Yokohama Trip

So this is coming a bit late, but about 3 weeks ago Dereck and I went on an ITT trip to Yokohama. (warning, this a long blog, but it's mostly pictures!) Yokohama is a district of Tokyo right on the Tokyo bay. Our schedule was to go to Chinatown first, then a cruise around Tokyo bay, and then go to the Yokohama Landmark Tower Observatory. The traffic on the way there was very light and we ended up arriving to the area about 45 minutes early. Since the parking reservation for the bus didn't start until 11am we stopped at an area called Diakoko Pier. There was not much on the pier area but it was fun to walk around. We got some yummy pastries at a little shop and just enjoyed the sunshine. There seemed to be a car club meeting of some sort going on there so there were a bunch of fancy and expensive looking cars there, parked and on display.

After about 20 minutes on the pier we got back on the bus and headed over to Chinatown. It was pretty exciting to see this huge Chinatown in the middle of a very modern looking Yokohama. There were these giant and elaborately decorated "Gates" to walk in.

It was also very very crowded. I'm sure its crowded all the time, but since it was Sunday we knew it was extra crowded. A lot of Japanese work on Saturdays so Sundays are a big day for going out for them. The streets were fun to walk through though, since there were so many shops and restaurants everywhere.

We also were able to see a few shrines that were also very beautiful. They were so ornate, we felt like we couldn't even notice all the details. There were a lot of people actually worshiping at the shrines as well, lighting incense and clapping and doing whatever their religion does. It was interesting to see.

We ate lunch in Chinatown and it was good, but surprisingly NOT as good as we were expecting. We also were frustrated that the chopsticks were so smooth and slippery we could barely grasp any food! haha. This was also about the worst day of my 2 week-long cold so I was feeling pretty sluggish at this point. We walked around Chinatown a little bit more and then went back to the park where the boat was boarding for the cruise.

The cruise was fun and just what I needed... time to sit and relax (and take some meds!) We got to see the big industrial area around Tokyo bay, which we both thought was very interesting. The beautiful weather didn't hurt either! Since it was Sunday nothing was getting loaded/unloaded onto any of the ships but we saw where all of that would take place. We also got to see the skyline of Yokohama from the boat. It was awesome- very modern and impressive. Here are some pictures from the cruise. There are more on my shutterfly.com site too!

 Cruise Boat

Yokohama Skyline (Landmark Tower is the biggest building)

 Going under Tokyo Bay Bridge

 Bridge and Skyline

The Giraffes that help load containers onto ships

 Cars & Trucks awaiting export on Diakoko Pier (yes those are highway on/off ramps circling around on the pier)

After the cruise we got back on the bus again and headed to Yokohama Landmark Tower. The Tower was very impressive. Its observatory is on the 69th floor and will bring you up in only 40 seconds. Its the 2nd fastest elevator in the world! The tower also had a very large shopping area at the base of it, and an amusement park on the other side. We hope to go back one day and spend time at the amusement park as well (it also has one of the world's largest Ferris wheels!) We decided to go up in the observatory around dusk so we could see the view in both sunshine and in darkness. It was a great decision! The pictures do not give the view any justice. It was amazing to see city extend to the horizon on one side, mountains on another, and the bay and more city on the other sides. It was just remarkable. 

Daytime View

Nighttime View

Daytime View

 Nighttime View

After we came down from the observatory we did a little bit of shopping. They had a GAP and an H&M which made me very happy. I was even able to find some things that fit and get some great deals too! I definitely want to go back and do more shopping as well! By the end of the day we were just exhausted and ready for that bus trip back home. It was worth the trip though and all and all a great day (if I forgot about my running nose, stuffed head, and cough that sounded like it would launch me off the island...) 

So far I consider Yokohama my favorite place I've been to! 

Sayonara,

Jane