What a delightful little jewel in Campbell! I had no idea this place existed until recently based…read moreon some volunteering work that someone I know did here. Each of the rooms has been decorated by a different organization for Christmas and it looks awesome. The volunteers here were so friendly and earnest. Loved it! Check out a slice of history in our backyard!

I find the docents at the Ainsley House very friendly, knowledgeable and very passionate about…read moresharing historical information about this beautiful home located in downtown Campbell. I have been here at Christmas time and every room has a Christmas tree and well decorated by different organizations or individuals. They have two nights were you can visit the beautiful gift shop and enjoy appetizers and wine. Really well done and so magical!

Hakone Estate and Gardens is such a beautiful location for a wedding! I attended a wedding here in…read moreMay and what a stunning back drop. The staff is lovely, the grounds are maintained and clean. There's lots to do and see here, look forward to coming back and exploring the hiking trails in the area.

Somebody as Hakone Gardens needs to update the website and social media better when the cherry…read moreblossoms bloom. I drove 45 minutes to Hakone Gardens recently at the end of March and found out that most of the cherry blossoms were gone. I was like whaaaa....I usually go during the end of March and they would be in full bloom. Apparently, they bloomed earlier this year. I was looking forward to seeing the wonderful pink color all around. Anyways, Hakone is still a treat to walk around and is very nice when the flowers are blooming. I love sitting near the beginning of the trail and looking at the ponds, bridge, koi fish and all the trees. It transports me to Japan without the airfare and passport. Parking can be difficult on busy days and will be waiting for awhile for someone to leave. Gift shop is cute and there are many cute finds in there. Admission is now $12 but parking is still free.

Pretty sweet stairs that runs a long from a residential area up a hill top…read moreIts not that long but its still nice to be able to see the hills ranges sunsets and the tops of the dense housing

Excellent place to get a workout! If you like walking stats, it has 250 of' em spread over two…read moresections. Try running those 5 times! If you prefer walking on a hill, they have a bigger looping sidewalk that goes adding both sides of the stairs. Several places to stop and do burpees, pushups, squats, whatever. And a really nice view of south San Jose. No water fountains so bring water. In the past, not so much lately, residents in the area get mad at you for making too much noise (even if you're not) or parking near their driveways (even though you're not in their space). Touchy, touchy resident!

As small business month is quickly approaching I was thinking how wonderful and vibrant a community…read moreJapantown San Jose is. There so many seasoned and new diverse small business owners here in the heart of Japantown. Classic Loot, Zonkey, Roy's, Santo Market, Taqueria Corona, Minato, Hukilau, Kazoo are among my families favorites. We have also enjoyed and welcomed new businesses too like Banne (yummy sourdough) and Furbaby Fancy petgrooming (the most posh and elite pet grooming experience) into our rotation as well! I should have just listed all the businesses here! So proud of the businesses that contribute to our community!

There's definitely a lot of history, community love, and shops and restaurants here. It's smaller…read morethan the other Little Tokyo in LA and Japan Town in SF (I think), but because we came around midday lunch time on a Tuesday after Fanime, not many stores or restaurants were surprisingly open? Maybe it's due to being after Memorial Day or because most of them were night time dinner service only restaurants. Either way it's much cleaner than Little Tokyo in LA and with less jump scares and trash everywhere. Easier to find parking and more affordable, in a sense, than Japan Town SF. Stopped by the Japanese grocery store and Santo Market while we were here. Fun to kill a couple of hours, I suppose. I just gotta come back here again when more things are open !

I last visited here 8 years ago, and I was so glad to finally return!…read more The weather was quite hot for July and I worried there might be limited roses left to see, I was gladly surprised, there are so many beautiful varieties of roses blooming absolutely everywhere! The city is doing a fantastic job maintaining the garden. It is such a lovely spot in San Jose!

Growing up in San Jose, I feel like I took advantage of being so close to the Rose Garden. It was a…read morespot to walk to, around, etc. I was in town for Mother's Day and took a walk to Rose Garden after the festivities, around sunset. It was a great time. So many roses in bloom in just about every color. It was packed with people having picnics, taking pictures, walking around but still easy enough to find your own quiet space. Such a pocket of beauty in the neighborhood.

The best circle of trees in all of the South Bay!! Grateful to have this local gem so close to home.read more

when I entered the circle of palms my 4 year old began to asend to the sky going completely…read moreUnconscious, my 6'7 husband was able to catch Him, however I still feel this place is unsafe and would not recommend bringing buoyant children.

Outstanding history of local fire dept. Perfect for school…read moretrips or even personal events! Restored equipment is beautiful. David Wood is amazing!!! His anecdotes and personal stories bring it alive. They can only afford limited hours so please contact the city and any foundations or business leaders and promote more monetary support!!!

What a great museum. What an incredible collection of vintage hardware. I was thrilled to see the…read morehorse-drawn steamers, the brass and chrome, and the hook and ladder truck that was stationed at the Panama Pacific International Exposition 1915 (PPIE). So many people say the South Bay is so bland and there's nothing to see. Here is proof that they are wrong. I could have spent six hours here exploring the detail. Best of all: no gender neutral restrooms.

My boyfriend and I walked in here during the holiday season, but during the day time so there…read morewasn't any real event or lights on, but it was still nice to see all of the houses, decor, and set up. Plus parking was free and entry was free when we went. Just a BIG FYI, because we didn't go during an event, they DO LOCK UP THE PARK and when I was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up from our parking area (ended up on the other side of the park somehow), I saw a bunch of people trying to call for help after the gate locked them in. Woops. It seems that they hold lots of events here with outdoor local vendors, food vendors, and also opportunities to go inside the houses and learn about the history of a lot of the buildings. I'd keep an eye out on their social media or website for those, but as a freebie person exploring through. It's fun and cute.

If you've been to medieval or historical towns (where folks dress up in that time period and…read morereenact that time period...), this History Park has that kind of vibe. It's like a small town within a big town. There's a museum. There's a gift shop. There's a garden. There's a bunch of seating areas. There's sculptures. There's trains and horns you can honk. Parking is strange. No idea if they truly monitor and ticket folks because it's self pay.

If 4-6 people are going, might as well get a family membership for a year, it's the same price or…read moreless. Great collection. Takes a few hours to see everything. Recommend downloading the app ahead of time, the audio tour was pretty neat. Gardens are nice too, and open to the public. There's a small parking lot if no street parking's available.

Great museum with friendly staff and interactive exhibits! They do a great job of making each…read moresection super interactive. For example, they have a place where you can play ancient Egyptian games with friends, exhibits that require guests to push buttons / ask questions, and even a passport book where people can collect stamps and write notes! It doesn't just have to be for kids - I was entertained as an adult doing these activities They have a lot of artifacts, model replicas, and even a mock tomb area. It was great for being able to 'visualize' what everything would have looked like back then. It did seem like quite a few artifacts were casts of the real thing though. There was plenty to see and we spent a few hours there. The staff are also very friendly and passionate about the subject. Even when we were just looking at exhibits, they told us about different facts / activities that the museum was hosting. Outside, there was plenty of parking and even a garden you could visit. I really enjoyed coming here and highly recommend visiting if you get the chance!