Hoping to be in SF by the 18 April date and gone on the 21st. Are there any hotels near S7 that are cheap, walking distance and not too sketchy for a midwestern rube? Also, where are the cheap, non-salmonella walking distance eats?
I mean it looks like a cool neighborhood, but I've never been to SF and by the time that I've had a few I tend to walk around, talk to strangers, and get out of my depth quickly.
Any money I don't spend on hotels, cab fare and food is toy and beer money.
Any advice?

I hear good things about Best Western Tomo Hotel...

http://www.jdvhotels.com/tomo?cid=GL_TOM

From what I heard, Hotel Tomo (part of Best Western) is fairly inexpensive. LASH stayed there when he was over for his show. If you do stay there, Japantown has tons of places to eat...provided your diet isn't too particular. However, if you wander off in the wrong direction in a bit of a drunken stuper, then you're asking for trouble. True for any big city. Most of the BASK people are not drinkers so you might find yourself making friends at whatever bar you decide to go to (or maybe something extra if you go to the "right" bar).
I just checked it and it looks like it's about $50-$60/night.

someone should make a sticky with hotel and food info. it is probably the most frequent question asked when people come to SF for a show at S7.

http://www.jdvhotels.com/tomo/

But then there's Glenn and I.

HAhahaha..you guys probably drink the most beer during the shows...unless Glenn is working.

Cool; I generally don't get too carried away as I am usually the driver, but want to keep my bases covered.
Finding the "right" bar is good; anytime that I can get to CA it is always a pleasant surprise, the midwest is a little behind on that one.
I wonder if Dick's Bar where S. Clay Wilson used to drink and live is still open?

Thanks for the tip on the Best Western, too. Miyako seems to be a little cheaper so far, but I'm still shopping deals.
I can sleep anywhere and can eat anything that doesn't actually try to crawl off the plate; when travelling it's good to keep it light and simple for food and drink 'til the body adjusts to the locality.

Finally; museums and galleries, want to get to Asian Art Museum, seems walkable. Any other gallery/museum/toy/comic tips for walking or easy bus routes?
Thanks again guys.

Oh yeah, what's the weather like that time of year?

If you want to combine public transportation and a lot of walking- You could go toward the Haight check out Upper Playground and then to Giant Robot, Amoeba, and the rest of Haight Street. Cross the street and go to Golden Gate Park and see the Warhol show at the de young or check out the Academy of Sciences. Then walk up to Clement and check out Heroes Club and Green Apple.
In the other direction, you could check out The Shooting Gallery, 111 Minna Gallery, and the SF MOMA. Huf might have some toys or art- haven't been there since they went from 3 stores to 1 so may just be sneakers and clothes.

And of course, there's Double Punch in North Beach

Just use the transit.511.org site to figure out public transportation

Weather should be nice.

And you may want to take transportation instead of walking to the Asian Art Museum!

Lots of good eateries near S7. Hubby and I can't resist stopping in at Mifune's (it's at the Kintetsu mall--right across the street from S7). Best deal for some great down-home JP food. For a cold night their Nabeyaki Udon is perfect--it'll have you sweating on the coldest evening. We also like the Shogun dinner box or the Sushi and Tempura box. Great prices for some yummy food (and lots of it!), but it's a no-frills family dining atmosphere. Get there before 6 or you'll end up standing in a dinner line.

Oh, and while your in the Japantown mall (Kintetsu), stop in at the Kinokuniya Bookstore--books in english and Japanese. They have an interesting section of graphic arts and design.

P.S. Bring a jacket, it's usually FREEZING in the evening here (this is coming from a Californian weather whimp )

Yeah, the walk from the Asian Art Museum to Japantown is...hrrm...interesting. Depends on how interested you are in seeing a bum drop a deuce in an alley....

ewwww

yeah the tomo was really cool. we stopped in the lobby while wandering around Japantown and it was really clean. I was amused by the vending machines in the lobby selling giant robot tshirts.

I would do some google searching for best western discount codes. I had checked that place out for possibly going to the KMH closing and it was cheap.
We stayed down near Union Square in a Kimpton Hotel called the Prescott and it was really nice. I just got an email from them the other day for a $129/night rate. It's on Post too, a straight shot on one of the buses. The walk back from Japantown one night was, er, interesting and a bit sketchy to say the least so busing or a cab might be a good option.

There is a restaurant we enjoyed near S7 called iroha that had really decent udon and dinner sets as well. the Japantown mall also has that bridge restaurant you guys dragged me to with my jetlag haha

a sticky would be a great idea..

my math is really bad...anyway, if you're unsure about the location of a hotel, just post the address and maybe some of us will chime in and tell you the pros and cons of the hotel's area. i think this is always the most difficult part of finding a hotel if you've never been to where you're going.

