Travel Entry - A Day in Yokohama

With less than three months left in Japan, Kaz and I have been spending our weekends visiting some of the places in Japan left on our 'must visit' list. While making this list originally felt rather overwhelming - I've come to realize that we'll be back to Japan in the future - and there will be more time more exploring then too! 

Yokohama has been on our list for some time now - and nice weather and Kaz returning from a business trip lined up well for a Saturday evening and Sunday spent exploring the city. Yokohama is Japan's second biggest city; however, it is often lumped in with Tokyo as it does lie within the 'greater Tokyo area.' Yokohama is famous for developing rapidly as Japan's most prominent port city following the end of Japan's period of isolation in the mid 1800s. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships ('black ships') and demanded that Japan open several ports for trade. In 1859, the Port of Yokohama officially opened. Obviously, I skipped a lot of history here - just wanted to give you a quick summary! Like much of Japan, Yokohama was badly damaged during World War II; however, much of the city was also destroyed during The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. 

Yokohama is a scenic city with a really beautiful (and nicely developed) port area. The skyline was stunning (and probably one of the coolest cityscapes I've seen in Japan) and the buildings, boardwalks, and abundance of restaurants/shops near the water reminded me a bit of Navy Pier in Chicago. I read that two of Yokohama's sister cities are Vancouver and San Diego and I can see some similarities between the cities. Although Yokohama is a big city, it didn't have the intensity of Tokyo. While there were lots of people everywhere, most of them seemed to be spending time outdoors enjoying the numerous green spaces that dotted the city. Yokohama definitely had more grass than any other 'big' Japanese city we've visited. And, as an added bonus, we just so happened to be visiting on a three-day weekend, so there were festivals and events taking place throughout the city - many of which we just stumbled upon by mistake.

In order to enjoy the city's beauty at night, we spent Saturday evening exploring Minato Mirari. Minato Mirari, which means 'harbor of the future,' was a large shipyard until the 1980s when construction began on the large city center. Minato Mirari contains the Landmark Tower, which was Japan's tallest building until 2014, as well as one of the largest clocks in the world (located on the outside of a huge ferris wheel). Minato Mirari also contains a small amusement park called Cosmo World. There is no entry fee to the park - visitors simply buy a ticket for each ride they wish to ride. Kaz and I were going to ride 'the vanishing rollercoaster,' which goes into an underwater tunnel - but the 60-minute wait deterred us.

Next, we headed to another area of the port - the Red Brick Warehouses. These warehouses used to house imports and exports, but have since been converted into restaurants, shops, and spaces for events and exhibitions. As you walk around the inside of the warehouses, you can see the preserved steelwork - which gives the space an eclectic feel of old and new. Another reason we'd chosen to visit Yokohama was to attend Oktoberfest, which was being held at the Red Brick Warehouses. The energy and people-watching were amazing as always!

The next morning, we spent time exploring Sankenien Garden.  Sankeien opened to the public in 1904 and contains many historic buildings from across Japan - a feudal lord's residence, several tea houses, a main hall, and a three-story pagoda from an old temple in Kyoto. Our visit coincided with tsukimi (Japan's autumn harvest moon festival) - so we were able to see traditional offerings (rice plants and dango (small white dumplings made out of rice)). There were also many people attending tea ceremonies - so the park was filled with women in beautiful kimonos.

From the gardens, we made our way to the Yamate area. When Japan's period of isolation ended and  foreign trade was allowed, foreign traders were permitted to reside in Yokohama. The Westerners settled in the hills of Yamate (also known as "The Bluff"). While most of the western-style houses in Yamate were destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake, many have been restored. As we wandered through the neighborhood, we stumbled upon houses, churches, and even international schools. The houses definitely made me forget that I was in Japan. Today, many of the international residents in Yokohama still reside in this area. The Yamate area also contains a beautiful park called Harbor View Park, which offers an amazing view of Yokohama Bay and a beautiful botanical garden. We were able to enjoy the views while munching on some cherry sandwiches (a yummy treat made of cookies, cream, and cherries).

Below the hills of Yamate is a shopping street called Motomachi. Motomachi was originally the shopping street for the foreign residents living in the Yamate area. Now, it's a rather typical Japanese shopping street - with many high-end stores and boutiques. I'd say the street still has a bit of a European feel with its cobblestone streets and Western-style buildings.  

While the Westerners settled in the Yamate area, the Chinese traders settled in Chinatown. Yokohama's Chinatown is actually Japan's largest and is filled with tons of stores and restaurants.  It's similar to Kobe's Chinatown; however, it's bigger and much more crowded. We enjoyed some pork bun snacks and a yummy lunch of dumplings before continuing on our way. 

With full stomachs, the rest of our day was spent wandering a bit more around the port area and enjoying some of the festivals and events we came across. After a summer of extreme heat and humidity, it was especially nice to spend time outside with cooler temperatures and a refreshing sea breeze. 

For me, in addition to being a fun city to explore, the trip to Yokohama was a nice reminder of some of the ways I've grown since arriving in Japan. To get there, I bought my tickets, rode the Shinkansen, navigated the subway system in a city I've never visited, and checked in to the hotel (speaking Japanese only). While I know much of this was more related to simply 'becoming familiar' with the way Japan works than anything else, what surprised me about the whole process was how relaxed I was the entire time...even when getting lost and having to retrace my steps a few times! Baby steps, right?!