City Lights is one of my favorite bookstores in San Francisco. There's something about wandering…read morethrough it that makes me feel like a kid again. With every twist and turn, another staircase or room appears, filled with books and entirely new worlds to discover. It always brings me back to the days I spent with my grandmother at our old library. We would sit together on the stairs and read to each other, completely content to spend hours surrounded by books. I think that's part of why City Lights feels so special to me--it brings back that same sense of curiosity, comfort, and excitement I felt with her. I rarely come here looking for one specific thing. The fun is wandering the shelves until a cover, title, or completely unexpected book catches my attention. Somehow I always leave with another story I can't wait to disappear into. There are bookstores you go to simply to buy a book, and then there are bookstores you experience. City Lights is the latter. It's a little piece of San Francisco that I hope never changes.

One of the neatest bookstores in the US. The Poetry room upstairs is wonderful. So much fun…read morehistory here to learn about. And this bookstores has some amazing staff book recommendations with little tags on the bookshelf telling you why they loved that book so much; found some great new finds that way. Dont forget to get your books stamped with their bookstores stamp on the way out!

Friend invited me to "Benjamin Schneider with John King - The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the…read moreCity-Building Revolution" at the Book Passages location, it was a treat to visit this store! * Shop is compact but multiple bookcases were rearranged to allow for fold-up chair seating for ~30 or so, with standing room at the back. * Staff was very helpful & helped crowd with seating. * Hour-long event was free to the public (no RSVP required), and was a great opportunity to hear the author both speak on his book and hold audience Q/A session. Great event, will definitely be monitoring the calendar for more opportunities!

No glorious market building is complete without a bookshop and this is the one crowning the Ferry…read moreBuilding. Book Passage has great readings, is convenient to the financial district, and is a beautiful place to browse. I usually read between 40-80 books per year and you can never have enough. It's a joy to have local booksellers.

If you've ever been to Wishbone on 7th and Irving, this is basically the Chinatown version of…read moreWishbone! In a good way! I love all the specially curated items here. You can really come in here looking for a gift, walk out happily getting something. They have special Asian themed board books, picture books, cookbooks, and adult fiction and nonfiction! They have special Asian cooking items, cute tshirts for kids and adults, hats, prints, and little trinkets that are so cute but you don't know what to do with them (i.e. a mini mah jong table - so adorable! But what would we do with it? I don't know!) Awesome store in Chinatown, worth a stop, even if you weren't needing to buy anything.

While staying in San Fran, I took a stroll from my hotel to Chinatown in search of food, souvenirs,…read moreand a little exploring. A big thank-you to Feed Mei Mei on YouTube for introducing me to this adorable shop. The moment I walked in I wanted to buy everything. The store is filled with unique novelties, stickers, books, greeting cards, artwork, and gifts that capture the nostalgia, humor, and experiences of being Asian American. Every corner had something that made me smile or brought back a memory. The prices are a bit on the higher side, but you're supporting local Asian artists and creators. Be warned it's very difficult to leave empty-handed here!

First went to this place for the opening event and had a great time...rumor has it that maybe more…read morelive acts will happen in the future, and that sounds really fun! I didn't have my card with me that night, so I came a few days later after work. The craft market was bustling pretty hard that day, but the shop girl, Courtney (ps anyone who has the same name as me is a+!!) made sure to give me some good recommendations. I walked away with a really cool food focused zine (Remedy) a San Francisco zine (Wonder & Wander) and a hilarious red hot chili peppers fan fiction zine. Courtney recommend a few others, but I grabbed all my lil bag could carry. Despite the small little store front, I felt like there was a pretty good mix of things to look through. A lot of feminist lit, lots of political stuff, travel, food, and just general aesthetically pleasing things. I told her id be really interested in reading more queer zines, (they definitely have some!) and she assured me that she cosigns in small quantities to keep the shelves fresh and to date. I really enjoyed the market itself, but this newsstand is definitely a gem and brings a lot of community to a place where some locals would consider a tourist trap. I look forward to seeing The Grand Newsstand soon!!

