We flew over to Mari’s favorite city this three-day weekend.

SFO Airport

Passing through the terminal that are adorned with painted wild red-crowned parrots of Telegraph Hill.

Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center

Early bird gets the parking stall.

Golden Gate Bridge

Starting our walk across the one mile suspension bridge that spans across San Francisco Bay.

Golden Gate Bridge

Looking down at the safety netting that was installed in 2017 to cut down on people jumping four seconds to their death by trauma or hypothermia. Fort Point can also be seen sitting on the promontory overlooking the entrance to the bay.

Fort Point

Photo of the seacoast fortification circa 1891 taken by James Schepp. Plans for the bridge originally called for the fort’s removal in the 1930s but it was redesigned to save the now historic site.

Golden Gate Bridge

Bug’s eye view of the South Tower.

Golden Gate Bridge

Marked safe from getting a speeding ticket.

Golden Gate Bridge

Looking down at The Needles, a rock formation primarily inhabited by seabirds.

Golden Gate Bridge

End of the bridge walk for us.

Vista Point

North side views.

Golden Gate Bridge

We crossed underneath the bridge to go back the other way. Or so we thought.

Golden Gate Bridge

Nothing to see here. Move along. The other side was reserved for bicyclists only. Besides, the views were on the ocean side.

Golden Gate Bridge

Bird’s eye view of the iconic bridge of San Francisco. If the US military had their druthers, the bridge would have been painted in yellow and black stripes instead of the now recognizable International Orange color.

Golden Gate Bridge

Fun fact: There are 27,572 wires in each of the two main suspension cables that are roughly three feet in diameter and weigh 24,500 tons.

Golden Gate Bridge

I thought there were only 128 light poles on the 4,200′ bridge. I guess we are off the bridge. End of the walk.

Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center

Wandering around the exhibits and shop before leaving so that the circling vultures could come home to roost.

Golden Gate Bridge

Contributing our toll fee to the daily revenue generated which is around $440,000. By contrast, the neighboring Bay Bridge rakes in almost $2 million daily.

Lombard Street

Driving our way down the eight sharp hairpin turns on a 27 degree grade down the crookedest street in the world. It’s actually Vermont Street, but Lombard Street has the better marketing machine.

Pier 39

Love is in the air, after all it’s Valentine’s Day.

Pier 39

Walking around the popular tourist attraction that was built in 1978, where we saw sea birds and lions, sampled chocolates and donuts, had clam chowder and crab sandwiches washed downed with the “better coffee” and ended with a magic act.

Alamo Square

Drove around the residential park a few times before snagging a questionable parking spot.

Painted Ladies

Soaking in the views of the “Postcard Row” of colorful painted houses that were built in the Victorian and Edwardian style popular in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Salesforce Tower

Mari next to the tallest building in San Francisco, topping out at 61 stories which translates to a height of 1,070′.

Salesforce Park

Strolling in the public park that are home to 600 trees and 16,000 plants.

Salesforce Tower

The skyscraper was originally known as Transbay Tower but was changed to its current name when Salesforce became the anchor tenant.

Salesforce Tower

We took the short gondola ride down instead of the elevator. The wait was significantly longer than the ride itself.

Waymo

Who’s driving?

Waymo

The self-driving car navigated the congested streets of San Francisco with great aplomb. No worries whatsoever.

In-N-Out Burger

No trip to the Bay area is complete without a stop at the popular fast food restaurant, that is still family-owned to this day to ensure quality control.

Home2

Home Sweet Home for the night.

Chinatown

Day 2

What better way to celebrate the year of the Horse than in the oldest Chinatown in North America?

Chinatown

Mari against the backdrop of Transamerica Pyramid that is the second tallest building in the city topping out at 853′.

Chinatown

Not my year.

Chinatown

Multiple vendors were selling bunches and branches of the “queen of flowers,” plum flowers represent the five blessings of longevity, prosperity, happiness, peace, and good luck.

Chinatown

Taking my picture against Tin How Temple, which is one of the oldest still-operating Chinese temples in the United States. Closed for the holidays. Even Taoist monks need a vacation.

Chinatown

We caught the colorful lion dance parading through the streets. The lion is not native to China, so the dance is thought to have originated in Persia or India.

Chinatown

What fortunes await us at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory? The Chinese fortune cookie actually originated in Japan and spread to America in the 1900s. Don’t ask for them in China. No fortune cookies for you!

San Francisco

The iconic cable cars of San Francisco are the world’s last manually operated cable-car system.

Cable Car Museum

Spending some time at the working museum that chronicles the history of the cable cars.

Chinatown

What?!?

Chinatown

Standing at the Southern entrance to Chinatown that is marked by the Dragon Gate that was built in 1969 as a gift from Taiwan.

Union Square

Checked out two of the four Hearts in San Francisco sculptures at the public plaza that is at the hub of upscale stores, restaurants, art and entertainment bordered by the homeless.

Union Square

Mari in front of the 85′ tall Dewey Monument that celebrates Admiral Dewey’s victory in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898.

Waymo

Better than Uber.

Ghirardelli Square

Of course we had to stop here. The square was originally the headquarters of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company in 1893, until they relocated to San Leandro in the early 1960s. In 1964, it was repurposed into a community of shops and restaurants.

Ghirardelli Square

Fed our savory and sweet tooth’s.

Waymo

Shotgun!

Trader Joe’s

Pit stop at the “neighborhood grocery store” that seems to be a magnet for Hawaii people.

California Academy of Sciences

Day 3
The forecasted rain finally showed up on our last day. What to do on a rainy day? We drove to Golden Gate Park to visit one of the largest natural history museums in the world.

