At the beginning of November, I went to Yokohama, Japan for a week to
attend a conference. Since I like Northwest Airlines and had never
flown between Japan and anywhere in the US except Honolulu, I opted to
fly to the mainland and go from there.
I caught up with my friend and fellow conference-goer, Twig, at the
Detroit airport just as our 747-400 bound for Japan was boarding. I
knew we would be on the same flight, but I didn't know that he'd wound
up right across the aisle and one row back! It made it easy to chat now
and then during the very long flight!
Our flight path from Detroit to Tokyo-Narita took us over Alaska, which
was interesting to see. I've still never been on the ground there, and I
suppose I really have to work on that sometime. We got into Narita
on-time, though... and then had to wait for our friend Peter, whose
flight from Vancouver was running a little late.
We all took the JR Line Narita Express train down to Yokohama. This
train knows a lot more about where it is, where it's going, and when
it's going to get there than a lot of trains I've encountered around the
world. Unfortunately, other than a short subway ride in Yokohama, this
was the only train I got to ride during my visit to Japan - no bullet
train for me! Maybe if I get back over there sometime and have more
time on my hands.
This is one of the bridges across the harbor in Yokohama. It reminds me
a little of the Century Bridge in Haikou, Hainan Dao, China, but the
design is different; I'm pretty sure Century Bridge has a singel
suspension tower. Anyway, it's a lot more modern than the old Philly
and New York suspension bridges I grew up around.
Here are some buildings seen in Minato Mirai 21, the redeveloped
harbor/waterfront area of Yokohama. In the foreground left of center is
the Navios Yokohama hotel, which is where I stayed. At the far right
is World Porters, an upscale sort of mall. And in the background is the
Landmark Tower Yokohama - the tallest building in Japan!
Cosmo Clock 21 was the biggest ferris wheel in the world when it was
built almost 20 years ago. It's still the biggest clock. There's a
giant digital clock in the middle, and at night, the ends of the arms
that hold the ferris wheel cars light up, 1 per second, to provide more
accurate time-telling. It's in the CosmoWorld amusement park, and
there's a roller coaster that runs around its feet.
This is the Minato Mirai pier, where one can catch various ferries or
harbor cruise boats. It's located right by Pacifico Yokohama, the big
conference and expo center where I spent most of the week. In the
background is one of the harbor bridges.
The city lights of Yokohama are pretty at night, especially given all
the little waterways around and through the Minato Mirai 21 area. Here,
I found some old-fashioned boats (used to give boat rides for tourists
during the day, I think) moored near the Bankokubashi Bridge, with the
Landmark Tower Yokohama and part of Queen's Square in the background.
One morning, some photographers were shooting advertising pictures of a
little car outside the hotel. It's a Mazda "Verisa," but I don't think
I've ever seen one like it in the states. Maybe it's a model that's
only sold in Japan, or something.
On the last day of the conference, my friend Mika came all the way from
Tokyo to say hi! She's very nice but a bit camera-shy, so I won't put a
picture of her in this. But I will include a picture of the gift she
brought me - a Japanese wind chime! It is hanging on the front porch of
the house in Hawaii now, and when there's a good breeze, I can hear it
chiming. Arigatou gozimasu, Mika-san!
Overall, I had an okay time in Yokohama. I didn't have any friends in
town ahead of time, and I don't speak enough Nihongo to really make any
new ones during my visit, so I pretty much just hung out with the folks I
went to the conference with, and walked around taking pictures in my
free time. If I go to Japan again, I want to try somewhere more rural,
to see what that's like. Maybe I can go visit my cousins in Okinawa
sometime!
