Yokohama: 2nd Largest City in Japan

Last Tuesday, Chelsea and I decided to take a trip out to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan. Like Tokyo, it's a bustling hub of activity, a center of commercialization, and a port city. In my time in Japan, I have come to realize I definitely have a thing for port cities (at least in the summer time). The weather is wonderful, the sky is generally clear enough that I can see out through to the ocean, and the shopping and restaurants are awesome. I'd also done some research on Yokohama, so I had a few things in mind I wanted to see, namely the port area and then Chinatown.

Between Tokyo and Yokohama, it takes about an hour to get there via train. Chelsea had gone the Saturday before to meet a few of the other Stanford kids out there for dinner, so she knew how to get there in the cheapest manner. We took the subway, transferred, took that line to the end, then transferred to a JR train for the rest of the way. All in all, around an hour and fifteen minutes later, we had made it to Yokohama, and I was almost done with my book.

The weather was humid and temperate, but the skies were cloudy, shielding us from the blazing sun. As we exited the station, we found one of the local area maps and I glanced at it, trying to identify things I had read about and wanted to see. I figured though that since we had all day, we didn't have to try to find everything immediately. Instead, I asked Chelsea to lead the way (hoping she remembered) towards the shopping area and amusement park place that she'd gone to before.

The Minato Mirai 21st District is a very popular shopping area in Yokohama. There are tons of malls and parks in the area. It seems that no matter what you're looking for, you will inevitably find it. Within the District, we went to the Landmark Plaza Mall, located next to the Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan, over seventy floors with a cocktail lounge and other eating establishments at the top floors (there is also an observation deck, but naturally, there is a minorly expensive admission charge).

Anyway the Landmark Plaza Mall was huge, as expected, with 7 floors and a basement floor.

However, I'm pretty sure the find of the day in the Mall was the Pokemon store. O.M.G. I've seen Pokemon merchandise while I've been in Japan (the newest movie actually just came out apparently and has toddlers and children alike in a frenzy), but never have I ever seen anything such as this. The store was FILLED with Pokemon stuff, just filled. Kids were running around screaming, holding plushies of Pikachu and other Pokemon. Parents were trying to keep track of children. Teenage girls were buying school supplies decorated with different pokemon. Teenage guys browsed the Pokemon themed tshirts...It was consumerism chaos at its finest. Despite the massive wave of nostalgia for my childhood that overpowered me, I managed to escape, only purchasing a few postcards, nothing to break my wallet. It was definitely a sight to behold though.

After perusing the rest of the mall, we headed over to Yokohama Cosmo World, just across the water from Minato Mirai 21. Home to a bunch of roller coasters, crane games, carnival goodies, and the Cosmo Clock 21, the world's largest clock (the Ferris Wheel lights up at night and tells the time apparently). While we didn't spend too much time or money there, as it was also overrun by small children, we saw an acrobatics show and a few balancing acts. Definitely a fun place to blow off some steam or take the kids for a brief diversion before returning to reality. Nearby too they had a small Carnival Christmas Village. I don't know why they have a Carnival christmas village open all year around, but they do. And it is also home to a haunted house. Weird.

By the time all was said and done, as we went to the Queen's Square Hotel Mall and the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, an old remodeled warehouse now housing shops, boutiques and restaurants nearby the water, we were both thoroughly exhausted, so we didn't manage to hope on a subway and find the Yokohama Chinatown. Thus, I will most likely make another trip out to Yokohama, if time allows. I'm closing in on the last few weeks of my time here in Japan, so I have to be efficient with where I go and how I use my time. But Yokohama is definitely worth a visit, especially at night (from what I've heard).