Another Side fo San Francisco
The city of San Francisco is trying to give a face lift to its Japantown neighborhood, and the folks there are nervous. A much-loved tourist destination for decades and a blessing to residents eager for Japanese restaurants and groceries, Nihon-machi (the Japanese term) is just about nine square blocks in the Western Addition district. Right now, it's on the verge, but nobody is quite sure of what.
The wildly successful Joie de Vivre hospitality chain of boutique hotels has moved in to buy and renovate the two biggest lodgings here, turning the venerable Miyako into the Kabuki (as of January 1, 2008) and the slightly less fancy Best Western Miyako Inn into the Tomo (which means friend). That, plus the recent upgrading of the cinema complex here, makes some people happy about the city's development plans, currently in the "advisory stage." Skeptics, however, don't trust the city to get anything right and are worried. Plans for the redevelopment of the area are to be announced late this year or early next, the city says. More information available online at www.sfgov.org/site/planning.
City Pass
I recommend buying the San Francisco City Pass if you want to visit several of the attractions it covers. Most important, perhaps, is the seven-day pass it gives you on the Muni, which includes subway, cable car, streetcar and bus transport. The other attractions include the De Young Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum, the Exploratorium, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Aquarium of the Bay, and cruises on the Blue & Gold Fleet. In addition, you can choose one of either the splendid Asian Art Museum or the California Academy of Sciences & Steinhart Aquarium. The Asian Art Museum has an amazing exhibition on Osamu Tezuka, the creator of modern manga (comics), such as Astro Boy, the first of its kind outside Japan, from June 2 through September 9. All these attractions and transport for $54, saving, they say, $50 from the $104 value the tickets represent. Children aged 5 to 17 pay less.
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The wildly successful Joie de Vivre hospitality chain of boutique hotels has moved in to buy and renovate the two biggest lodgings here, turning the venerable Miyako into the Kabuki (as of January 1, 2008) and the slightly less fancy Best Western Miyako Inn into the Tomo (which means friend). That, plus the recent upgrading of the cinema complex here, makes some people happy about the city's development plans, currently in the "advisory stage." Skeptics, however, don't trust the city to get anything right and are worried. Plans for the redevelopment of the area are to be announced late this year or early next, the city says. More information available online at www.sfgov.org/site/planning.
City Pass
I recommend buying the San Francisco City Pass if you want to visit several of the attractions it covers. Most important, perhaps, is the seven-day pass it gives you on the Muni, which includes subway, cable car, streetcar and bus transport. The other attractions include the De Young Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum, the Exploratorium, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Aquarium of the Bay, and cruises on the Blue & Gold Fleet. In addition, you can choose one of either the splendid Asian Art Museum or the California Academy of Sciences & Steinhart Aquarium. The Asian Art Museum has an amazing exhibition on Osamu Tezuka, the creator of modern manga (comics), such as Astro Boy, the first of its kind outside Japan, from June 2 through September 9. All these attractions and transport for $54, saving, they say, $50 from the $104 value the tickets represent. Children aged 5 to 17 pay less.
Read the entire article...
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