Tokyo by way of California
It turned out that the cheapest way from Calgary to Tokyo, by far, was to fly out of Los Angeles: instead of $800 flying through somewhere more direct, like Vancouver, Malaysia Airlines had flights from L.A. for $450. I decided to fly down to San Francisco, spend a few days there visiting a friend, and then spend a few days in L.A. before flying to Tokyo.San Francisco
From when I was a kid, I've always been enamored of San Francisco: its reputation and history as hippie central, the epicenter of '60s counter culture, a bastion of American liberalism, the home of some of the most vibrant Asian communities in the West, great weather and tremendous natural and geographic beauty.I didn't see much of San Francisco on this trip, as I was staying with a friend, Nicole, down in Silicon Valley.
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The Big Red Breathing Lotus Flower in front of City Hall.
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Saint Mary's Cathedral, near Japantown.
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