If you want a nice introduction to Golden Gate Park, try going there on a Sunday afternoon. There's a long stretch of road in the north-east corner of the park (part of JFK drive) that's closed to car traffic on Sunday's, and it fills up with bladers, skaters, bikers, etc. There's even a small group of people keeping alive the dubious art of Roller Disco.

One of my current haunts in Golden Gate park is the Rose Garden, which is further along JFK drive (passed the end of the section that's closed on Sunday's). On the subject of East vs. West: The Berkeley Rose garden has a more elaborate layout, and some nifty views of the bay, but I think I like the smaller, simpler San Francisco garden. It may be my imagination, but I think the roses in SF smell better. My theory is that the ones in Berkeley were bred for appearance over smell.

The Japanese Tea Garden isn't very far south of the Rose Garden... take a look at a park map (there's one near the entrance of the Rose Garden). The hours of the tea garden are 9AM to 6:30 PM or so, and the general admission fee is around $5-- I believe it's free an hour before closing time. The tea house itself is a little crowded at times (it's about as serene and relaxing as a typical ski lodge), but it's still recommended.

(Incidentally, if you're interested in Tea places, there's a discussion of them down in the "Quease Zine" section below.)

If you want to keep rolling on the Japanese tip, on 9th Avenue, on the first block after leaving the park, there are two Japanese restaurants across the street from each other (owned by the same folks, apparently). I like the soba at Episu, moderately priced.

And here's a feature of the park that's easily accessible from the upper Haight, and that few goth types will want to skip: there's an antique carousel, in-doors, over by the children's playground. If you walk straight into the park from the end of Haight, and bear to your left, you should find it with a walk that's about two blocks long.