California Academy of Sciences

We were greeted at the door by a replica fossil of a T-Rex with a Tiny Chef in its mouth.

California Academy of Sciences

Meandering our way through the over 400,000 square feet of over 46 million specimens. We were going to see a mere fraction of that.

California Academy of Sciences

Looking down at the Alligator Snapping Turtle, which are the largest freshwater turtles in North America.

California Academy of Sciences

Standing in simulated earthquakes that have rattled San Francisco in 1906 and 1989. We then walked over to the Morrison Planetarium to take in an immersive meteor crashing simulation.

California Academy of Sciences

Is that Tiny Chef dressed up in a wetsuit and ready to clean the stream?

California Academy of Sciences

Which watermarked photo shall we pick? We’ll take them all.

California Academy of Sciences

Judging by the long line, this must be the most popular exhibit.

California Academy of Sciences

Exploring the four-level dome that are home to over 1,600 live animals.

California Academy of Sciences

Passing by the aquarium teeming with marine life.

California Academy of Sciences

Probably a close runner up for the most popular exhibit, the African Penguins. Didn’t know they had penguins in Africa.

California Academy of Sciences

Checking for cavities or holes in my head.

San Francisco

Checking out. San Francisco, it was real. Until next time.

Photos taken by Mari Saito and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Determined to get one more hike in before leaving Japan, I found a suitable trail in the town of Isehara in Kanagawa prefecture. Mari kept her mother company and the mountain kept me company today. I slapped on my slippers and caught the two hour sardine packed subway train from Shinjuku to Isehara and then hopped on the Oyama Cable Car bus that left stop #4. Cultural tip: One enters Japanese buses from the back and exits from the front.

Trailhead

I got off at the last stop and walked up a road, passed a couple stream waterfalls and found an unoccupied kiosk that had maps in my language. English not pidgin.

Koma-sando approach

A real hike always starts with stairs. Stairs with words of encouragement.

Shops closed

I was able to walk the souvenir shop corridor unmolested as they were still shuttered. The shop owners are reputedly very aggressive in hawking their stuff. Pays to start early.

Warm up

Half way there. Sweating bullets already. Hot and humid. Glad I had my Pocari Sweat with me ( Japanese Gatorade ).

Shrine with a view

Stopped briefly to enjoy the small waterfall tucked away in the forest.

Only the beginning

Completed all 362 steps. Where do I get my stamp? Cable car to the right. Sorry, closed today for repairs.

How much are the fees?

How appropriate. A fitness school at the base of the mountain. Sign me up.

Yagokoro Omoikane Shrine

Shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of wisdom and intelligence. Hope some of it soaks into my noggin.

Onna-zaka Trail

The women’s trail starts on the left and is a more gradual approach that also boasted of “seven wonders.” Most of the “wonders” that I saw were power lines, light poles, fences and construction activities. Modern wonders.

Kosodate-jizou

#2 Wonder – Child Care Bodhisattva. Legend has it that one day, his face grew child like, so if you pray to him, your children will grow up decent looking. Too late for me.

Tsumekiri-jizou

#3 Wonder – Nail Cutting Bodhisattva. Legend has it that he never cut his nails, but all of a sudden his nails were cut by themselves. Moral of the story is if you apply and work hard, results will happen. I missed the rest of the wonders. Guess I need to apply myself more to the trails.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image of Mae Fudo and Kurikara Doa shrines.

More stairs

Koko Crater has nothing on this trail. Stairs after stairs. Endless.

Oyama-dera

Watch out for swooping hawks. This temple was founded in 755 AD, by a priest that was carried off by a huge hawk and eventually reunited with his parents.

Wash your hands

Soap not included.

Gong the bell

Wake up everybody!

Cable car tracks

Looking down at the empty tracks that parallels the trail going up.

Markers

Stone slabs honoring fallen warrior monks.

Stairs

Marble stairs with chromed railings. Where am I? Disneyland?

Afuri Jinja Shimosha

Click here for the larger image. The lower level was occupied by restaurants, one of the employees couldn’t believe I was hiking to the summit in slippers. Got to represent Hawaii.

Oyama Afuri Shrine

Click here for the larger image. The upper level was occupied by the shrine, statue of the 12 Chinese zodiacs and views of the city below. The holy and spiritual mountain seemed stripped and sterilized by the marbled facade perched here. Out of place. All about the yen.

Five alarm fire

Stacks of old wooden buckets that were once used to fight fires.

Stairs

The steep stairs that goes to the last shrine on the summit.

Trail

Back to nature. Left the steps and stairs behind.

Married couple

A pair of sugi pine trees that are supposed to be 500-600 years old.

Trail

I walked the Oyama trail as it meandered up the mountain side, lost in her silence.

Tengu rock

Legend has it that a tengu, legendary bird like creature, made a hole in this rock with its beak.

Rest spot

Time to replace my sweat with Pocari sweat. Humidity was ridiculously high.

Rocky Trail

I got to test my “climbing slippers” on the assorted boulders and rocks that lined the trail.

Summit Torii

The end is near.

Afuri Shrine

Afuri refers to the high amount of clouds and rain this mountain receives. Lived up to its name, without the rain.

Summit

The socked in summit of Mount Oyama at 4,108′ elevation.

Scenic view

Click here for the larger image of a scattered view from the summit.

Kanpai

Got beer? Or was that sake?

Otoko zaka trail

The men’s trail is steeper and shorter than the women’s trail.

Going down

Passing the restaurants on my way down, the same shocked employee who saw me in slippers, clapped for me, seemingly surprised that I made it back down.

All pau

This area is known for spinning tops and tofu. I went with the non-perishable item.

GPS Tracks

The short and hot hike covered 4.45 miles up and down the mountain, that consisted more of stairs than trails.