ニッポン １７ - YOKOHAMA

17Sept08 Wed

Day 17 - Yokohama
Yamashita Park→Aka Renga Warehouse→Chinatown→Landmark Tower→Ueno

横浜
山下公園→赤レンガ倉庫→中華街→ランドマークタワー→上野

Scheduled to meet Kaneko san (knew her when I was having deployment at Rasa Sentosa hangri-la) at 10am, but I decided to go earlier to explore and so I dragged Kiki up from her green futon...

changed train at Shibuya.. from crowded to an empty train..
everyone is heading to Tokyo instead..

digressing, there was a handsome random guy in school uniform when we were on this train... hahhaa...

seriously I didn't know where we were heading to..
Kiki always depends on me for directions so I gotta figure out..

in the end had to top up the fare.. haha..
from Shibuya to Chukagai 460yen..

We are in Yokohama :)

Where should we go first?

We travelled down the lime green line from Shibuya and transitted to the green line..

In Japan there are 3 kinds of rail trains: 普通、急行、特急
In simple words: Fast, faster, fastest.
The last two skip stops so you reach your destination faster.
but if you take the wrong one you may miss your stop! so look careful before taking your train. don't just run into it.

Nearest would be Yamashita Park..

This park commands a romantic view of the Bay Bridge and ships passing through the port. There are many monuments showing international cultural exchange such as "The Girl with Red Shoes Statue", "Indian Water Fountain", and "Water Guardian Statue", a gift donated by San Diego, USA.

Admission: Free
10:00～19:00(22:00 on Fridays/Saturdays)/Closed irregularly
A 3-minute walk from the Motomachi-Chukagai Station (Minatomirai Line); a 1-minute walk from the Yamashita Koen-mae bus stop on City Bus #26, departing from the Sakuragi-cho Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway)

The former cruise ship called “the Queen of the Pacific” sits in front of Yamashita Park. It is a luxury liner that was in service for 30 years from 1930 and has also been boarded by people such as Charlie Chaplin.
It has closed temporarily as a sightseeing spot at the end of 2006. It will be turned over to NYK Line in March 2007 for a year of repairs with the goal of reopening in the spring of 2008.

4 min. walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Sta(Minatomirai Line),A 16-minute walk from the Ishikawa-cho Station (JR); a 2-minute walk from the Chukagai Iriguchi bus stop on City Bus #8, 58 and Kanagawa Chuo Kotsu bus, departing from the Sakuragi-cho Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway)

Active elderly people painting. Seems to be an activity at Yamashita Park.
Everyone's doing it and they are really good at it!!

they use this special drawing pen/brush..

Good right??

I love parks.. hmm..

I couldn't.. couldn't resist anything that has got to do with the pilots..
Haha..

On to Aka Renga Soko..

These lovely red brick buildings with their original facades (about 100 years old) have been refurbished from top to bottom. In Building #1, there is a hall, and multipurpose space. In Building #2, a restaurant with live performances, a beer garden, and 31 shops selling a variety of food and goods. Outside you can relax in an area with greenery and trees.

Shops: 11:00- 20:00; Restaurants: 11:00- 23:00 (depending on the store)./Open year round
Approx. a 6-minute walk from the Bashamichi Station or the Nihon-odori Station (Minatomirai Line); a 15-minute walk from the Kannai Station or the Sakuragi-cho Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway)

Haha, just had to take this photo..
to prevent the kids from running about(?), they are "stored" in carriages.

Japanese creativity?

really wide warehouse space..

Kiki says I'm good with jumping shots..

and so she tries...

too cute >.<>

interesting piece of green that looks like ADM NTU building..

a race..

on to Chukagai, otherwise known as Chinatown

Living up to its boast of being one of the biggest Chinatowns in the world, more than 500 restaurants and groceries etc. throng here. A unique look of the stores lining the streets, colored yellow and red, engenders another exotic atmosphere to Yokohama.

0 min. walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Sta.(Minatomirai Line),A 5-minute walk from the Ishikawa-cho Station (JR); a 7-minute walk from the Kannai Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway); a 1-minute walk from the Chukagai Iriguchi bus stop on City Bus #8, 11, 58or 99, departing from the Sakuragi-cho Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway)

seriously, not comparable to our Chinatown.
Ours more happening..

and they sell paos everywhere in Yokohama Chinatown.
like, EVERYWHERE. In a glance it seems to be the only food around.