This is perfectly awesome small 'zine, poetry and art kiosk right off of market street by that…read morepublic market thingy they do. This is a walk up kiosk by justin herman plaza/fountain and thus you will not be driving here. This is however, one of the most walkable parts of one of the most pedestrian friendly cities in the world so you have about a half dozen non driving ways to get here from around the city. This is the business inspiration of one local artist (it's the woman running behind the counter) and it sells art. It's in an re-purposed ticket booth and as such it's super tiny. There is no interior space so you'll be browsing via the sidewalk. Small whimsical locally produced self published pamphlets (hereafter referred to as 'zines), buttons, patches, cards and suchlike. The written items focus on various themes-love, city life, humor etc. are the stock in trade, made both by the owner and by other local artists. Pricing can be as low as a couple of bucks for a tiny booklet to 20 ish for a full size book. This is a perfect place to get some unique, local art/spoken word items and to find a little inspiration.

The owner is incredibly helpful and happy to teach noobs advanced techniques…read more The prices are excellent and he carries most items (like Mr Hobby Sprays) that are overpriced online. I really recommend Ying's shop and I hope he continues to share his tips with the next gens of gunpla-ers :)

Definitely a "hole in the wall" store located in an unassuming alleyway in SF Chinatown. Store…read morehours appear accurate and the owner Tony opened the door right at 1:00 PM. The store is cramped and ceilings are low, so be mindful of any big purses or backpacks - you wouldn't want to knock over any of the delicate figurines. The place sells mostly Gundams. Not as many Real Grade (RG) gundams available, but still a great place to check out. Prices are marked on a majority of the products which I appreciate, though I still did find some items that didn't have a price tag stuck on it. Overall a cool place to check out if you're just browsing and seeing if anything catches your eye, but not if you're hoping to find something super specific (you might be able to call ahead of time to check inventory but I haven't tried this)

I have been to a lot of interesting Chinese Gift Shops all over the San Francisco Chinatown Ca USA…read moreArea & Asia Star is one of them!!!!! The only when this Asia Star Gift Shop gets really busy is during the Chinese Lunar New Year!!!!! If your here visiting from another country or from another US State & If you like Chinese memorabilia try going to this Asia Star Gift Shop at the San Francisco Ca Chinatown USA area!!!!

Shopping in San Francisco's Chinatown…read more.. I was strolling around when I passed by a display of red Good luck envelopes. I wondered if they had my family's last name... and they did! I also looked at some keychains and jade charms... thinking that they're easy to pack in my suitcase and great as gifts... hmmm... For example, my sister is Year of the Horse... my mom is Year of the Dog, etc. Maybe next time! For now, I'm happy with my lucky red envelopes!

The shop houses high quality, carefully chosen rare books and great service! Amazing collection of…read moreworks about California, the Gold Rush and Western Americana. High quality condition books overall and I highly recommend a visit here. A unique shop with a rich history and a devotion to quality, condition and uniqueness. Great books and highly recommended!

This store focuses on California / western history, but from one perspective - the white one. Even…read morethe books about people of color are from a white perspective. The owner referred to Native Americans as Indians and didn't have a single book about black experiences. To have a store entirely dedicated to California, it seems crazy/intentional to me to not have any books at all about black experiences.

A true San Francisco gem and institution. They have a beautiful, unique and expertly curated…read morecollection of architecture and design books. There is really no other place like it in the Bay Area. The whole neighborhood around them is filled with other delightful sights (The Transamerica Building), shops (Isabel Marant, Paul Smith), and restaurants (Bix, Cotogna). Definitely worth a visit even if you're not into architecture and design. You'll be surprised at what you'll discover there.

I have walked past this place many times and finally stopped by last week looking for a gift for an…read morearchitect friend. The customer service reminded me of another time. I showed up around 5:30 and didn't even realize they were closing, because I was so welcomed. The girl there quickly got an idea of what my friend might like and lead me around the shop, expertly pulling and explaining different books, and helped me choose a truly special one that spoke to a few of my friend's interests. I ended up wanting to read some of them myself even though I don't know anything about architecture. I'll definitely be back!

Very friendly lady helped us find the Chinese "lysee" red envelopes with our last name.read more

New Idea obviously sells DVDs and cell phone accessories. the store wasn't fully stocked as the…read morepics show. more like bare bones. not much into DVD's these days. time constraints. buys: tsing tao newspaper (.60) note: -many stores in chinatown selling cell phone accessories now.