After a “rest day” from our trip to Enoshima, Izu Peninsula, and Odawara Castle, we decided to take a local boat out to Sarushima Island. It was a windy morning as we made our way to the ferry (a catamaran that was like a tour boat). Arriving at the office for the ferry, we discovered that because of the strong winds, the ferry was not running that day. My sister quickly came up with an alternative plan. She decided that we should go check out Yokohama. This was within driving distance and although it was a windy day, it was a beautiful day.
We hopped in the car and made our way to Yokohama. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan and is just south of Tokyo. It is built on the edge of Tokyo Bay and is the home of multiple well-known companies. It also is a high-tech industrial hub. What I liked most about it though was what a pretty city it was. In fact, I daresay it was the prettiest modern city I experienced on this trip to Japan.
After driving for about an hour, we arrived at our destination in Yokohama. We parked near the Yokohama Redbrick Warehouse. Originally this was a customs facility with two warehouses. We started wandering around the waterfront, which really was quite lovely. It appeared that there was a music festival happening between the two warehouses. Behind them, a cruise ship was at a terminal and looked like it had either just arrived or was preparing to depart, based on all the traffic coming to and from the terminal. The wind was still strong and provided a fresh chill as we walked across a bridge over a canal to make our way towards a ship called the NYK Hikawamaru and also the giant Gundam at the Gundam Factory Yokohama.
Along the way, we found this charming restaurant along the water with a lovely view of the ship and the bay. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed some unique Japanese sandwiches and also some really good fish and chips. My sandwich had some sort of fish in it that tasted quite… fishy. It was a good thought. After enjoying lunch, we continued to wander along the waterfront through Yamashita Park as the afternoon continued on and the sun began to hide behind some of the skyscrapers and the day grew chilly. I enjoyed taking photos of the NYK Hikawamaru from different angles. The ship has quite the story that dates back to 1929. Now, a museum, it is a unique look at a different era of nautical history. I would love to go back and actually explore the ship itself and take photos.
We eventually made our way over to the outside of the Gundam Factory Yokohama where the 18-meter Gundam is housed. As the day was starting to wane, we decided to not commit to the full experience and go inside. We did get lucky, however, and the massive robot did its demonstration as we watched from the side. I could see why people really find it impressive as it really is large. I also am glad we continued to explore the city as we were able to see some other fun things while wandering around.
Retracing our steps so we could go to the downtown portion of Yokohama, we discovered a fire juggler in front of the restaurant where we originally had lunch. While we didn’t understand what he was saying, he was very entertaining…terrifyingly so! He was quite funny as he did his different tricks, some of them interacting with those who were watching. By this time, it was quite dark and we really wanted to visit Landmark Tower so we continued our walking trek.
Walking to Landmark Tower is a lovely thing to do at night. Yokohama is a pretty city during the day. At night, it’s beautiful. A giant Ferris wheel with LED lights animates the night skyline above a small theme park/carnival area of the town. There is also a body of water that this is around with a ropeway (basically a skyway) crossing from one side to the other, where Landmark Tower happened to be. When we initially walked up, the ropeway was closed for some reason. However, after a few minutes of taking photos along the water, we saw that the ropeway was reopening. We made our way over to go for a ride over the water and to Landmark Tower. The ride on the ropeway really was peaceful and beautiful. Getting off the ropeway was not so peaceful as the wind was picking up and it was definitely cooling off. Thankfully, Landmark Tower was not very far away.
A few quick steps and a bridge later, we were inside Landmark Tower looking for the Warner Bros. Illumination. Basically, this was a Christmas Tree that would have lights and effects set to music at certain times every hour. These are apparently quite popular throughout Japan. We found the tree and after a little wait, we watched this Illumination. It was cute but I definitely am spoiled by what we get at Disney parks. However, the music was good and it was nice to be inside where it was warmer than outside.
After watching the Illumination, we realized how hungry we were. As we walked through the building, which really is basically a massive mall, we happened upon a McDonald’s. We thought we would give McDonald’s another chance after not being blown away by our previous experience. Sadly, this one didn’t impress either. This further confirmed my suspicion that McDonald’s is one thing that Japan does not get better than the United States in the realm of food. I would be surprised if I ever gave McDonald’s another chance in future visits to Japan.
With dinner completed, we made our way outside of the Landmark Tower and found some trees that were decorated with blue Christmas lights. There were tons of people taking pictures under this canopy of lights. Just inside another building, that was also a mall, we found a Harry Potter Illumination on a Christmas Tree themed to the world of Potter. We watched this before making our way slowly back toward the car.
The walk back to the car wasn’t the warmest one but there were a lot of cool things to see. There was a big piece of modern art outside the Landmark Building that I found really fun as we walked under and around it. Across the street from the building, there was an old ship, the Nippon Maru. Now a museum, this was formerly a training ship. Even in the dark, this ship was quite beautiful. I can only imagine what it would have looked like out on the sea. I’m sure it was very impressive!
Continuing around the harbor, we made our way around the theme park/carnival area of town. There were some great views of the harbor, the giant Ferris wheel, and even a Christmas tree. As the night was getting cooler, we were moving a little bit faster at this point. There were some really fun and pretty views to see as we made our way back to the car. Getting closer to the car, we also saw the start of a setup for an outdoor Illumination that would be coming for the Christmas season in Yokohama. They were testing lights, projections, and music on this giant cube that was found in the park. It felt surreal walking around it and through the lights on the way back to the car.
Back at the car, we realized it wasn’t super late and that while we were in Yokohama we should check out its Chinatown. This is the largest Chinatown in Japan and my sister insisted it was worth seeing. We made our way over there and eventually found parking. This led to a trek through Yokohama Chinatown, or Yokohama chūkagai, that led to many beautiful discoveries. There were gates, shops, restaurants, temples, and other displays found throughout the district. Not only was this area beautiful at night, but it also had some incredible smells coming from the different restaurants and food stands we walked by. There were also some really interesting-looking shops as well. What I loved the most, however, was all of the decorations and unique architecture that was found in the area. I took a ton of photos here but none of them captures the magic of this area in Yokohama. It was really beautiful and magical.
Finally, the kids wore down, we decided to find our way back to the car and make our way home. While it wasn’t the latest night we were out, we were all exhausted. This most likely was because of the cooler weather and the wind. It also made for an interesting drive back that night. I am still blown away (thankfully not literally) that there are signs warning about the wind blowing cars over on the freeways in Japan!
The day in Yokohama was a lovely and fast-paced day. There is a LOT to do and see there. I could definitely spend more time there. However, I could also say that about almost everywhere I went in Japan. There are so many interesting and beautiful places to visit with things to do in Japan. As we drove back in the dark night, I found myself marveling about this country and also realizing I had less than two weeks left. I had already seen so much but also realized how much more there was to see in this beautiful country. It was very clear that at some point I would need to come back.
What do you think of our adventures in Yokohama? Have you been there before? What did you like best from what you saw (either on this post or on your visit)? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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