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    Katachi

    4.3 (61 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Services - Katachi

    Gift shops

    Katachi Photos

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    Reviews With Photos

    Kenneth K.

    Whenever I get a chance to come to Japan Town in San Francisco, this particular store " Katachi " always draws me in. I'm not sure if it's all the samurai swords, knives, tactical equipment, or the bronze samurai figurines. Being of Japanese decent, I always wonder if any of my distance relatives were samurai ? Or maybe I in one of my pass lives was a samurai. From an early age I enjoyed watching "Chambara" movies , which means samurai movies. My wife nicknamed me "Samurai Wannabe ". Katachi has an large inventory of Japanese swords in all price range. Some for display only ( blade not sharp ) to swords that are functional ( blade is very sharp ). For those of you that are not into swords or knives, Katachi also sells a wide assortment of different odds and ends. Tea sets/ cute stuff animals/ dolls/ Japanese clothing / bronze figures , and the list goes on ...... So the next time you samurai want-to-be are in Japan Town, stop by and check it out !

    Swords for sale
    Ed U.

    Do you remember in the very early days of "Saturday Night Live" when John Belushi played Samurai Stockbroker, Samurai Be-Bop Musician, Samurai Delicatessen and of course, the classic Samurai Night Fever? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBx5sRtZXaA&feature=related Well, Katachi is the shop Belushi would have opened if he lived long enough to see his career peak, plateau and then tank into post-SNL obscurity. Lots of sword sets, daggers and knives in a strip-mall setting. Geisha figurines and those portly cats with the arms that sway in a half-circle. Helmets and Noh masks. Even sake sets for the light-hearted. They have all the Japanese paraphernalia you could possibly want to impress your favorite Shogun fetishist. The staff is very friendly in here even though I was not in the market for combat weapons. However, the next time I want to channel my inner Toshiro Mifune, I know where to go now.

    The nice worker that helped me let me know a lot about his knife
    Sean W.

    A great shop for a quick visit they have great service with a great selection of anime items but there is a lack of benchmade when I was visiting but it's understandable due to COVID

    Storefront
    Carl F.

    I came here with my brother in search of swords. Yah. I dunno either. We thought it was going to be an authentic sword shop located in the heart of Japantown but it's actually just a gift shop with a fairly small selection of knives and swords in the mall. Im admittedly no expert but it seemed more novelty than authentic, which made sense given the location. They have some cute knick knacks if you're aching to spend some dough but nothing that stood out too much. It wasn't stuff I would personally pull my pocketbook out for but I could see it being a place to get a cute gift for a teen.

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    13 years ago

    Awesome place to check out knives. Come get your SOG, Spyderco, and Benchmade knives! Very friendly and knowledgable staff as well.

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    Stop by here and buy some training nun chucks (10$) so you can kick some Overlord ass.

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    13 years ago

    Always a pleasure to shop here. Just upped our sword intake. We've gotten a few good knives here and some nice dishware.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Katachi

    Review Highlights - Katachi

    CRKT (Colombia River Knife and Tool), Benchmade, and Spyderco (which are actually made in Japan!) to name a few.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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    Japanese Tea Garden - Cherry Blossom

    Japanese Tea Garden

    4.1(1.9k reviews)
    2.4 mi
    $$

    5 starsJapanese Tea Garden - peaceful escape inside Golden Gate Park…read more Finally stopped by the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park and it lived up to the peaceful reputation. This is the oldest public Japanese garden in North America and it shows -- well maintained winding paths, koi ponds, the iconic Drum Bridge, pagoda, stone lanterns, and that big bronze Buddha all create a nice calm vibe right in the middle of the city. The garden feels authentic with graceful maples, pines, azaleas, and cherry trees (depending on the season). Strolling the paths and crossing the bridges is relaxing, and the zen garden area is a nice quiet spot to pause. I snapped plenty of photos because the scenery is very photogenic. The tea house is worth a quick stop for matcha or snacks if you want to sit and soak it in. Overall it's a solid little oasis -- not huge so you can see most of it in 45-60 minutes, but still worth lingering if it's not too crowded. A couple small notes: it can get busy with tourists (especially midday), so early morning or weekdays feel more zen. Entrance fee is there but they have free hours some mornings. Parking in Golden Gate Park is the usual hunt -- Music Concourse garage or street spots nearby work if you time it right. Reliable spot for a tranquil walk and some Japan-inspired beauty without leaving SF. Good addition to a Golden Gate Park day. 5 stars. Nice peaceful garden that delivers what it promises.

