Chinatown in San Francisco & Japanese Tea Shop

The day after the Cherry Blosson Festival in Japantown we had booked a bootstour through the San Francisco Bay starting at Fisherman's Wharf passing under the Golden Gate Bridge and around the prison of Alkatraz. We got there by Cable Car, that was really cool. It's pretty old but nice to ride and the up and downs of the city are really funny to drive.

Cable Car (Turning Point)

The boat trip was also a great idea to view all the sightseeings of San Francisco mentioned above, the only bothering thing were the mny Chinese tourists on the boat. They were loud and running up and down to take the best photos of everything.

But it is also obwious that many Chinese live in Amerika. You hear Chinese everywhere. Even some bus announcements are in Chinese.

On our way back from Fisherman'S Wharf we walked along the business streets of San Francisco till we arrived in Chinatown. It was really big and this time it looked quite pretty. In the main street were many shops selling Chinese and American merchandise and of course restaurants and some business shops were located there.

main shopping street in Chinatown

shopwindow of one of the many (Chinese) souvenir shops

We also entered a Chinese backery like always but this looked really shabby from the inside. The food weren't so special as well and we didn't find any Pandan cake (like we did in London) though it is a Chinese speciality and really delicious.

Down the street we passed the little Chinese Gate and from one step to another we were back in 'America' so to say.

But this Chinatown is one of the nicest one I have visited so far. It has much more atmosphere than the one in Los Angeles for example!

In the evening we also went a little shopping in the Westfield and Nordstorm shopping center on Market Street. Inside the Westfield Center is a beautiful Japanese Tea shop. I couldn't resist to enter it because now is Cherry Blossom season and they sold many different kinds of Sakura Tea. You could see and smell every single tea what was really inviting. In the end I bought a box with two different Sakura teas in beaufitul tea cases^.^

I also got a single tea bag of green tea called 'Happiness' for free. I'm looking forward to taste everything^.^

(but because of my excitement I forgot to take photos of the shop >.<)

my gets and a catalog of Sakura Tea^^

Chinatown & Little Tokyo in Los Angeles

Hello everybody!

I am in California/USA at the moment and I'm travelling with my friend Lau through different cities. Currently we have been to Los Angeles (L.A.) - a really great city!

We had a hotel directly in the middle of Chinatown, kind of funny, because of course I didn't tell my travel agency that I love Asian countries, ha ha.

So here we are, in the middle of the Asian quarter.

our hotel: Dragon Gate Inn

The Chinese Plaza was pretty nice but the rest of Chinatown is quite unexited. The main street behind the 'Dragon Gate' (which marks the entrance of Chinatown) is kind of shabby >.<

Chinese Plaza

From there we took the Metro Rail Gold Line to Little Tokyo^^ (it's really called that way and it was only two stations from Chinatown)

This quarter is totally different from Chinatown and much more nicer!!! It's clean and filled with nice shops, hotels and restaurants and the Japanese American Museum. Even the traffic Lights are pieping like in Japan, that was so cute X3

In the centre of the quarter the Japanese Village Plaza is located. It's a circle walk with many typical Japanese shops and restaurants. We were totally happy because it is really a little Japan.

There was a great supermarket where many super delicious sweets were on sale *_*

We had to buy a package of Matcha KitKat there X3

choice of sweets

But there were also drug stores (where my friend Lau had to buy some eye lashes *lol *), backeries &cafés (I bought a Matcha Mochi Mochi),goodie & souvenir shops and of course some restaurants serving sushi. Udon, Ramen and other typical dishes (I could post a picture of almost every shop, but that would be too much^^;). Down in a centre were also a Anime store, a Lolita shop and shop selling cosplays and stuff like that. It even had some purikura machines. Of course we had to try one X3

centre of the plaza

shop with puri-machines

inside the drugstore; Lau buying her lashes^^

We went there in the morning but after our tour through the city we came back in the evening for dinner. We chose a nice restaurant called 'Maruya' which served Sushi. Ramen, Donburi and several side dishes. We both longed for a good Katsudon and weren't disappointed, it was totally delicious!!! and pretty much, we were so full afterwards XD

I also tried a cocktail there: Chu-Hi Cocktail – White Peach (sake) with soda and ice, it tasted fresh and sweet^^

Maruya

my cocktail

Katsudon X3

So we had much fun and it is worth a visit - even if you are not so into Japanese stuff like I am XD

~*~

During the day we have also been to Santa Monica and Hollywood, so here also some impressions of our trip:

Santa Monica Beach

Chinese Theatre

Hollywood sigh between the houses^^'