This was Lori’s first conference day, so she was not able to join me for the touristy stuff. We did get to have coffee and a pastry from a nearby Starbucks together before parting company around 7:45. I then walked up Powell Street to Geary Street to catch the 38 bus line at that corner. I hopped off at Geary St and Laguna St. I was very early, and most of the shops did not open until 11 so I had to walk around for a bit. Japantown isn’t very big so that did not eat up a lot of time, but I got some good photos of the Japantown Peace Plaza Pagoda.

Japantown Peace Plaza Pagoda

To kill some more time and re-fuel for the day, I stopped at O Izakaya Lounge for a Japanese-style breakfast bento. Grilled salmon, scrambled eggs, miso soup, rice, fruit and vegetables were all present.

Japanese breakfast at O Izakaya Lounge

By the time I finished breakfast some more shops had started opening up. Soko Hardware was my first stop. It was a regular American hardware store that also carried a lot of Japanese goods. Most of the Japanese products were downstairs, but there were some traditional Japanese woodworking tools upstairs. This place had the best pricing for iron teapots in the area.

Sanko Cooking Supplies was near Soko Hardware. They also had iron teapots, a very large selection of table service, and small appliances such as rice cookers.

I then walked through the Japan Center Mall which has the Peace Pagoda between its two buildings. Most of the shops were still closed, but there were many people hanging around the restaurants and shops which were open. There were enough open ones to keep me busy until the rest opened at 11:00. Kinokuniya Bookstore reminded me of a Barnes and Noble, but it had about 90+ percent Japanese language publications and books. That made me wish I had at least some Japanese reading ability. I also stopped in a store called Sanrio with a ton of pink Hello Kitty merchandise to snap a few pictures on my phone which I sent to Lori.

Is this much Hello Kitty in one place even legal?

The Katachi knives store had all sorts of cool Japanese swords ranging in price from $25 to $2500+. They also had knives, statues and figurines. I resisted the temptation to pick up a sword and have it shipped back home.

Asakichi Cast Iron was a tiny shop on the bridge spanning across Webster St. between mall buildings. Here I purchased a small ceramic koi figurine for Lori. They also had Samurai figurines, boxes, tea pots and other figurines all in cast iron.

I left Japantown on the same 38 bus route back to Powell and Geary Streets. From there, I hopped on one of the Powell cable cars taking it up the hill to California Street. I then walked down California turning at Stockton to head into Chinatown. I wandered around a few blocks in Chinatown for the next 45 minutes or so, then decided to grab some lunch at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe. I headed over to Columbus Ave, then up to Mario’s in the North Beach or little Italy area near Washington Square.

Mario’s was packed around 1 PM, but I managed to grab an outside table with one chair. As Lori had warned me, service was very slow. I had to hang out at my table for quite some time before the waitress acknowledged my presence. Once she did, however, the service was fine. I had the meatball panini sandwich (by Lori’s recommendation) with a Hop Head Red beer from Green Flash Brewing Company.

Sandwich and Beer at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Cafe

After lunch, I walked through Washington square, then headed uphill to Coit Tower. Since Lori didn’t have much luck capturing the murals inside the tower, I attempted to do a better job with my point and shoot camera. I also paid the $5 admission to go to the top and took photos from each of the windows before heading back down into Chinatown for an afternoon snack.

A view from the top of Coit Tower,
and one of the mural panels inside at the bottom of the tower.

I wandered through Chinatown a bit more, taking some photos along the way. I then ended up at the AA Bakery where I purchased an egg custard. That I took with me to the Transamerica Pyramid where I found a quiet seat in their Redwood Park to eat it. After the custard was gone, I took a few photos in the park and of the building, then headed over to California Street to catch the cable car back up the hill.

Sculpture in Transamerica Redwood Park and the Transamerica Pyramid

I stood on the front corner of the cable car and shot a short video with my camera as it went up the hill on California Street between Kearny St and Grant Ave“. I got off again at Powell and California, then walked down Powell back toward our hotel. I stopped in at The Chieftain to have a couple of beers while waiting for Lori to finish up her conference for the day.

Video shot from the front of a San Francisco cable car

When Lori contacted me, she had made plans for us to go on a double date with one of her co-workers and her husband. We started off at The View at the top of the Marriott Marquis with drinks and appetizers watching the sun set while we talked. Next, we headed over to The Thirsty Bear for some tappas and beers. Finally, we ended the evening at Mel’s Drive-In on Mission Street for some dessert before heading back to the hotel to rest before another big day.