Day 2 : Yokohama
My plan was to be based at Tokyo and make several day trips out of Tokyo to nearby towns so that I do not have to keep shifting hostels. So on Day 2, I went on a day visit to Yokohama.
I took the Metro Ginza line to Shibuya Station and bought a train ticket from the Toyoko line to Yokohama. The journey there was only about half an hour and was pretty straightforward. The good thing about Tokyo's transportation is that they are very punctual and you need not wait long for the train.
The places that I wanted to visit are all nearby each other and can be reached by foot but I do not want to waste my time looking for the places. It is difficult to ask the street people for directions as many of them do not speak English. Even if they understand you, they have problems explaining to you in English. They would normally respond back in Japanese and you just have to read their body language and finger pointing directions to understand them. So I decided to buy the day pass for 450 Yen. The day pass allows unlimited rides on the Mirato Mirai line which is where all the locations that I wanted to visit are based.
The bicycle taxi or tricycle is a common sight in Yokohama. I was tempted to give it a try but decided not to waste that money in the end.
My first stop was at the Minato Mirai Station. When I came out from the station, it was all office blocks and skyscrapers. Nothing else. So I went back to the station and took the subway to Motomachi Station. From there I crossed over to Yamashita Park and Pier.
The weather was cool and cloudy so I decided to buy the Pokka coffee from the vending machine and have my drink at the Park. The can was hot from the machine!
The park is a nice place for people watching, haha. That's about it. Nothing else here.
Chinatown has to be my favourite place at Yokohama. It's quite a big place and has lots of eateries here. My first stop was this shop that sells many types of cookies and this is where I spent most money in Yokohama buying the cookies.
These are some of the cookies sold at the shop. They really make good souvenirs as their packaging is really beautiful.
There are plenty of shops and restaurants here. People are plenty too ... :-) I had a good time walking around Chinatown and enjoy seeing the varieties of snacks here. Food price is reasonable based on Japan's cost of living.
I bought these for my breakfast. Aren't they cute?? My friend said the pink piggy looks so sad .... yeah, because he knows I'm going to eat him ... hehehe.
I tried this sweet potato ice cream too for 280 Yen. Well, what does it taste like? Sweet Potato of course!
Next, I walked over to Motomachi shopping street but I didn't stop here for long. They are mostly high end products and nothing local to see so I left about 10 minutes later.
I walked to the nearest train station which is Motomachi Chukagai station to take the train to Nihon Odori Station. I was attracted to the beautiful walls in the station.
Some of these trains are expressed trains that stops only at certain big stations. Announcements are only in Japanese. I realized something was wrong when my train keeps bypassing the Nihon Odori Station even though I am on the correct line. I took it twice as I thought I missed the station initially. It was only at the 3rd time that I thought of asking the station police for Nihon Odori station and all he could say was "This express. Next". So that was how I learnt and find my way around in Japan.
Finally I reached Nihon Odori Station which was only one station away ... hehehe .... I need to make use of my day pass since I already bought it. Actually all the places are nearby each other as I've mentioned. Just to prove to you, I took the picture of the direction signage. They are all within a few hundred metres away only. From the station, I walked to Osanbashi Pier.
From Osanbashi Pier, you can actually see the Minato Mirai area which has many high rise buildings and Japan's tallest building, the Landmark Tower. The place is quite empty. Again, this is a nice spot to just sit, relax and do nothing.
Next, I decided to visit Yokohama's Ramen Museum. The Ramen Museum's website provides very good direction information to the Museum from the train station. Print that out and bring along if you intend to visit the museum. It's about a 10 minutes walk from the train station.
The nearest station to the Ramen Museum is the Yokohama Shin station. The Yokohama day pass cannot be used to get to Yokohama Shin Station as it belongs to a different line. You need to buy a separate train ticket to get there which is 160 Yen. The information counter at Yokohama Station will be able to guide you to the place. They will tell you which station to stop and which train to transfer to.
I reached the Ramen Museum at about 6.30pm. It was already dark. I managed to get a discount for the entrance fee by showing them the discount ticket that I printed from the Ramen Museum's website. The entrance fee is 300 Yen but I only paid 250 Yen.
The souvenir shop is at the entrance of the Museum.
After passing the souvenir shop, go downstairs and you are at the Museum. I love this place as it gives me a nostalgic feeling as I walked around here.
I had my dinner at this restaurant. The soba noodle cost 900 Yen. It was a little salty to me.
Continued exploring the place after my dinner before I head back to Tokyo.
Well, I kinda like Yokohama compared to Tokyo as this place is more laidback and life seems slower than Tokyo. It's a nice place to visit and you should consider this side trip if you are visiting Tokyo. After all it is only half an hours away.
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