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ChaTo

4.9 (79 reviews)
Open 12:00 pm - 6:00 PM
Updated 2 weeks ago

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Cute shop with Japanese tea, tea pots and cups
Annie Y.

Cute and intimate shop selling teas, tea pots, tea cups and anything related to teas. Located on the upper level of the Japantown Center Kinokuniya Building. I purchased two tea cups with the Japanese cat for my sister as gifts. It was wrapped nicely in tissue paper. I think she likes them. They are pricey but well made. Great place to shop for house warming gifts and tea lovers.

Stella K.

Cute little shop in Japantown offering tea and tea things. Great place to stop by to pick up gifts for any tea lover in your life. Tea tastes better when you brew from loose leaf. This shop has everything you need to transition away from teabags. Friendly knowledgeable staff to answer all your questions. Parking can be challenging at times. Try your luck with street parking, or park in the underground garage.

a table with various items on it
Jennifer J.

This is still my FAVORITE Japanese tea shop. They have the best quality loose teas, beautiful handmade tea cups & sets, tea accessories, so many cute cat items, and it's the perfect place to buy gifts. Staff is super friendly and helpful.

Justin H.

When my wife and I decided to return home to Hawaii, I was most upset that I would no longer live down the street from ChaTo. As it turns out, ChaTo delivers to anywhere in the U.S. FOR FREE! Amazing!!! I continue to order all of my green tea (matcha, genmaicha, houjicha, sencha, gyokuro) from ChaTo, and I'm so thrilled to continue my support of this wonderful small business. Thank you so much for the incredible customer service, ChaTo! I'm a fan for life.

I like the reddish brown Yuzamashi.  (  w  )
Jimmy C.

I haven't been to Tekuno in Irving street just yet. After I overcame my hour long eye exam, I quickly walked up to J-town and had a Maiko Special just to cool my head. I have yet to visit some of J-town's attractive businesses in the right time and place. Thus, ChaTo was where I head to before it closes by early evening. I been to ChaTo several times and I never purchased anything from this tea ware shop, until this time. All smiles to a sweet Japanese merchant every time I set foot. What to chose? Strainer, teapot, or just plain authentic Japanese loose leaf teas? Since I have a purpose, I chose the Yuzamashi (tea bowl with a spout). The cheapest one to purchase was the reddish brown. Good for steeping teas, but acts like a chawan (matcha bowl). And with the very cheap chashaku (bamboo powdered tea scoop), I got a free mini pouch of loose leaf hojicha. How nice! I couldn't thank the female merchant enough. I might come back to ChaTo to still do some window shopping before I actually make a splendid purchase on the next day. This family owned tea ware shop had been a good place to sample any loose leaf tea. Tourists are welcome to try if there's any.

Tara L.

Glad to have found ChaTo during our visit to Japantown! The employees (possibly owners?) we're super nice and gave us a sample of houjicha cold brew tea. Wow!! It was so good and has a natural sweetness to it. I ended buying a bag along with the glass filter-in-a-bottle. I'm a sucker for delicious tea!

Such an assortment of matcha. I will eventually try all of these.
nick l.

Amazing store and even more amazing people. I didn't know much about matcha other than I love to drink it, but boy did I know the whole process after I visited ChaTo. I got all stocked up on some good teas as well as bowls and mixers. Wonderful quality of goods and such a welcoming feeling as you enter. They offered me some great tea as I came in to their shop to browse, and naturally it was so good, I bought a bag. I will of course be back to to stock up. Support this business. You guys are great!

Hojicha and Genmaicha tea
Derek R.

I can't say enough good things about Chato. This family owned tea shop in the Japantown mall helped me uncover my love for Japanese coldbrew teas (and I now drink them almost every day!). Their free samples and helpful brewing instructions got me hooked. Their friendly service and amazing selection of high quality Japanese teas is what kept me coming back. During the pandemic, they had to close their storefront, but still took my order and hand delivered it to my apartment. When the wildfire smoke and pandemic were in full force, sipping on coldbrew teas from Chato was one of my daily joys when so many other things weren't an option. My favorites are the genmaicha with matcha and the smoky hojicha (both pictured). I love the genmaicha both warm and cold brewed. I generally drink the hojicha cold. My fiancé prefers the hojicha. These have been great gifts for friends and family as well. Come support this amazing local Japanese tea shop you won't be disappointed!

a hand holding a teapot in front of a window
Jacob M.

What a lovely family run business here in the mall! I didn't even realize it existed until I had to go fix my ramen craving at Marufuku. You'll find some beautiful handmade teaware and if you're lucky, a teapot that is as pretty as this one that I came across! Great people.

Details on sencha vs genmaicha vs houjicha
Lizzie S.

I love stopping by ChaTo whenever I'm in Japantown (which is pretty often.) The staff are so warm, friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I've bought tea in-store and also now during Shelter in Place I've been buying online and with a gift card! They have a large variety of tea and are very responsive to emails. Another perk of going inside their physical store (besides the people, I always leave with a smile on my face--love those women!) is sampling their tea! They have tea ware and cold brew bottles and more which are not currently shipping during shelter in place. Support this amazing store and benefit from their knowledge and tea supply! They know how to make tea recommendations based on anything and their teas make great gifts too.

Green tea, Hojicha, wooden tea spoon, tea canister, and Genmaicha sample
Maya S.

I love this tea shop! I tried their hojicha at a restaurant down the block and it was sooo good that I had to visit the shop to get a bag. I chatted with the owner and she helped me find the hojicha I was looking for and when I asked for suggestions for regular green tea, she pulled out a few options, shared their details, and let me sniff them. I picked up a wooden tea spoon and a lovely tea canister as well. They bagged everything up for me and threw in a genmaicha sample. I'll definitely be returning for more loose leaf tea and to support this shop. ChaTo is also a great place to pick up tea gifts as they have a variety of wonderful tea accessories.

Ricca Cathrina E.

Was shopping for some housewarming presents and totally enjoyed my experience at the store. Loved listening to the instructions and information from staff. Staff members were definitely professional and very approachable.

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Wonderful spot. Ladies running the shop are gracious and knowledgeable. A must visit when in Japantown, SF.

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Great find. Stumble on to this place. Good variety of tea!! Very friendly and knowledgeable.

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Review Highlights - ChaTo

I tried their hojicha at a restaurant down the block and it was sooo good that I had to visit the shop to get a bag.

Mentioned in 12 reviews

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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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4.0(64 reviews)
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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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4.3(126 reviews)
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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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