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Michael and I left for Yokohama Monday morning. We took the local train which was about 2 hours. We first dropped off our bags at the hotel and then ventured off to Yokohama’s Chinatown. It is one of the largest Chinatown’s in Japan and the world. We were looking for dim sum, but this was a Japanese influenced Chinatown, so there were no restaurants dedicated solely to dim sum as we were expecting. We found a small little place that had a course lunch menu which some dim sum items. It was good. Michael and I have realized that course menus are the way to go. A course menu is several small plates of 10 items or so. There is a set cost and it can range from cheap to expensive, of course the quality of the food is reflected in the price. Most of our meals for the 3 days were course meals. We walked around Chinatown in hopes to find some groceries, but it was still pretty expensive. Maybe it was because it is a tourist area and they know they can charge more just like every other tourist area. We walked our way towards the water to Yamashita Park. Yamashita Park was like the Central Park of NY. It was located along the port side which had a great view of the water and skyscrapers. We walked along towards Landmark Tower where we went up the fastest elevator to the 69th floor, an observation deck of Yokohama. The view from Landmark Tower was exceptional as you can see through our pictures. I promise you none of the pictures were purchased. After the Landmark Tower we made our way back to Shin Yokohama to go to the Ramen Museum. Yes, a ramen museum that was awesome. The lower level was set up as a small historic town with several of ramen shops that made ramen from different regions. We had to try some ramen at the ramen museum. As expected, it was delicious. There was a second level that had some more ramen shops and a few souvenir shops. It was small in space and people mainly go to eat ramen. There was an area that showed more of the history of how ramen flavors and styles evolved. To finish off the evening we headed to Yokohama’s Cosmo World, a small amusement park with an enormous Ferris wheel! I was a little hesitant about riding it because it was so tall, but we actually became hungry and went to World Porter’s for a small dinner instead. We went to a Mexican restaurant and it was delicious. They had a sauce bar with several homemade salsas and chili sauces. I enjoyed some nachos and Michael had a taco, enchilada and quesadilla. By the time we finished dinner, the Ferris wheel was closed and that made our decision a lot easier.
On Tuesday, we took a train to Kamakura, south west of Tokyo. Kamakura is a very historic area famous for the shrines, temples, and Daibutsu (The Great Buddha). First, we went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, the most important shrine in the city of Kamakura. The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Ojin, his mother Empress Jingu and wife, Hime-gami. Next, we went to Hase to go Kotoku-in to see Daibutsu. The statue stands at 13.35 meters (43.8 ft) high and weights about 93 tons (186,000 pounds). It is hollow inside and they allow visitors inside Daibutsu to read about the construction. It was fascinating, but very cramped and dark. Since it was still day outside, we wanted to take advantage of the sunlight and off to Sea Paradise we went. Sea Paradise is located in Hakkeijima, a little bit west of Yokohama. There was an aqua museum, dolphin center, hands on area called Furai Lagoon and amusement park rides. We first went to the aqua museum and a show. There were seals, dolphins, penguin, and whales in the performance. We then went off to Furai Lagoon, it was a popular place since there was interaction with the sealife. Most people were waiting to pet the dolphins. Since it was kind of chilly out, Michael and I opted to go play with the starfish instead. Starfish feels prickly! After Sea Paradise we went back to Yokohama’s Chinatown for dinner. The great thing about Japan is many restaurants put menus outside and have displays of food so it’s a little easier to make a decision. We found a restaurant with a course meal and it was delicious. As we were leaving, I heard the lady speak Chinese, so it was nice to know that it was Chinese operated because we were reading in a brochure that Chinatown is mostly Japanese owned. Another thing we noticed in Chinatown was roasted chestnuts. These were a big hit there; I didn’t know it was a popular Chinese item.
On New Year’s Eve we went to stay in Shinjuku because Meiji Jingu was close to there and that’s where we wanted to be at the stroke of midnight. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and then went to Tokyo Tower. We saw Tokyo Tower, but did not go up this time because the line just to buy tickets went around the block and then some. It was very busy and we didn’t want to spend 2 hours just waiting in line. We shall go up Tokyo Tower another time. After Tokyo Tower, we went to Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple. There was also a popular stretch from the outer gate (Kaminarimon) to the inner gate (Hozomon) aligned with shops. This shopping stretch is also called nakamise. There were a lot of fresh made goods, plus some souvenirs. It was rather crowded, maybe because it’s a tourist spot or maybe because it was New Year’s Eve and people were setting up. There was also a famous 5 storied pagoda that was beautiful. Asakusa is next to a river so we walked around the area for a little bit before going to Akihabara (electronics town). Akihabara was all about electronics, anything and everything. They had camera shops, computer shops, shops that sell wires, tvs, etc. It was a little bit overwhelming because I kind of want a new camera, but there were so many flashing lights and maybe because I was feeling tired, but I did not find a camera. I saw one that I kind of liked. After Akihabara, we headed back to Shinjuku area for dinner. We tried to check out the west side of Shinjuku station because the Tokyo Government Towers were on that side, but there wasn’t much going on. We did get some pictures of Tokyo Government Towers in the dark. Since there wasn’t much on the east side of the station, we went back to the east side and walked around Kabukicho area. This area seemed like there were lots of bars/hostess bars. We found a yakiniku place and it was delicious. This was the first time Michael and I had yakiniku together because it’s so hard to order at yakiniku restaurants because they usually have no pictures and just show the meat names in Japanese. We got another course meal and this time it was too much. It was yummy!
