Day Two

Angel Island

This Ellis Island of the West is where, from 1910 to 1940, authorities held Chinese immigrants until they passed their admission-to-the-U.S. exams (Angel Island State Park; 435-5390). Have a picnic. Tour the historic barracks; on their walls, detainees etched poems expressing their anger, fears and hopes for life in the Gam Saan, the Golden Mountain, San Francisco. To get to 22 Angel Island, take a Blue & Gold Fleet ferry at Pier 41 (705-8200).

Day Three

Japantown

Japanese emigrated to San Francisco in large numbers in the 1890s. They lived largely South of Market until the ’06 quake destroyed that neighborhood. They moved to the Western Addition and established Nihonmachi, now Japantown. Tour Japantown, experience the art and culture, especially the three-block-long 23 Japan Center on Geary Boulevard.

Start the day with Japanese pastries, mochi-gashi or manju at the
24 Benkyodo Coffee Shop (1747 Buchanan; 922-1244). Begin the art tour at the 25 Peace Plaza Pagoda at Post and Buchanan, a 100-foot-tall gift from sister-city Osaka, Japan. 26 Genji Antiques in the Miyako Mall (22 Peace Plaza; 931-1616) features kimonos, folk arts and home furnishings. On the other side of the plaza in the Kintetsu Mall, halfway down the hall is 27 Mikado Gift Store (922-9450), which has Japanese folk arts, dolls and video games. 28 May’s Coffee Shop (346-4020) has tai-yaki, fish-shaped pancakes filled with sweet beans, and Japanese bento (box lunch) to go. Down the hall at the 29 Ikenobo Ikebana Society (567-1011) you can see traditional Japanese flower arranging. 30 Taiyo-do Record Shop (885-2818) at the end of the hall has the latest music from Japan.

For lunch, try 31 Mifune Restaurant’s (922-0337) home-made udon noodles, 32 Isobune’s (563-1030) sushi with floating boat dishes, or 33 Benihana (563-4844), where the food is prepared with flair and cooked at your table. Across the Webster Street bridge is the 34 San Francisco Taiko Dojo Showroom (1581 Webster. Suite 200; 928-2456) — music classes, contemporary art and locales for taiko drum concerts. Stop in at 35 Shige Antiques (1730 Geary; 346-5567) for beautiful kimonos. 36 Kinokuniya Bookstore (1581 Webster; 567-7625) has all the best on Japan, including art, culture, history and language, and its stationery store across the hall has a wide selection of rice paper and stationery.

Downstairs, 37 Asakichi Iron Teapot (1730 Geary; 921-2147) sells folk arts, antiques and ceramics; in front of the store is a replica of a castle from Osaka. Next door at 38 Juban Yaki-niku House Japanese BBQ (1581 Webster; 776-5822), cook your own Japanese or Korean meals.

Leave the Japan Center and head up to 39 Nijiya Market (1737 Post; 563-1901), a grocery store that has sushi and a deli for takeout lunch. 40 Tora-Ya Restaurant (1734 Post; 931-5200), Japantown’s oldest restaurant, has good food and reasonable prices. Next door is 41 Sharaku (1726 Post; 929-9084), which sells Japanese music and instruments. 42 Soko Hardware (1698 Post; 931-5510) — don’t be misled by the name — carries Japanese art, tools and art supplies.

43 Sakai K. Uoki Co. (1656 Post; 921-0514), the oldest grocery store in Japantown, is known widely for its impeccably fresh fish. At 44 Korea House (1640 Post; 563-1388), which has good food at reasonable prices, you can cook your own Korean dinner. Stop in at 45 Paper Tree (1743 Buchanan; 921-7100) for origami samples and rice paper. 46 Iroha Restaurant (1728 Buchanan; 922-0321) serves fresh homemade Chinese-style ramen noodles, and 47 Sanko Cooking Supply (1758 Buchanan; 922-8331) carries a nice selection of ceramics and Japanese kitchenware. The 48 Nichi Bei Kai building has a traditional Tea Ceremony Room. Call in advance for reservations (1759 Sutter; 751-9676). Round out your day with a soothing massage at 49 Kabuki Springs and Spa (1750 Geary; 922-6000).

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