I'm heading to seattle next weekend with my 10 year old son and my mother. Unfortunately, an illness in the family has consumed all of our time for the past month and I am not as prepared for this trip as I like to be. We will end up having to wing much of this. Today I've been searching the boards for a couple of things: Recommendations for a sushi restaurant, hopefully near our hotel (Inn at the Market) and also recommendations for any pretty parks or gardens that my mother might enjoy strolling through. Is there a Japanese garden there? I appreciate any help.

Also, I understand that the Seattle Art Museum has not yet reopened. Is the Asian Art Museum nearby?

The Asian Art museum is in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill - just a few miles away. The Arboretum near the UW has a beautiful Japanese garden, and there is a Chinese garden at South Seattle Community College in West Seattle. You might also enjoy the newly-opened Olympic Sculpture Park, which is fairly close to your hotel.

Shiro's would be my choice for sushi within walking distance of the Inn at the Market. It's in Belltown on 2nd and about Bell or so (maybe a bit further north).

Thanks so much for the info! I will map these out today.

Saito's or Waisabi Bistro for sushi near-ish the Pike Place Market.

Japanese Gardens at the Arboretum.

Volunteer Park houses the Asian Art Museum, also a wonderful free victorian plant conservatory, and a water tower you can climb ("poor man's space needle"). The park is on 15th Avenue East, 2-3 miles from downtown. The #10 metro bus goes there if you don't have a car.

Another park is the newly opened Olympic Sculpture Park with is on the waterfront near downtown.

Thanks Suze. Hoping to eat at least two good sushi meals while we are there, so that's very helpful. And I'm trying to get somewhat familiar with the bus schedules as we will not have a car.

Use this link to get routes and times for buses in Seattle...

http://transit.metrokc.gov/

And use the bus link to compute a route to Kubota Garden down by Seward Park while you're at it. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspa...botagarden.htm

Hey Kath,

If you are looking for a few fun things to do in Seattle with your mom and son, I would really recommend taking a ride on the WA State ferry to Bainbridge Island. Time it right and you can catch the sunset and on the return you see the city all lit up. It is a beautiful ride. Take a windbreaker though for going out on deck during the trip.

The Japanese gardens are beautiful as is the greater WA arboretum. The gardens close for part of the winter but according to the website (see below) they are again open.

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspa...nesegarden.htm.

You can easily get to the Japanese Gardens via bus (about 20 minutes). Use the Metro trip planner http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl. Use "1st and pike" as your starting point and "japanese teahouse" as your destination. The Rt. 11 takes you straight to Madison and Lake Washington which is very close (the planner says .1 mile) to the garden. You could also take a taxi.

I would strongly second the recommendation for a visit to the new Olympic Sculpture Park. There is still (as of last weekend) some minor work on the portion closest to the waterfront but the park and views of the city are unbelievable. If the overpass is closed you can still cross the tracks at street level and get to the beach portion of the park via a hike/bike trail.

A couple of different suggestions for parks:

Golden Gardens park. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/Golden.htm

This is a beach and wetland in Ballard (north of downtown about 7 miles). Use the aforementioned trip planner for specific times but generally From 1st Avenue take an 18 or 18 express north to Market Street in Ballard. You can then catch the 44 or 46 westbound for maybe another 1.5 miles. You could also connect with the 44 or 46 using the 15 or 15 express. I especially like going down to the beach at low tide to see check out sea stars and other intertidal life.

If you are going to make the trek to Golden Gardens (est. 20-40 min. to get from downtown to Market Street depending on time of day and whether you take the express or the local then another 5-6 minutes after making your connection) I would definitely combine the trip with a stop at the Ballard Locks and salmon ladder.

http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Public...ename=mainpage

The locks help vessels make the transition from Puget Sound to the ship canal leading to Lake Union. Lots of boats use the locks from large yachts, to sailboats to commercial fishing vessels and tugs. The salmon ladder was built to allow spawing salmon to bypass the locks. When the schools are running (check website for details) it is amazing to see.

2)Close to downtown on Queen Anne Hill is Kerry Park and viewpoint. The real draw is the nearly iconic viewpoint. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/kerry.htm

More on Ballard:

Ballard has a fairly substantial number of restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, a movie theater, wine bars, bars, a couple art galleries. It is a fun place to visit. Ballard is also home to the Nordic Heritage Museum that chronicles the Scandanavian heritage of Seattle, and Ballard in particular. http://www.nordicmuseum.org/

Gotta go but if there is anything else I can help with let me know. I am not an afficionado of the sushi places around town but I can provide other restaurant recommendations if you need them. With a little more information on your interests I could also provide other suggestions on sightseeing.