Thanks guys - I'm wimping out. Non-stop to shuttle to Kabuki (1625 Post). Pricewise, it's about the best I can do...spring tourists on the cable cars season is taking its toll on airfare and room rates. Going to be worth it though! Thanks for the tip on walking to the Asian; I can see bums at home, would prefer to look at art and toys.
And def thanks for the udon tip! Loves me some udon, yes. And will see Giant R if I can fig out the buses. Also looking to get to the Japanese Garden park.
BTW, did you guys clean up Haight? I saw a bunch of pix on google maps and it all looked very nice. No sleazy pipe shops, no panhandlers and everything looked painted, fixed up and clean.
Damn. I was hoping to score black light posters and sand candles, mebbe do a little panhandling. Well, scratch that!

And PS; 511.org is cool!

haha, you think you can avoid seeing bums in SF? it is a statistical impossibility. and some of the best neighborhoods (like mine, the mission) for art and food are also cohabited by the migratory ape.

Tomo was great and literally a 2 minute walk to Super7. One of the best hotel stays I've had. The food there was kinds sucky though. We really didnt hit up to many places, but where we did go was AWESOME !!!

O and make sure you hit up Dotties true blue cafe for breakfast. Nothing I have had, before or after has ever compared !

Don't worry about the Tomo's food; Japantown is a hotbed of Japanese restaurants. Also, San Francisco has more restaurants, per capita, than most cities in the US.

Great. Can not say "no" to any asian food. With my new beard and advanced age, I'll eat like a pig and bloat up like Lenny Bruce. Ah well, sacrifices must and will be made!

Plus, you never know when you're going to run into the UberBear....

DO NOT FEED!

I just read this(in 7x7 I think) and it makes so much sense. You will never run out of places to eat here.

Although I also love getting noodles at Mifune in Japan Center, the Center doesn't really have the reputation for the best Japanese food in SF. You'll hear differing opinions but mine is that if you like sushi, you should go to Ebisu in the Sunset, ideally in the late afternoon before it gets crowded, and be sure to sit at the bar, as close to the kitchen as possible. That's where the master chef Suzuki-san is. The Richmond District's Clement Street (closer to S7 than the Sunset) has lots of great take-away Dim Sum places, among numerous other Asian sit-down restaurants. If you like Vietnamese Pho, you can find it there for sure.

If you visit the De Young (a generally superb and very robust museum) you'll almost certainly want to go to the Academy of Sciences across the way as well, although you'd be wise to buy tickets in advance for that one. It's extremely popular. The De Young is also popular but you won't have to endure long lines to get in. You can get tickets for the Academy at their website.

If you love Asian Art history then you should definitely check the Asian museum out, but don't expect to make a whole day of it. It's a decent collection but unfortunately, not as spectacular as one might hope.

If you appreciate canonical European art, the Legion of Honor is the place to hit. It's way out in the avenues but again, very easy to get to via bus. It's a beautiful building and location, perched next to the ocean outside the Golden Gate. The collection is world-class.

As everyone knows the Mission is the place to go for the Great San Franciscan Burrito ... there are several excellent taquerias. Also I'm told the wiley Uber Bear haunts that area.

Do I wanna know? Sounds dirty.

This is true. Dottie's is AMAZING. If you go on the weekend, expect to wait in line for a long long time. worth the wait. if you can go during the week, though, you might save time.

haight street still has some panhandlers, head shops, etc, so if you need that black light poster, im sure you will find a selection . i hear it was much sketchier before i lived here, but ive never felt anything close to unsafe on haight. in fact, it has been very rare that ive felt unsafe anywhere in this city. although some damn kids did shoot me in the butt with a BB gun once near my neighborhood when i was walking home late.

the only time ive been genuinely freaked out was walking though golden gate park in the middle of the night. it was really really really dark, and i could hear people moving, whispering, etc. probably not all that unsafe, but holey moley was it scary!

Yeah ... back in the mid-80s I used to walk alone at night through GGP, thinking "it's so beautiful, and I'm the only one here!" but there's no way I'd do it now. Things have changed. There have been some violent incidents in the park at night in the past year including three (still unsolved) murders, and not to demonize them, but there are a lot of homeless/deranged people camping out there, now. During the day it's great though, very safe, and because I live nearby, I enjoy talking walks through the park when it's rainy or the weather is otherwise "bad." That way, I still get some times when it feels like there's nobody else there.

Oh, that's definitely true. I mainly go to Mifune because it's usually after a freezing cold evening visit to S7, and I need to warm my bones. It's "home style" cooking, nothing fancy, but satisfying and a short walk across the street, after I've emptied my wallet at S7 For good sushi in particular, Ebisu (9th Ave at Irving St) and Sushi Bistro (Balboa and 6th Ave) are pretty good

For ramen, I like Tanpopo. There's another noodle place on the bottom floor of the Kinokuniya building. I've only been there a couple of times but I think it's not too bad. Iroha is also pretty good and of course, On the Bridge is always interesting.