Northwest Airlines Flights from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to San Francisco (SFO)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Northwest Airlines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Tokyo, Japan (NRT) to San Francisco (SFO) regularly scheduled to depart at 3:45pm and arrive at 7:55am. Usually an Airbus A330-200 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Tokyo, Japan to San Francisco, CA is 9 hours and 10 minutes.
During your San Francisco vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Ghiradelli Square
This National Historic Landmark property dates from 1864, when it served as a factory making Civil War uniforms, but it's best known as the former chocolate and spice factory of Domingo Ghirardelli (pronounced "Gear-a-deli"), who purchased it in 1984. The factory has since been converted into a three-level mall containing 50-plus stores and 11 dining establishments. Scheduled street performers entertain regularly in the West Plaza and fountain area. Incidentally, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company still makes chocolate, but its factory is in a lower-rent district in the East Bay. Still, if you have a sweet tooth, you won't be disappointed at the mall's fantastic old-fashioned soda fountain.
Alcatraz Island
Visible from Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island (aka "The Rock") has seen a checkered history. Juan Manuel Ayala was the first European to discover it in 1775 and named it after the many pelicans that nested on the island. From the 1850s to 1933, when the army vacated the island, it served as a military post, protecting the bay's shoreline. In 1934, the government converted the buildings of the military outpost into a maximum-security prison. Given the sheer cliffs, treacherous tides and currents, and frigid water temperatures, it was believed to be a totally escape-proof prison. Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological diseases), Machine Gun Kelly, and Alvin Karpis. It cost a fortune to keep them imprisoned here because all supplies, including water, had to be shipped in. In 1963, after an apparent escape in which no bodies were recovered, the government closed the prison. In 1969, a group of Native Americans chartered a boat to the island to symbolically reclaim the island for the Indian people. They occupied the island until 1971, the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to this day, when they were forcibly removed by the U.S. government (see www.nps.gov/alcatraz/indian.html for more information on the Native American occupation of Alcatraz). The next year the island became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The wildlife that was driven away during the military and prison years has begun to return -- the black-crested night heron and other seabirds are nesting here again -- and a new trail passes through the island's nature areas. Tours, including an audio tour of the prison block and a slide show, are given by the park's rangers, who entertain guests with interesting anecdotes.Allow about 2 1/2 hours for the round-trip boat ride and the tour. Wear comfortable shoes (the National Park Service notes that there are a lot of hills to climb on the tour) and take a heavy sweater or windbreaker, because even when the sun's out, it's cold out there. The excursion is popular and space is limited, so purchase tickets as far in advance as possible. Blue & Gold Fleet (tel. 415/705-5555; www.blueandgoldfleet.com) operates the tour; they accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, and there's a $2.25-per-ticket service charge for phone orders. You can also buy tickets in advance from the Blue & Gold ticket office on Pier 41 or online at www.telesales.com. Alcatraz night tours are also available and are a more intimate and wonderfully spooky experience. Check the Blue & Gold Fleet website for updated prices and departure times.For those who want to get a closer look at Alcatraz without going ashore, two boat-tour operators offer short circumnavigations of the island.
Haas-Lilienthal House
Of the city's many gingerbread Victorians, this handsome Queen Anne house is one of the most flamboyant. The 1886 structure features all the architectural frills of the period, including dormer windows, flying cupolas, ornate trim, and winsome turret. The elaborately styled house is now a museum, its rooms fully furnished with period pieces. The Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage maintains the house and offers docent-led tours. The 1-hour tours (the only way to see the house) start every 20 to 30 minutes.
Union Street Inn
Who would have guessed that one of the most delightful B&Bs in California would be in San Francisco? This two-story 1903 Edwardian fronts perpetually busy (and trendy shopping and bar-hopping stop) Union Street, but it's quiet as a church on the inside. The individually decorated rooms are comfortably furnished with down comforters, fresh flowers, and bay windows (beg for one with a view of the garden). A few even have Jacuzzi tubs. An extended full breakfast is served in the parlor, in your room, or on an outdoor terrace overlooking a lovely English garden. The ultimate honeymoon retreat is the private carriage house behind the inn, but any room at this warm, friendly inn is guaranteed to please.
Hotel Rex
Joie de Vivre, the most creative hotel group in the city, is the brilliance behind this restored historic building, which is near several fine galleries, theaters, and restaurants. The group kept some of the imported furnishings and the European boutique hotel ambience, but gave the lobby and rooms a $2-million face-lift, adding the decorative flair that makes its hotels among the most popular in town. The clublike lobby lounge is modeled after a 1920s literary salon and is, like all the group's properties, cleverly stylish. The renovated rooms are above average in size. If you have one of the rooms in the back, you'll look out over a shady, peaceful courtyard.
The Donatello
If you're not looking for trendy lodgings or an anonymous business hotel but want old-world elegance, book a room here. The Donatello is, in a word, dignified. The lobby is classy, with Italian marble and a serious staff. The rooms, which are some of the largest in the city (an average of 425 sq. ft.!), are airy, updated classic European and even better than before, since they were completely redecorated in 2000 with contemporary French antiques, stripes, tapestries, original art, king-size mattresses, and textiles. Thankfully, the face-lift didn't include going the trendy bold-and-colorful route, which seems to be infectious among downtown hotels. Unfortunately, most of the extralarge windows lack great views, but if it's fresh air you're after, the fifth floor has seven terrace rooms.
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Other direct flights to San Francisco (SFO) on Northwest Airlines