I’m going to be in San Jose for a week in the middle of November, stuck in a hotel by the airport without a car because company headquarters is (I’m told) right across the street. So after walking to my hotel at 5:05, I’ve got nothing except what entertainment I can find in the lobby. Anything interesting on Technology Dr between Airport pkwy and Skyport Dr? Sushi? Strippers? Strippers with sushi?
So there’s nothing on Technology between Airport and Skyport except office buildings. However, fear not! You are a short taxi/moderate - long walk away from the delights of downtown San Jose. Okay, it’s not all that delightful, but there are clubs, loads of restaurants and bars, HP Pavilion (music, hockey, cartoon characters on ice), and theaters. You might even be able to take light rail down there, which would be bitchen. I’ll see what I can find out and check back in later.
In short, it’s not like you’re staying at Times Square, but diversion is not that far away.
I’d be glad to have sushi with you when you’re in town, but I’ll pass on the strippers.
Honestly, I’m way too old and married to waste money at strip clubs, but I’ve heard the sushi out that way is better than anything I might find at the Safeway deli counter.
you should quit being a nerd and come into san francisco
I suspect I know where you are staying. Not much there, and even I wouldn’t want to walk. First Street, which isn’t far, has some stuff. You should pick up a Metro (free) and maybe get a cab.
If you wait ten or fifteen years, you should be able to take BART to San Francisco.
You’ll be within a couple of blocks of a light rail station, so you can zip down to downtown SJ for $1.75 each way. There are a bunch of clubs and restaurants down there, as well as a 12 screen movie theater. I agree with Voyager that the Metro, the local alternative weekly, is among the best guides to area entertainment.
Downtown SJ has:
The Tech Museum. Worth a visit.
Great food.
A decent art museum.
The Childrens Discovery Museum.
Good clubs.
No shopping. Seriously.
The Camera 12 movie theatre- best in the region.
The Repand the CPA: both places for shows, plays and the like.
The Sharktank aka the Arena (no true San Jose resident call is “the HP Pavilion” 
): Hockey, music.
Shopping is at Santana Row and Valley Fair Mall, right across the street from each other. Fantastic malls, Santana Row is very artsy and great to go on a nice day, as it is an outdoor mall. They are like 5 miles from Downtown.
There are many, many good Sushi restaurants in SJ. But you are within walking distance of Japantown- 'nuff said? There’s even some light shopping there. But the sushi is fantastic.
The Pink Poodle is right outside SJ, on the way to the two malls (the borders are weird). It is a fairly decent all nude strip club. No booze, no lap dances, no touching.
AJ’s is on Lincoln ave, and it has hot bikini dancers. They will do a very light lap dance, with you on stage.
Within a reasonable drive of SJ are a few very good tourist locations: SF, Monterey and Santa Cruz. Also the Redwoods. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best in the world.
Mini sushi Dopefest?
Go to the downtown Caltrain station and take the bus to Santa Cruz, used to be six bucks each way, a 45 minute ride, or the two hour ride on the train to SFO.
That’d be kind of sweet. I’ve never made it to a DenverDope, so it amuses me to fly 1300 miles for one.
How late does light rail run?
Thanks everyone.
The transit website sucks, so I’ll have to check the posters on my way home, but it looks like it runs until about 10:00pm or so. Your hotel isn’t too far away from San Jose’s Japantown.
Oh dude, I’m right over the hill from you. If you can narrow down a date for me so I can get a backup operator to run my system, I’ll drive over and join a mini-sushi Dopefest. I’ve never been to one either.
Man, it does suck. I’m pretty sure light rail runs until a little after 11:00 though.
10:00 is getting close to my bedtime (allowing for the hour time zone difference), so that’d work out.
Sounds like San Jose doesn’t have to be as boring as the last couple of guys have made it out to be.
Unless the company reschedules (again!), I’ll fly in Sunday, 11 Nov and leave Friday the 16th.
I’ve got my kids that week, but they usually go to their Dad’s for Boy Scouts on Monday. I can check to see if one of my operators can cover for me that evening, and meet you all out there.
Picking a sushi place is not my strong point though, as I’ve hardly spent any time in that city at all.
I spent the last week of September in Milpitas. Now, that was boring. Let me know what interesting places you find. My company is headquartered out there, so I’m sure I’ll be out that way again, eventually.
That would be excellent. And I agree with the suggestion of going to Japantown. You haven’t lived until you had a Sushi Boat.
I happen to have a hardcopy of the schedule right here. The last northbound light rail leaves the Japantown station at 11:53 or so. Why do you need to take public transit anyway? I’ll give you a ride to the rawfishminifest if you want.
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