18th August, 2010 - One of our favourite places to visit when in Tokyo, isn't even in Tokyo. Yokohama is a separate city that lies to the south/south-east of Tokyo, less than 50 kms away from the heart of Tokyo. And it's definitely one of the places I would recommend as a 1 day trip outside of Tokyo (with Kamakura being next on my list). In fact, you might have to be quite observant to realise that you've left Tokyo at all - as it's sprawl all the way there. Indeed, Yokohama is the second biggest city in Japan. Though it might seem you are escaping one megapolis for another, that's far from true. Yokohama has a much different vibe to it. This is the second time we've been here (the last was over seven years ago... check out here)
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The best way to get there is most probably on the JR Tokdaido line out of Tokyo Station (about 27 mins) and costs about 450 yen (or you can take it from Shinagawa Station for about 290 yen). Other alternatives are the Keihin Tohoku line (same as above, but slower) or the Tokyu Toyoko line from Shibuya. The best option likely depends on where you're basing out of, and where you want to go, as the train lines will serve slightly different areas.
Now - if you need a map around Yokohama... you need only look down. There's wonderful stylised maps (in the style of the Japanese man-hole cover artwork) scattered all over the city. And what more do you need than the one, sponsored by... er your local Telco... By the way... if you're looking for a slightly more conventional map, then try the following pdf map from Yokohama Visitor's Guide.
One of the big attractions in Yokohama is the Chinatown, or Yokohama Chukagai... although it might seem incongruous to visit Japan, only to go to a Chinatown. It's the largest in Japan, and one of the largest fullstop (of course, not including just about anywhere in China) - and a well-travelled destination for many travellers to Yokohama.
One of the best reasons to come to Chinatown however is for the food... although I have to admit that we don't too bad in that area back in Australia either... But Chinatown here is in a whole other league. There's so many food places to visit...
Now, when we came here, it was (like most of Kanto's summer days) boiling wet. No - not boiling hot. It was too humid for that. Instead, we just boiled in our own juices. Bring plenty of money to buy sports drinks (aka Pocari Sweat etc). You'll definitely need them if you're travelling in the summer. Or you could always try a refreshing mango smoothie.... though I'm not sure if there were some 'special' ingredients in that drink...
The pictures definitely don't convey just how damn hot it was... and indeed it was so hot that the buildings were spraying their customers with water to keep them cool. At least I think that's what they were doing... and I think that was water... perhaps they were just for the greenery...
Now - if you need a map around Yokohama... you need only look down. There's wonderful stylised maps (in the style of the Japanese man-hole cover artwork) scattered all over the city. And what more do you need than the one, sponsored by... er your local Telco... By the way... if you're looking for a slightly more conventional map, then try the following pdf map from Yokohama Visitor's Guide.
One of the big attractions in Yokohama is the Chinatown, or Yokohama Chukagai... although it might seem incongruous to visit Japan, only to go to a Chinatown. It's the largest in Japan, and one of the largest fullstop (of course, not including just about anywhere in China) - and a well-travelled destination for many travellers to Yokohama.
Yokohama was actually one of the few prescribed trading centres in Japan, and a natural entry point for Chinese as well as other western traders - after the opening up of 1859. Things slowed down (for obvious reasons) during and after the war, but it remains a vibrant centre of Chinese culture, and importantly cuisine, in Japan today. There's not a great deal of real historical remnants to the city, having been mostly destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, and then again during the fire-bombings of WWII. We'll touch on some of the cultural elements in a few posts...
Yet there remains a distinctly Chinese ambiance... even if it has taken on a bit of a kitsch over-tone. And don't get me started on very touristy souvenir shops...
Or the much more enjoyable (though still cliche) building architecture...
Though some of the building detail work in the buildings was impressive...
There are definitely some odd things around as well... I still can't quite work out what these street markers were supposed to be (it's most probably obvious to everyone but me)...
And somethings were just dramatic in their seemingly casual placement... not sure if this is the Feng Shui at work here. I certainly got some good energy from it (unlike the building it was attached to, which was largely falling apart).
One of the things I love about Yokohama's Chinatown is the exuberant window displays...
Though some left a little to be desired...
This actually reminded me a lot fo the lion foot that we came across on our last trip here.
One of the best reasons to come to Chinatown however is for the food... although I have to admit that we don't too bad in that area back in Australia either... But Chinatown here is in a whole other league. There's so many food places to visit...
Each of the restaurants just a little more colourful or different than the last. There was only one small problem however.... and this is one that I can't emphasise enough. Chinatown is VIRTUALLY CLOSED on Wednesdays. Ok - there's still a lot to do, but most of the restaurants that we wanted to visit were closed. This was not mentioned in our trusty Lonely Planet guide (or for that matter the Japanese guide that T-chan was using). Now that was a disappointment, as over-filling our bellies with glorious Chinese cuisine was one of the plans for the day. However, we adapted quickly enough (sweat running out of every pore will do that to you)... and grabbed a less than inspiring meal in a local cafe (which I might add had terrible service... but even then we weren't put off).
In fact, such was Yokohama's hold on us, that not even the weather put a dampener on our time...
Now, when we came here, it was (like most of Kanto's summer days) boiling wet. No - not boiling hot. It was too humid for that. Instead, we just boiled in our own juices. Bring plenty of money to buy sports drinks (aka Pocari Sweat etc). You'll definitely need them if you're travelling in the summer. Or you could always try a refreshing mango smoothie.... though I'm not sure if there were some 'special' ingredients in that drink...
The pictures definitely don't convey just how damn hot it was... and indeed it was so hot that the buildings were spraying their customers with water to keep them cool. At least I think that's what they were doing... and I think that was water... perhaps they were just for the greenery...
But the realities with are with a 3 yo, in the middle of summer, there was always going to be one way this was going to end. With Daddy providing some physical (more than moral) support.
But children are resilient... and 30 mins later, L-kun was running around like he had an infinite supply of energy. This, as it turned out, was directed mainly at a new game he'd discovered. Following in people's footsteps - indeed preferably before they got out of them. About 5 seconds after this photo was taken, L-kun's game ended abruptly when he stepped on T-chan's shoe and broke it. Let's just say she was hobbling most of the day before she could arrange a replacement.
Even walking around Yokohama in broken shoes, on one of the hottest days of Tokyo's hot 2010 summer, with most of the restaurants closed wasn't enough to spoil the day for us.... We love you, Yokohama's Chinatown - even when it hurts... which T-chan's feet were starting to do. And whilst it wasn't the best start to the day, it was a great day, and we had a lot of fun - which we'll go into in more detail over the next few posts.
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