peppermint bark I do like) from the original store and then went to one of the others for ice cream.

Ghirardelli Square isn't just about chocolate and ice cream though--it's also about cupcakes and tea! My favorite meal of our trip was all about ambiance as we brunched at The Crown & Crumpet British Tea Salon. The interior looked like they hired a few Disney princesses to vomit all over the place, and I loved it.

Golden Gate Park

The reason we didn't get enough time in Japantown was because we thought we could share that day with Golden Gate Park. This was a mistake--we could've spent an entire day at each of them. Well, it wasn't really a mistake, since we didn't have another day, but it was still sad to leave this park before we were ready. The flowers were blooming even in November, the squirrels were friendly, and there were several exhibits that I would've liked to have paid the admission for if we'd had more time.

The science center is pretty pricey, and admission to the Japanese garden was more than twice what we paid to visit real Japanese gardens in Japan, but even skipping those we only saw... maybe half of the park. We saw a lot in the few hours we were there, but next time I think we'll have to bring a picnic.

Wine Tasting

Winery's are... surprisingly cool. One of the first things I saw when we entered Cline Cellars was a huge heron catching and eating a fish. They also had a [free] museum featuring models on the California missions, and I got a slap of nostalgia when I saw the mission that my grandpa I built for my fourth grade mission project. I was too busy exploring the aviaries and ponds to try the wine here, but my mother bought four bottles.

We also visited Viansa, though I admit I was focused more on the sauce tasting station than the wine tasting station. I think my mother bought two more bottles here, while I got a jar of lavender infused honey. Honey on toast is the only thing I ate for breakfast for two weeks.

The Golden Gate

I'm just going to put this out there: the Bay Bridge is cooler. It's a double decker, and it goes through Treasure Island. It's so cool, that someone tried to jump off it when we were there.

The Golden Gate bridge is the iconic one though. It's still cool, I guess. It takes nice pictures.

I took this one from the passenger seat of a car, through a dirty windshield.
You can't get a shot like this one the Bay Bridge.

Planning a Trip to Japan: Part 7

Part 7: Stuff I Wanna Do
So we're staying in Asakusa, which is in the north-east part of Tokyo. It's old school Tokyo, or Edo, if you will. When we were first planning this trip we imagined going to more places than "just Tokyo," but the more I looked into it the more Tokyo seemed to have everything I wanted to do and more. There's no way all of this will fit into one week.

1. Asakusa - Besides the fact that that's where we'll be sleeping every night, Asakusa has some neat temples and shrines, some neat bazaar-style shopping streets, and the Asahi beer tower.
2. Ueno Park - Great spot for cherry blossom viewing (hanami), has a couple of temples, and a zoo with pandas!
3. Ameyoko - A crazy-looking shopping street south of Asakusa.
4. Akihabara (AKA Akiba) - Known as "electric town" because of all of its electronics stores, it has also become the center for otakus (anime nerds).
5. Roppongi - A popular nightlife area with many foreigner-friendly bars. I hear you have to watch out for Nigerians though.
6. Meiji Jingu - A huge shrine right in the middle of Tokyo, and right next to Harajuku.
7. Harajuku - Lots of shopping and entertainment. This is where young people hang out in weird clothes.
8. Shibuya - A popular shopping and entertainment district. This is probably where people think of when they think "Tokyo." Hachikō is at Shibuya Station, and I must get my picture with him.
9. Tsukiji Fish Market - I'm pretty sure the sushi here is fresh, seeing as it's still wriggling around in the buckets. Yum.
10. Ginza - This seems to be the Beverly Hills of Tokyo. I actually probably won't go here, but I wanted to include it.
11. Imperial Palace - It's... the imperial palace. That's cool, right? I think it's cool. There's remains of the old one there too. I hope they sell three foot tall margaritas like the one in Las Vegas.
12. Tokyo Tower -  It's like the Eiffel Tower except taller and better because it's in Japan instead of France.
13. Ghibli Museum - Just west of Tokyo, a whole museum dedicated to Miyazaki Hayao's films (you know, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, etc...). It looks like a fun place, and they show short movies that you can only see ther. You have to buy tickets in advance.
14. Sanrio Puroland - Hello Kitty has her own theme park? Are you kidding me?? I don't think I'll be able to convince Poncho to take me this time though.
15. Tokyo Disney - I'm not going to be able to afford it this time, but someday I will go. Preferably for free. Magically.
16. Onsen - You can also visit an onsen, or hot spring. We have a small one in our hotel.
17. Kamakura -  Just south of Tokyo is Japan's old capitol, Kamakura. It boasts plenty of shrines and scenic hikes. I hope to be able to see the beach, the giant Buddha, and get a glimpse of Mount Fuji.

Also, if I find a vending machine that sells panties, I'm totally buying some.

Yeah, I think we'll be plenty occupied.


Parts 1 & 2: Deciding When to Go and Buying a Plane Ticket
Parts 3 & 4: Trains?! and Deciding Where to Stay
Parts 5 & 6: What to Pack and To Do Between Now and Then

Part 7: Stuff I Wanna Do
Part 8: Links, Links, and Links