(Computer History Museum @YasumiKikuchi )
Congratulations to all those selected for Connect Live 2019!! Some of you may have already arrived in San Jose.
The post has been delayed because I have been visiting other countries over the past few months, but I will tell you the fun of traveling in Silicon Valley. Even if you only have one day, the main sightseeing in Silicon Valley is feasible!
Actually, I planned my first Connect Meet-up on this Silicon Valley trip 2018, even though I couldn’t speak enough English. I didn’t think anyone would come, however dear @KimberlyAnnG @InnocensiaO and Shady joined me, and helping my immature. Thank you again with this post the recap more than a year ago!
Caltrain and Uber is the main public transport
Silicon Valley is the nickname for the area where the world’s corporate headquarters for the Internet, including Mountain View, Palo Alto, and San Jose, gather, but recently it is sometimes called the Bay Area with a focus on San Francisco. When you go from San Jose to Silicon Valley, you will use a train called Caltrain. Tickets can be easily obtained with a credit card. You will buy a round-trip ticket for the next zone from Zone 4 (San Jose) to Zone 3 (Silicon Valley). The trains are few every hour and are often delayed by about 15 minutes. By the way, the train is made in Japan.
Uber is a must in Silicon Valley. Because the bus is inconvenient. In other words, you can save money by sightseeing with a few people instead of alone.
This is a museum that can be said to be the center of a Silicon Valley trip. Needless to say, this is the birthplace of computers and all social networks. You can learn its history at this museum. The world’s first general-purpose computer ENIAC, the first IBM, Apple 1, and a rare kitchen computer, as well as the German Enigma encryption machine, are on display. Many famous legacy computers are almost on. You will need a stay of at least 2 hours. If you look seriously, need 4 hours. There is also a Nasa visitor center and Moffett Field Historical Society Museum nearby, so we want to visit all at once.
There is a special booth at Google. You can touch the real car of the cute self-driving car “Waymo”. You can also experience programming the first steps of the Google Maps navigation program.
Close to Mountain View Station, between Googleplex entrance and Microsoft. Public transportation in Silicon Valley is inconvenient, but the museum is the only accessible. Because a free shuttle bus is available from the Station. This bus like RV may look strange to foreigners. However, it is common sense on the west coast as a small bus. This shuttle bus seems to be funded by Google to contribute to the community. This shuttle bus stops near the Computer Museum for both Googleplex and Microsoft. Please ask the driver for details. There are Japanese and Asian towns near the station. I hear from @KarenVChin that Silicon Valley loves Japanese food.
Perhaps the next most interesting thing is the head office of the Apple store. Adjacent to the Apple headquarters like a stadium. Of course, all Apple products are on sale in the vast room.
In the next room, you can enjoy the internal video of the Apple headquarters by AR virtually. The security of Apple headquarters is so strict that this service is installed. Unfortunately public transportation cannot be expected. It is necessary to use Uber from the nearest station. I was able to come here with the help of @KimberlyAnnG . Thank you!
He didn’t live far from the company. Because he was an excellent manager. When you visit the Apple Store, take a Uber tour of his past home in the neighborhood. Surprisingly he lived in an ordinary house where security was mediocre. Of course, the surrounding area is a residential area and not a sightseeing spot. Please be polite and stay for about 3 minutes. Let Uber stop temporarily.
It is called Harvard University on the West Coast, which excels in sports and management. Vast site is nicknamed “agricultural land”. Of course it is a tourist spot. It has a close relationship with Steve Jobs. There are also free tours and free museums. If you watch everything, half a day would be necessary. Public transport buses are relatively convenient.
This is the birthplace of Silicon Valley. The success of Hewlett-Packard has transformed the region into one of the most important places in the world.
After visit in Stanford University, you can walk from the station. Since the surrounding area is a residential area, let’s visit it quietly. You cannot enter the site.
You can enter the maze-like mansion where the wife of the president of a famous gun company has repeatedly expanded. We can see it on a paid tour. A wife with a small body expanded and renovated the house for the purpose of living alone, so we can see a strange space that is not normal. The best way to get here is to use Uber from San Jose.
The headquarters of computer companies is dense
Silicon Valley and San Francisco are crowded with computer and social network companies that are familiar to us. The beautiful building of nvidia HQ is @KimberlyAnnG favorite. You will be able to take a good selfie photo, and the company will allow it. There is a large Likes sign at the Facebook HQ entrance and the Yahoo HQ etc.
In fact, it’s not impossible to visit all of these in 1 day using Uber. However, you can be satisfied with Silicon Valley in two days. Please use this link as a reference for your wonderful LIVE 2019 trip!
