San Francisco's "Japantown" is comprised of about six square city blocks and is recognizable by a five-tiered Peace Pagoda in the center. Even though this area only houses a small percentage of the city's Japanese population, exploring the great shops and restaurants is still an authentic cultural experience.
Just South of Japantown is San Francisco's Cultural District. This large complex of buildings includes the
golden-domed City Hall, the Opera House, Davies Symphony Hall, and
the Asian Art Museum. The landscaped plaza connecting the buildings is
the staging area for San Francisco's frequent political demonstrations.
West of City Hall lies Alamo Square, a residential neighborhood and park that consists of four city blocks at the top of a hill
overlooking most of San Francisco. A number of large and architecturally distinctive mansions line the perimeter. The park
itself includes a playground and a tennis court, and is frequented by
neighbors, tourists, and dog owners. A row of Victorian Houses facing the park, known as the "painted ladies", are often shown in the foreground of panoramic pictures of the city's downtown area. We highly recommend an afternoon stroll through this lovely area!
Castro District, the city’s main gay neighborhood, is a short ride away, as is Haight-Ashbury.
The Haight was the center of the
1960s hippie movement.Gentrification has
touched this area, but has not erased all traces of street life.Haight Ashbury celebrates its past.Enjoy the nightlife,
eat, listen to music, wander and shop. There's an abundance
of local art work to be enjoyed.
Just west of Haight-Ashbury is Golden Gate Park, the city's largest park covering over 1,013 acres (3 miles long by 1/2-mile wide). Once nothing more than barren sand dunes, Golden Gate
Park owes its existence to tenacious Scotsman John McLaren, who created
the landscape we see today. This is a must-see site for anyone visiting San Francisco.