    I've been to so many different Japanese gardens over the years, one in Saratoga, as well as one in…read moreSan Jose and Fremont, and I believe one in Hayward or in the hillside? This by far had the most monuments, but in such a small area!! On the map, it looked a lot bigger, but my boyfriend and I were happy to walk around. I suggest you book your tickets in advance and get a time slot because we got there at 4:45 on a Saturday and the 5 PM tickets were sold out. The lady at the gate said we could buy the three day pass which was $25 then we could attend the other two parks the following two days. Lol. It was kind of confusing, but I was glad to be able to go to this Japanese tea garden and experience it for myself. The tea garden itself was packed! We didn't want to waste our time in the Teagarden itself just getting tea or snack snacks, as well as experiencing the gift shop, but I wanted to check out the actual garden and monuments within the garden area. There are maybe 10 different pathways you can go to get to each area, but we circled the park maybe three times to make sure we got enough pictures of everything! Lol. A lot of the pathways loop around each other or have multiple entry points, which is rather nice considering there were so many people. I also liked the steppingstone over the water. Kind of cute and interactive. There were these huge steep steps at one of the monuments that were really hard to step down because it felt like you were stepping at least a foot down with each step in a crazy maybe 45° angle! I'm glad we were going down those steps instead of up! There's also a archway friendship bridge that people were climbing. I wanted to take a picture, but there were too many people waiting in line and taking their own personal pictures on. So I didn't want to be weird and take pictures of random people. Lol this is also why I do not have a picture of the Teagarden Cafe portion as well. Overall, I think of taking personal family pictures here or wedding. Pictures would be gorgeous with the beautiful backgrounds if they are allowed. I saw a handful of people taking personal pictures, but with their own cameras. I'm guessing you have to have a license or something to come in the park with a tripod, but I could be wrong. I really love the relaxation of the garden itself but honestly on a Saturday there were so many people here you could hear people talking everywhere. I think coming on a weekday would be a lot more tranquil.

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    Japanese Tea Garden - Japanese Tea Garden, January 29th 2026. Spring is so early this year!

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    Japanese Tea Garden - Fringe, pieris, wisteria, cherry blossoms, azalea's and wisteria on the bridge 4/10/25

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    San Francisco Railway Museum & Gift Shop - Washington DC car

    San Francisco Railway Museum & Gift Shop

    4.0(64 reviews)
    2.1 miFinancial District, SoMa
    $

    This "museum" acts as the information center and gift shop for the "F" line. The "F" line are the…read morehistoric streetcars that run down Market St and the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. These street cars are the star of the attraction and definitely worth the ride. For $5.70 one can buy an all-day Muni pass which allows you to ride these cars along with all other transit EXCEPT the cable cars. These cars are a collection of preserved vehicles from the '30s to '50s. Each one was given from a city in the US. They were originally brought to San Francisco to substitute for the cable cars when the c.c. Went under major renovation back in the '80s. The street cars became a hit with locals and tourists and are now a part of historic transit systems in San Francisco. The museum is small but detailed. It is open limited hours and run by a team of volunteers. They are passionate about these street cars and it shows. They are very detailed oriented but expect a pause every 10 minutes when a street car goes rolling by. The museum is free with a suggested $5 donation. It will only take about 30 minutes to cover it but a great stop if a rail fan.