Off to meet Kaneko-san~~

Her daughter Aoi was not feeling well.. so today it would be Kaneko-san and Yuri only..

Warming up to Yuri... we haven't meet for a year I think!

He's super cute..
5 years old, loves Ultraman.. and uses his powers on us..

Opening the Snoopy choco I got for him..(the one I badly wanted for myself ahahhaah)
he loved it :)
yes you can eat on Japan's trains. but the Japaneses usually don't.
it's manners :)

got caught in action. I always forget where I put my ticket, or ezlink whatever..

Going to Landmark Tower..

This 70 story skyscraper at a height of 296 meter is a symbol of Yokohama. The tower has a hotel and halls, and the view from Sky Garden on the observatory on the 69th floor is superb. At the Landmark Plaza, next to the tower, you can enjoy shopping.

Sky Garden: Adults 1,000 yen/65 and older,high school students: 800 yen/Jr. High & Elementary school students 500 yen/Preschoolers 4 and over 200 yen
10:00～21:00(Saturdays and during summer vacation: Open until 22:00.)/Open year round
3 min. walk from Mainatomirai Sta.(Minatomirai Line),5 min. walk from Sakuragi-cho Sta.(JR or Yokohama City Subway)

Yuri likes to stop in front of us, facing sideways purposely when we are taking pictures!
He wants to be in the photos, but in his own way.. too strange >.< Backgrd: A complex city consisting of a shopping mall with an array of a variety of specialty stores, a unique department store, a hotel : Pan Pacific Hotel Yokohama, a concert hall and offices provides you with the feel of a new life style for your office and in your home. You can enjoy shopping and dining in relaxing areas, such as "Station Core" and "Queen's Park" with ample greenery and refreshing water.

Shops: 11:00 - 20:00. Restaurants: 11:00 - 23:00 (depending on the store)./Closed irregularly
Direct connection to the Minatomirai Station (Minatomirai Line); a 10-minute walk from the Sakuragi-cho Station (JR or Yokohama City Subway); a 1-minute walk from the Queenﾕs Square bus stop on City Bus #57 or 156, departing from the Sakuragi-cho Station

Chawanmushi~~ Yum~
I used to eat 2 Chawanmushi(s) at one go because I just love it sooooo much.
Cut down on it because it's getting expensive hehe.

Yuri only wants to eat the fish slices and not the rice! Poor Kaneko-san had to eat it up for him. In his mouth was a piece of Salmon.. haha..

stacking up the plates. see the rice?

either he's playful or he hates photos. can barely see him behind the plates..
he did it on purpose!

he was playing with the plates and Kaneko-san said, "Look at the kaiten chef, he's looking at you... you better stop...". true enough, the chef was looking our way and somehow Yuri behaved. Haha So cuteee...

Salmon shaped lollipop for the kids.
looks delicious, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for one..

even the Ronald looks thinner than ours.

example of Yuri's favourite pose.
yeah I'm totally amused :)

Part of a museum exhibition setting

See through grounds


I love this set of Yuri photos:

we could walk to Landmark Tower, but Yuri hasn't taken a cruise before so we did so..

while waiting... Yuri ran off..

haha big place eh? he looks so small...

Yuri is actually in front of the pole in the middle of the picture..

Kaneko-san and Kiki.
Yuri was looking for things to throw into the sea in order to create ripples..

and we are his safety rangers

going onboard soon.. why the emo face?

super emo right??
but he wasn't lah.. he loves transportation...

actually i'm no good with boats.. but I guess a 5 mins ride won't hurt right?

:)

That shark-fin/billowing sail shaped building looks a lot like the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

Yuri was fascinated by these.

Yokohama Bay Bridge

emo again.. hahaha....

InterContinental Hotel

Nope, not roller coaster. Just a sculpture..
Photo nicely taken right?
Yuri wanted ice-cream so we were resting..

Yokohama Landmark Tower

One of the exhibits for an ongoing exhibition

Here we are, Landmark Tower..
(Highest viewing mall in Japan I think)

Ok, not a good shot...

cars look like toy cars..

Yuri really can't look into the cam~

everything is miniature..

Is it a gimmick or what, but there's like a wishing heart thingy for u to hang our love wishes..

After this we got really tired.. I mean we started off early.. and kept walking...
and little kiddy Yuri was tired too..
thus ending our trip in Yokohama.

seriously speaking, a little tat too short, but let's leave some places for next time yeah?
The Ramen Museum.....!

BYE my friends~
till next time~

dinner at Ueno...

tired~~