Wow, I just can't say thank you enough to the people who take time out of the day to give this great advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for including the bus info klsalas. And the Bainbridge Island trip is a definite. Hadn't thought about timing it at sunset - but a great idea.

here's the websites for my two suggestions above, plus one more i thought of. they are all an easy walk from central downtown (a bit north in Belltown):
www.wasabibistro.biz
www.ohanabelltown.com
www.saitos-cafe.com

Thanks Suze. Ohana's looks like a good bet for us because the menu looks wider than just sushi. Sounds like a cute place. Thanks for the link.

Saito's looks good too - looks alot like the sushi place I like here!

Ohana's a fun atmosphere with a decent sushi bar but also lots of Hawaiian style selections.

Re: the ferry ride. The ferry terminal is on Alaskan Way approximately between the cross streets Madison and Marion. On the other side you will have to get off the boat I think for security reasons (We did when I last did it) but you can just turn around and get right back on when they board for the return to Seattle trip.

Again, if you need any further advice don't hesitate to post.

Keith

Wow, Keith, you're great. That info is just what I need. I just keep adding to my list. Thanks.

Keith - If you have time could you tell me what your favorite restaurants are that wouldn't be too hard to get to from the IATM? As embarassing as it is to say we are probably interested just as much in the ambiance/view as the food.

Kath,

I am a total foodie! I have many favorite restaurants all over town. We aggressively try to hit as many as possible. Actually we are going out tonight to Coupage, http://www.coupageseattle.com, a relatively new French-Korean fusion restaurant in Madrona. The owner is a well known restauranteur in Portland and the chefs have worked at places like Alain Ducasse and Per Se in NYC.

During March, selected seattle restaurants are running a "twenty-five for $25" promotion. The participating restaurants offer a prixe fix dinner for $25 and some offer a $15 lunch menu as well I understand. However it may not be applicable on Friday-Saturday.

Here is a link:
http://www.nwsource.com/contests/res.../25for25_0307/

Of those that are downtown, I very much enjoy Cascadia, Campagne and Brasa.

Brasa and Cascadia have no view but have very nice ambience.
http://www.campagnerestaurant.com
http://www.brasa.com

Brasa has one of the more celebrated happy hour bar menus around. http://www.brasa.com/menus/brasa%20bar%20menu.pdf

Campagne has a view of P.Sound and is downstairs from your hotel. The more informal Cafe Campagne is also very enjoyable.
http://www.cascadiarestaurant.com

One of my newfound favorites is Boat Street Cafe is down Western Avenue, only a few more blocks north of the Olympic Sculpture Park. It has a beautiful ambiance. The dining room just glows. http://www.boatstreetkitchen.com/photosheet.htm

I would characterize all of the above as contemporary Northwest cuisine with the exception that Campagne is largely French/NW and Cafe Campagne is more traditional french. All get top reviews and are best bets for experiencing what the dining scene here is all about.

Reservations are probably essential at any of the listed places. Call your concierge prior to your arrival and have then make reservations for you ASAP.

Let me know if you are going to be in any other neighborhoods because some of my top favorites are in other neighborhoods farther a-field like Ballard (Market Street Grill, Volterra) and Madison Park/Madrona (Harvest Vine, Crush, Cremant).

The above is just a limited number of the places I really really like.

Just a few more!

I often recommend Salumi for lunch. http://www.salumicuredmeats.com/

It is as 2nd and almost at Jackson. This is Mario Batali's family's restaurant. Really it is more of a deli with house-cured meat sandwiches and a limited number of hot dishes, mostly sandwiches. It is really something though.

Via Tribunali. http://www.viatribunali.com/ This is an authentic pizzeria napolitana. They source everything possible from Italy and the menu is in Italian. This is not walkable from your hotel but it is just up Pike to Broadway in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Lark. http://www.larkseattle.com/. John Sundstrom won tremendous acclaim as chef at Earth and Ocean before heading out on his own. Unbelievable. Contemporary NW. In Capitol Hill. Not far from downtown but would require a taxi.

Market Street Grill (Ballard) Again Contemporary NW. Participates in 25 for $25. Not close to your hotel but if you happen to be in Ballard around dinner time it is great. My wife and I are regulars and know the owners John and Kendell well. http://www.marketstreetgrill.net/index.html See also this shot of the dining room: http://www.savvydiner.com/imgs/669i.gif

Well I should get going for now.

Wow, Keith this is great info. Thanks so much for taking the time. I'm so excited to go on my trip and try some of these places!!!

Are you back? How was the trip?