Fanime Con - San Jose

[KellifromCanada]

My son is thinking of going - spending 3 or 4 nights in San Jose for the con and then taking the train to San Fransisco and touring about in the Japan Town area.

Any suggestions from those in the know?

Thanks!

Kelli

 

[skiingfast]

At the CalTrain terminus in SF you can take the Muni bus #47 upto Geary st/Blvd.

If you really meant China Town, which is much more scenic. You can take the Muni train to Powell or Montgomery, is a little walk to Grant Street from them.

 

[GrandBob]

Yes, Chinatown is bigger and more famous. I wouldn't call it more scenic. Japantown has a beauty of its own, and makes for a very interesting couple of hours. From the Caltrain station, I'd take the 30 Stockton or 45 bus up to Geary, then the 38 Geary out to Filmore.

Funny - I haven't lived there since 1980, but I still remember the 30 Stockton and 38 Geary.

HTH,
Bob

 

[GrandBob]

BTW, you can get maps of the Muni system here:
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/official.htm

The one for downtown is here:
http://transit.511.org/static/providers/maps/SF_1222201020601.pdf

If I were at the Caltrain station and going to Chinatown, I'd take the 30 Stockton (or 45), get off around Jackson, and walk east 1 block to Grant.

-Bob

 

[KellifromCanada]

Hi Guys,

Thanks! Nope, I really meant Japan Town. He wants to visit the Japanese bookstore and other shops but I have suggested he research more. I am concerned there isn't enough there to keep him occupied for 3 days - to say nothing of the expensive hotels! Holy hannah, it all seems so pricey!!!

Any suggestions of good safe places to stay, centrally located for easy public transit access around the China Town/Union Station/Japan Town areas. To be honest, I've only seen a few maps of the neighbourhoods of San Fran and naturally, there's no scale with them, so I have no idea of distance.

Best

Kelli

 

[GrandBob]

Well, as I said, Japan Town is good for a few hours -- not a few days! My wife is 1/2 Japanese and was born in Osaka, but even she can't find things to do there for more than 1/2 day.

Yes, SF is pricey. There really are no hotels around Japan Town, other than a couple of specialty (i.e. pricey) Japanese style hotels, such as the Miyako (in looking it up, it appears that it's now called Hotel Kabuki?). I'd recommend that he indeed look in the more traditional tourist areas, such as Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf. For his purposes, the Union Square area may be a better fit. He could hop right on the 38 Geary from there and be in Japan Town in 15 minutes. Or hop the cable car and be in Fisherman's Wharf in the same time. But I have no specific recommendations. SF has great public transportation, though, so he really could stay in any neighborhood near the tourist areas.

HTH,
Bob

 

[KellifromCanada]

Thanks, Bob. Yes, it helps - a lot! I'll just keep at Trip Advisor until I find something that sounds decent, now closer to the areas you mentioned. Having never travelled there myself, its hard to envision it all.

Best,

Kelli

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Is he planning on staying in San Jose and just taking the train up to SF for the day? I can help with info on the San Jose end of things. Hotels here will be cheaper than in San Francisco, and there's several that will put him right by Fanime. There's also a small Japantown neighborhood in San Jose with a really nice museum that just reopened, plus the usual shops, restaurants, temple, etc. It's not as big as the one in San Francisco - more of a 1 hr walk-through unless you have a specific destination in mind (we go there for the great restaurants & grocery store, plus there's a unique coffee shop that I could spend hours at if I didn't have a 4 yr old). I'm sure some of the Fanime participants will be heading that way during the convention - we usually see quite a few of them around the Japantown neighborhood during the Con.

 

[KellifromCanada]

Hey Bethany: He is hoping to stay at one of the con's hosting venues so he is just waiting to see what rates they offer to participants.

Thanks for the idea that he could just travel to SF for the day and avoid the pricey hotels all together. He's going to chew on that now for a bit. One of the draws is the Kinokuniya bookstore in SF.

He's asked me to ask you the name of the coffee shop you mentioned, please.

Thanks!

Kelli

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Hey Bethany: He is hoping to stay at one of the con's hosting venues so he is just waiting to see what rates they offer to participants.

Thanks for the idea that he could just travel to SF for the day and avoid the pricey hotels all together. He's going to chew on that now for a bit. One of the draws is the Kinokuniya bookstore in SF.

He's asked me to ask you the name of the coffee shop you mentioned, please.

Thanks!

Kelli

Sure, the coffee shop is Roy's Station http://www.roys-station.com/ - it's in an old converted gas station and they tried to keep some of the 40's era feel to the building. It's family owned and operated, and a very popular neighborhood hang out.

He might like to visit Nikaku Animart, which is near Roy's Station - http://www.nikaku.com/. They have anime fan art and it's another popular stop during the Con. They used to have special events during Fanime - don't know if they will again this year.

I totally understand the draw to Kinokuniya bookstore and the SF Japantown, and think an anime fan would like the trip, but like others have said, it's not really a multi-day visit - more like several hours. There's certainly a lot to see in SF and well worth spending a few days up there. I love all the museums, Chinatown, parks, zoo, presidio, etc., but it is more expensive to stay there, and traffic/parking is a nightmare. We often take CalTrain up and then rely on Muni to get around, and that works well for us.

Hope he has a great trip!

 

[KellifromCanada]

Thanks Bethany! This is all looking awesome.

Best,

Kelli