Hi, Taguchi-san,

Whole Foods is about a block away from the hotel and TJ (Trader Joe's) is about 3 blocks from the hotel on California St. You're relatively in a safe neighborhood as long as you don't go south on Van Ness. Going towards WF, you'll be going to one of the beneighborhoodsood (Pacific Heights) and TJ is going towards Nob Hill. As a general rule, stay along California St and any streets NORTH of California St. are safe. Just don't go towards South (when you exit the hotel lobby, always go to the Right). There is a Starbucks inside of the Wells Fargo Bank (next to the hotel) and they are open when the bank is closed on their holidays. Also, you can get on the Cable Car on California St. You can go towards the Ferry Building. Ferry Building has many shops, restaurants and get a nice view of the Bay Bridge at night.

SF has micro-climate, meaning depending on where in the city you are going, the temp is slightly different. But definitly bring a puffer jacker and some layers.

To the best of my knowledge, I've never seen an ATM with a Japanese translation.

Some hotels offer an exchange service as long as you are a guest of that hotel. Also, if you go to U.S. Bank Japan Center Branch (1675 Post St, Japantown): Walk-up ATM caters to the Japanese community; staff speak Japanese, and they handle foreign cards well, but the screen remains English. Open Mon/Wed/Fri 9 am–5 pm

Hi,
After retrieving your luggage, you'll need to go up 2 floors to catch an AirTrain (free inter-terminal train) to Terminal 1. From the International terminal to Terminal 1, the quickest way is to hop on the Blue line. Both Red and Blue lines loop around, so even if you get on the wrong one, you don't have to worry.
Total transfer time really depends on how fast you'll be able to go through customs. I'm a Greencard holder with a Global Entry, so I can go through quicker than the Crew. I often see a long line for the visitors. In most cases, (from my experience waiting for my friend flying from other countries), I wait about 1 hr to 1.5 hours on average, 2 hours during the rush hour after they land, for them to come out the arrival door.
Once you’re out, getting to Terminal 1 takes about 15 minutes. If you have the American Airlines app, you can check in and get your mobile boarding pass. If you don’t have any bags to check in, you can go straight to the TSA checkpoint. If you do have checked luggage, just use the luggage drop-off line.
Have a safe flight!

Hello,

Since you are staying around Union Square, you can take the T line from Powell Station to the Chase Center. If you have an event ticket at the CC, you can ride the MUNI for free. You just need to show the tickets to the agent in the booth, and she/he'll let you pass. Most people will be taking the same MUNI (train/metro), it is the best way to return to Powell Station. Uber in SF is easy, but they'll increase the fee before/after such an event, and it'll be very expensive (I'm not sure how much it'll be.)
As for the Cable Car to FW, I'd recommend taking the Powell-Hyde, as it'll take you through Nob Hill, by Lombard Street, and through a more scenic route than the Powell-Mason line. Either one will take you to FW. One thing to be aware of when taking a bus from the GGB is to not to take the bus line 29 as it does not go back to the center of the city. You'll need to take the Golden Gate Transit (any that will stop by the GGB) back to the city. They take Mission St. (one street south of Market), and please make sure to get off at the corner of 5th and Mission. Please do NOT get off the bus before then. Some of those streets (6th, 7th) have many homeless people.
Overall, SF is very easy to get around by public transportation.
Have a safe and fun trip.

Hi, there seems to be a limit on how many words I can type, so my answer may sound short. (sorry)

Golden Gate Bridge: the view from the Northside of the bridge is nice. Otherwise, city of SF is very walkable and public transportation (bus, underground, cable car)

Another perfect location to see GGB is from Marina district (Crissy Field.) While you are there, you can walk along the water to the foot of the previous bridge. If you want to see the bridge from the West (Pacific Ocean) into the Bay, you can also visit Legends of Honor.

- We'd like to try a driverless taxi (Waymo). I don't trust it so I've never taken it.

First, I'd walk to the Ferry Building. If you walk to Market St. (few blocks from Union Square) and head East, it's about 15 - 20 manan walk. If you go there on Saturday morning (9 am - 2 pm), there is an outdoor farmer's market. You can grab food at the Ferry Building as there are many eateries and shops, while looking over the Bay Bridge. If you leave the hotel around 2 pm, you can spend at least 2 hours at the Ferry Building if not more. Then you can walk towards Fisherman's Wharf (15 min walk along the water.) After walking around there, you can hop on the HYDE Cable Car back to Union Square.

Yosemite is at least 4-hr drive each way, so unless you plan on staying near by, I don't recommend going there during this trip. Instead, you can go to the Golden Gatee Park and visit: California Academy of Science, De Young Museum, and they even have a Japanese garden. In town, there is MoMA within a walking distance from Union Square.

Answers 1:
*Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Although this place doesn't hold a Michelin star, Alice Waters is a well-known chef, and the food is locally sourced and seasonal. It is a 'MUST' go restaurant. The place has a rustic and warm feeling, not 'stuffy' at all. The food is just amazing.
https://www.chezpanisse.com/

*Quince (3 stars) in the North Beach area. (close to Transamerica (triangle) building.) I've eaten dinner once, but often eat lunch in the outdoor (parklet) area. Naturally, it feels a bit more formal for dinner, but you can dine casually during lunch. Also, SF restaurants (even some of these Michelin-starred restaurants, people dress rather casually. Even in those more formal places, a tie is not required.
https://www.quincerestaurant.com/

*The Progress https://theprogress-sf.com/ Although it only has 1 star, each dish is very unique and I always recommend my friends to try it at least once. This place can get noisy.

*Saison https://saisonsf.com/about/ I've been here once. It's an open kitchen and the food is great, but I don't really care for its decor.

*If you are unable to book French Laundry, you can try Bouchon https://thomaskeller.com/bouchonyountville/ It is owned by Thomas Keller (French Laundry)

Answer 2:
The most economical way is to use Uber. (approx $120/one way)
If you want a private transfer, it can cost around $700/round trip plus tip
It'll take about 1.5 hrs if the traffic is reasonable.

Answer 3:
It really depends on where you'll be going for the Michelin star experience. But you can always go to the Ferry Building and find 'good eats' there. Not all places have 'eat-in,' but you can grab some food and go outside, sit on a bench while seeing the Bay Bridge and ferries go by.

Answer 4:
Sausalito is tiny, so it doesn't take much to explore. Just walk along the water, and do some souvenir shopping. Le Garage (Marina View) https://legaragesausalito.com I haven't found 'the one' in Sausalito.