For ringing in the New Year, I wanted to go to Meiji Jingu Shrine. This was a very popular place, I think I read 2 million or so people were projected to be there. We met up with Dinorah and Arnulfo around 9:30pm at the station and headed to Meiji Jingu. At first we were following the crowd, but unfortunately they were all heading to a concert that was close to the shrine. Good thing we planned a little earlier. We found our way to the shrine after a little while and walked towards the main area. We got there early, so we were in the main area. The police start blocking people off in groups because it gets pretty packed. At midnight, someone in the shrine hits a big drum and everyone starts going to towards the shrine to throw money into a wishing well. I know this is very simple, but it was a great experience. After you make your wish you exit to the right and there are shops set up by the shrine to sell ornaments, hamaya (evil blocking arrows), pieces of decorated wood to write wishes, etc. I bought an arrow and made a wish. After the shops there was an area with tons of food vendors. It was a tradition for Japanese folks to have noodles on New Year’s to represent longevity, so we had some noodles. I guess it’s also a tradition in Chinese culture because we have to eat noodles on our birthdays. This was a great vacation, but we are exhausted. We wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
On Tuesday, we took a train to Kamakura, south west of Tokyo. Kamakura is a very historic area famous for the shrines, temples, and Daibutsu (The Great Buddha). First, we went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, the most important shrine in the city of Kamakura. The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Ojin, his mother Empress Jingu and wife, Hime-gami. Next, we went to Hase to go Kotoku-in to see Daibutsu. The statue stands at 13.35 meters (43.8 ft) high and weights about 93 tons (186,000 pounds). It is hollow inside and they allow visitors inside Daibutsu to read about the construction. It was fascinating, but very cramped and dark. Since it was still day outside, we wanted to take advantage of the sunlight and off to Sea Paradise we went. Sea Paradise is located in Hakkeijima, a little bit west of Yokohama. There was an aqua museum, dolphin center, hands on area called Furai Lagoon and amusement park rides. We first went to the aqua museum and a show. There were seals, dolphins, penguin, and whales in the performance. We then went off to Furai Lagoon, it was a popular place since there was interaction with the sealife. Most people were waiting to pet the dolphins. Since it was kind of chilly out, Michael and I opted to go play with the starfish instead. Starfish feels prickly! After Sea Paradise we went back to Yokohama’s Chinatown for dinner. The great thing about Japan is many restaurants put menus outside and have displays of food so it’s a little easier to make a decision. We found a restaurant with a course meal and it was delicious. As we were leaving, I heard the lady speak Chinese, so it was nice to know that it was Chinese operated because we were reading in a brochure that Chinatown is mostly Japanese owned. Another thing we noticed in Chinatown was roasted chestnuts. These were a big hit there; I didn’t know it was a popular Chinese item.
On New Year’s Eve we went to stay in Shinjuku because Meiji Jingu was close to there and that’s where we wanted to be at the stroke of midnight. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and then went to Tokyo Tower. We saw Tokyo Tower, but did not go up this time because the line just to buy tickets went around the block and then some. It was very busy and we didn’t want to spend 2 hours just waiting in line. We shall go up Tokyo Tower another time. After Tokyo Tower, we went to Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple. There was also a popular stretch from the outer gate (Kaminarimon) to the inner gate (Hozomon) aligned with shops. This shopping stretch is also called nakamise. There were a lot of fresh made goods, plus some souvenirs. It was rather crowded, maybe because it’s a tourist spot or maybe because it was New Year’s Eve and people were setting up. There was also a famous 5 storied pagoda that was beautiful. Asakusa is next to a river so we walked around the area for a little bit before going to Akihabara (electronics town). Akihabara was all about electronics, anything and everything. They had camera shops, computer shops, shops that sell wires, tvs, etc. It was a little bit overwhelming because I kind of want a new camera, but there were so many flashing lights and maybe because I was feeling tired, but I did not find a camera. I saw one that I kind of liked. After Akihabara, we headed back to Shinjuku area for dinner. We tried to check out the west side of Shinjuku station because the Tokyo Government Towers were on that side, but there wasn’t much going on. We did get some pictures of Tokyo Government Towers in the dark. Since there wasn’t much on the east side of the station, we went back to the east side and walked around Kabukicho area. This area seemed like there were lots of bars/hostess bars. We found a yakiniku place and it was delicious. This was the first time Michael and I had yakiniku together because it’s so hard to order at yakiniku restaurants because they usually have no pictures and just show the meat names in Japanese. We got another course meal and this time it was too much. It was yummy!
For ringing in the New Year, I wanted to go to Meiji Jingu Shrine. This was a very popular place, I think I read 2 million or so people were projected to be there. We met up with Dinorah and Arnulfo around 9:30pm at the station and headed to Meiji Jingu. At first we were following the crowd, but unfortunately they were all heading to a concert that was close to the shrine. Good thing we planned a little earlier. We found our way to the shrine after a little while and walked towards the main area. We got there early, so we were in the main area. The police start blocking people off in groups because it gets pretty packed. At midnight, someone in the shrine hits a big drum and everyone starts going to towards the shrine to throw money into a wishing well. I know this is very simple, but it was a great experience. After you make your wish you exit to the right and there are shops set up by the shrine to sell ornaments, hamaya (evil blocking arrows), pieces of decorated wood to write wishes, etc. I bought an arrow and made a wish. After the shops there was an area with tons of food vendors. It was a tradition for Japanese folks to have noodles on New Year’s to represent longevity, so we had some noodles. I guess it’s also a tradition in Chinese culture because we have to eat noodles on our birthdays. This was a great vacation, but we are exhausted. We wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
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