Exploring one of the best cities in Japan
19.12.2024
We both slept well last night, which is something we really needed. It seems like we hit the ground running when we got here and haven’t stopped to draw breath. So today we are going to drop the tempo a bit.
We started the slow down by arriving for breakfast at 8.00am and the place was packed. Mami enjoyed the breakfast and I wasn’t all that hungry so I just had cereal … without the soft serve ice cream.
Next we brought down our dirty clothing and washed it in the hotel’s laundromat. It took thirty minutes and then I put the clothes in the dryer for 30 minutes. When I came down to get the clothes, most of it was still wringing wet. I gave it another 30 minutes and now most of our room has clothes hanging from anything available to dry them out.
So given the washing delays we started our day later than usual. We caught the train to Minato Mirai which is a major centre for shopping, business, and tourism. There is lots to see here and one of the things we are contemplating is a chairlift which is called The Air Cabin. The blurb says it is Japan’s first and world’s most advanced urban-type circular ropeway. No ropes that I can see, more like steel cables. Have a look at the photos and you will get a better idea of what it looks like.
While I write the blog, Mami is planning the day while we drink a coffee at Starbucks. I am hoping the Yokohama Air Cabin has scraped into the day’s itinerary.
Certain things about Yokohama remind me of Sapporo. First there were 3 different buildings all connected without having to go outside. This was similar to Sapporo’s underground passageways. Yokohama is close to Tokyo but the people seem more relaxed and there is not as much traffic, also like Sapporo.
In one of these co-joined buildings we lucked in again. The Yokohama Police Band were doing a recital to an audience of over a hundred people. In between each piece of music, a member of the Police Force would get up and give a short (actually a bit too long) talk on various safety measures like on the internet scammers. The band attracted the audience, giving the speakers a chance to get across some important messages. Quite clever I thought.
We moved on from the band as I could not understand the messages and the short talks were an interruption to the wonderful band.
World Porter was our next stop, however on the way we happened to walk past a Blue Seal Ice Cream stall. I loved this brand of ice-cream which is usually only found in Okinawa. I loved it so much when I was there that I bought a Blue Seal T-shirt. Mami wanted to buy me another one as I have misplaced my old one while shifting back from Shelford. I told her they didn’t have my size so it would be a waste of money. However I bought my favourite flavour Blue Seal ice-cream, sugar cane flavour, because that’s never a waste of money!
Then to the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, which is a historical building that is used as a complex that includes a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues. At the moment it has a market operating in the grounds surrounding the building. There were a lot of artisan type things and you had to pay a $5 entry fee. We passed that up, but even within the buildings the jewelry, clothes, food and other knick knacks were takai (very expensive) and we left without buying anything.
Last on the list of to do’s was the Yokohama Air Cabin. It was really good fun and gave us the chance to take some really good shots. It only runs for 630 metres but was still good value for money at $20 for the two of us.
With nearly 8500 steps done, we caught the train from Sakuragi-cho to Kanani where our hotel is. My knee is giving me a bit of grief at the moment so I welcomed Mami saying she was a little hungry. We stopped over at a Sushi train restaurant near the station. I was not really hungry but enjoyed being able to sit for a while. It was good value as our 7 plates with 2 sushi on each plate cost us 900 yen.
I’m now sitting at the nearby Starbucks finishing my writing for the day. Mami is planning to go off again to see the night lights for a while. I decided to give my knee a rest and have a hot bath and rest at the hotel. Hopefully the rest will do it some good. Fingers crossed!
I, Mami, spent 2 hours taking pictures of the night lights in Yokohama. I didn’t need to go too far as everything is within walking distance. Yokohama at Night is famous for one of Japan’s largest illumination events, held throughout the city. I hope the photos will do it justice.
I highly recommend you to come to Yokohama when you are visiting Tokyo, especially at night time. It is only 30 mins by train. I am going to officially declare Yokohama is definitely in my top 3 cities in Japan to visit, along with, Kyoto and Sapporo. You won’t be disappointed.
