out and about

Today my loved one took me with him to Yokohama. It was my first time, though I’d been wanting to go. It turns out, that while a little expensive ($16 for each of us), the trip is an easy one – I can easily find my way back there. In spite of the overcast, it was beautiful, and it is now my favorite city in Japan. Unlike Tokyo (which is a really cool city, just crowded), it is open and inviting; the buildings are not all crowded together, and each unique building in the skyline is clearly visible. It has a beautiful, developed waterfront with a Ferris wheel, restaurants and parks, perfect for strolling hand in hand and stopping for coffee. The huge Landmark Tower dominates the Waterfront. It has a great mall full of trendy shops, like a bookstore with a huge English language section (bookstores are VERY dangerous places and true to form, we did not leave empty handed) and a cool home store where we found the perfect coffee table. A curved escalator takes shoppers between floors and waterfalls and streams wind their way through the building. Outside the mall, modern art sculptures twist in the wind and there are places for street performers. We took the bus to China Town. It was my first time on the bus in Japan; I had always ridden the train. I worried that there was some sort of secret ticket system like in Germany, so if you aren’t in on it they’ll boot you off the bus. But, you pay when you get on, just like in the States (this is difficult for me to understand as it makes riding the bus NOT labor or time intensive). When we got there, I wondered if (since some not most, but some, of the Japanese culture and writing were offshoots of the Chinese) China Town would be uninteresting to the Japanese. Not so, apparently, the place was thronging with Japanese tourists, eating Chinese food and buying Chinese souvenirs to take home. Someone had a wedding in the hotel there and flocks of women in kimona and men in tuxedos were snapping photos of each other in front of the sights. We had Neeku Man (steamed meat buns), Goma (sesame) Balls with sweet bean paste, and Shu-something (pork gyoza on a stick). A new wok and bamboo steamer were calling our names, but we resisted, maybe next time. We went to a grocery store and ooohed and aahed over the produce and available gourmet foods. Our next stop on my private tour was the New Grand Hotel, where the Military HQ was set up after WWII (that’s my fondness for military history popping up). It was amazing. During renovation, a new structure was built over the old existing structure, so when you’re inside, parts are new and parts are pre-war. My husband showed me the pre-war parts. The ceilings are low and the doors are tiny, showing just how small the Japanese were pre-WWII (each generation since has been bigger than the last). Then, we went to a beautiful park. We sat on a bench, as lovers do, in the center of a massive rose garden, heavy with blooms perfuming the air. Our next stop was Nogehon Dori, where there are often street performers. We went for Sushi, but I must admit it was not the freshest I’ve had. On the way home, we stopped in Machida to pick up a copy of another of my favorite comics – the Getbackers. We’re pretty worn out from all of our sightseeing; my beloved fell asleep with his head on my chest while we watched Sunday evening cartoons.