    So many trips crossing the Bay to visit San Francisco and I never stopped by the Railway Museum…read more This week it's Spring Break so I took my grandchildren to the Museum. What a treat! The Museum had just opened and not busy. We were given VIP treatment from Brooke, one of the docents. All of the docents were welcoming. We learned so much about the history of streetcars and my grandchildren learned how to drive a streetcar using the museum replica. We were inspired to take a streetcar ride afterward. I recommend to Bay Area and out-of-town families to drop in. The Museum is free! What a bargain.

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    Mission Dolores Basilica/San Francisco de Asís - relic of St Junipero Serra

    Mission Dolores Basilica/San Francisco de Asís

    4.3(126 reviews)
    1.5 miCastro

    Beautiful Mission. We drove through the San Louis Obispo area and hit up a lot of those missions so…read morewe decided we should see our local mission. If you're following google maps, make sure you put in the actual Mission and not just Mission Dolores because it will take you to the high school or park. We followed the gps and ended up at the beautiful high school. We also walked along the park. The park is large and lush and attracted lots of people on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Parking for the mission is challenging. There is lots of street parking, but everyone is parked and we didn't see anyone leaving. We did find Sunday Church Parking. I believe it said tow away zone except between 8:30 and 4:30 on a Sunday. It was a smidge after 4:30 and a space opened up and we took it. Thankfully we didn't get a ticket, but I did see 2 meter maids coming though when we left. The mission is beautiful. I wish we had come earlier so we could have taken a tour.

    This is a well preserved California Mission, one of the 21 along the El Camino Real. Today it…read morestands as a reminder of a time in California history when Spain ruled the area. This mission held its first mass just one week before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Today all that remains is the chapel, a couple of small rooms attached and a portion of the cemetery. The majority of the complex is long gone, buried beneath the city that built up around it. The chapel has been restored and could be used today. The alters, wooden pews and decor resemble what this church may have looked like in its prime over 200 years ago. Today it sits in the shadows of the Basillica. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and seniors. The site can be easily toured in under an hour. However, to get the full story one may want to spend some more time.

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    Mission Dolores Basilica/San Francisco de Asís
    Mission Dolores Basilica/San Francisco de Asís
    Mission Dolores Basilica/San Francisco de Asís

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    Exploratorium - After Dark Thursday Nights - dog friendly and full bar!

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    4.4(1.3k reviews)
    2.1 miEmbarcadero, North Beach/Telegraph Hill

    I have been here multiple times throughout the years, and have only had good experiences. However,…read moremy last visit stood out to me the most. A few weeks ago was my senior prom, which was at the Exploratorium. The exhibits and environment were very fun and made for a super engaging night! As a trans person, I have a lot of anxiety in public bathrooms. Although they were unable to open up the general neutral bathroom (I mean, it's high schoolers, you can't trust them). However, the staff was extremely accommodating and kind, and escorted me to a separate bathroom. They made sure I got to pick the bathroom I was most comfortable in, as well as apologized for the inconvenience. Not only is this place fun, entertaining, and family friendly, they are welcoming, kind, and caring. I will never forget the kindness that I was shown.

    Exploratorium San Francisco, CA…read more Date went 4/25/26 Time went around 1:15pm on a Saturday It was very busy to say the least Bonus the entry fee is $5 for food stamp recipients Atmosphere It was so great to see a mixture of young children with parents, teenagers, and even older people in this establishments. I saw lots of laughter, play, and wonder and despite it being packed everyone was respectful and I didn't see any hogging of the different activities. You could easily spend at least 3 or 4 hours in there. Food Court I ordered a chicken avocado bacon burger and it was surprisingly delicious! Also, not too expensive. Overall I highly recommend coming her with your kids, on a date, or just for some fun scientific exploring! I didn't get to see what the regular entrance fee was, but I'd say this would be worth it for about $25-$30 per person. I wish I would've taken more pictures of the different activities Recommendations - More hand sanitizing stations, I only recall seeing one throughout the entire place

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    Katachi - outdoorgear - Updated May 2026

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