- Start: Post St. at Fillmore St.
- Finish: Sutter St. at Buchanan St.
- Length: 6 blocks
1 hour for shopping & fun (more if you plan on eating)
On Post St., head towards the Japan Center in the Kinokuniya Building (1812 Post St). Here you will find unique Japanese restaurants and shops. An indoor bridge on the second story of the building leads you over Webster St. to the rest of the shops and restaurants.
Leave the Japan Center and head up to Nijiya Market (1737 Post), a grocery
store that has sushi and a deli for takeout lunch.
Tora-Ya Restaurant (1734 Post), Japantown’s oldest restaurant, has good food and reasonable prices.
Head north on Buchanan, peek into the rest of the shops that hide in the plaza and end your walk at Sutter St.
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- Start: Grant Ave. at Bush St.
- Finish: Grant Ave. at Broadway St.
- Length: 1/2 mile
2 hours for shopping & fun (more if you plan on eating)
Take a stroll down the alleys and side streets of Grant Ave. where you'll find some authentic Chinatown sights. Start at the ornate Chinatown Gate, added in 1970, which marks the transition from Union Square.
Hungry, you say? Chinatown may be compact, but it has an astonishing number of restaurants... you just have to find them among the twisted alleys
and hidden doorways. Walking down grant you’ll find:
- • Eastern Bakery (720 Grant Ave) One of the oldest Chinese bakeries. Moon cakes are their specialty, with lighter melon filling or rich lotus-seed paste.
- • The New Woey Loy Goey Restaurant (Grant Ave & Jackson St) An inexpensive
neighborhood restaurant on the basement level in the heart of Chinatown. Not many tourists find their way down here. Great fresh vegetables.
- • Ten Ren Tea Shop (949 Grant Avenue) Buying Chinese tea can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. Ten Ren helps by giving samples!
This tour is an easy one to stray from. Shop, eat, and browse and you’ll get what you need from Chinatown. End this walk at Broadway and Grant, where China meets Italy.
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Castro
Start: Market St. & Castro St.
Finish: 18th Street & Dolores St.
Length: About 1/2 mile
2 hours for shopping and fun
Start at the largest flagpole in the city where a rainbow flag flies above Harvey Milk Plaza. At the corner of Castro St. and Market, look for Twin Peaks (401 Castro). This bar emerged as the country’s first ground-floor gay bar with expansive, clear glass windows.
Stop and grab a cup of coffee at Philz Coffee (4023 18th St.) and a slice of pizza at Nizario's Pizza (4077 18th St.).
Finish your walk at Dolores Park (between Church St. and Dolores St.), a giant multi-block park with a view of the city skyline. This is a place that seems to always have sunshine when the rest of the city is overcast. On the weekends, when the sun is shining, you'll see BBQ's, hoola-hoops, and lot's of sunbathers.
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