Yokohama

As much time as I have spent in Tokyo over the years I had only been to Yokohama once, for a brief visit to an office in the Landmark Building, Japan’s tallest building. But this was a mistake. While Yokohama is a separate city from Tokyo it can be reached from my home in central Tokyo as quickly as I can reach some of Tokyo’s wards, such as Asakusa. I went there this past weekend and although it only took 25 minutes to get there by train, I was completely lost when I arrived. Yokohama Station on a Sunday afternoon is as busy as the busiest stations in Tokyo proper.

We walked along the promenade at Yamashita Park and enjoyed the sea breeze and a dragon boat race that was taking place in the harbor. We visited a festival in the park that had numerous food booths and musical performances. The lines for food were too long however so I settled on a Lawsons egg salad sandwich and potato chips a couple of blocks away. This Lawsons, unlike the ones in Tokyo, had enough space for customers to set at tables to eat their purchases.

We also took in Yokohama’s Chinatown which was conveniently located next to the Motomachi-Chukagai subway station and Yamashita Park. I don’t think I ever saw as many dumplings in all of China as I saw in this Chinatown. All sorts of dumplings were on offer in restaurant after restaurant throughout the several blocks of Chinatown. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any vegetarian dumplings but we didn’t have time to check out every shop. But I was pleased with what I saw in Chinatown and in Yokohama and can’t wait to get back.

On the way back to Tokyo we discovered that the subway, the Tokyu Toyoko Line (東急東横線) starts at Chinatown runs straight to Shibuya station in Tokyo which is a short bus ride away from our home. Very convenient.