Went on a little biking trip in Yokohama, which is about 45 minutes south of Tokyo. It's a port city that used to be the busiest in Japan, but after a severe earthquake and attacks in WWII within 20-some years of each other, Yokohama lost that title and never fully got it back. Yokohama's also the place that Mathew Perry landed in 1853 with his US Navy ships--The Black Ships--and, after a small military display that was probably only half-friendly, opened up Japan to the west. It took a long time for Japan to be fully open, but there's really no doubt in anyone's mind that the Black Ships signaled the end of the Shogun and Japan's isolation from the rest of the world.
Anyway. Less talk, more pictures:
Yokohama boasts the biggest Chinatown in Japan, way bigger than the one I've become used to in Philly. However, it's really... more of an amusement park almost. You know how in Chinatowns in the US, there's apartments above the restaurants and people actually live in Chinatown? There's really not much of that in the Yokohama one, and the stores are like... fashion boutiques, a far cry from Philly's Chinatown. I also heard a distinct lack of Chinese being spoken, now that I think about it, and I didn't see any markets selling produce and fish. It was kinda like a gilded Chinatown, very weird now that I'm thinking it over...
As a port city, Yokohama is very spacious when you compare it to Tokyo. I love that bay-side smell you get; Yokohama smells just like Baltimore harbor or Annapolis in Maryland.
So spacious! I could romp around like an antelope if I so desired.
Rainbow Bridge.
We climbed up high onto a hill and got an amazing view.
At the lookout place, there's a lot of graffiti carved into the benches and such. Mostly young couples proclaiming their love for one another, and then coming back when they break up to cross it out or mark it up with some choice words:
Next we went to the Foreigner's Graveyard where a lot of--you guessed it--foreigners are buried, especially Christians from the early 1900s.
You can't actually go into the area with the graves, but cats seem to love the area...
Past the graveyard is an open Shinto dojo that teaches archery.
And then just through the park and down a hill is a trendy shopping district and a tiny shrine.
And THEN, if you go a few blocks beyond that, is the slums. It goes from Chanel to slums in about two blocks, very strange. The Yakuza control the area--I believe it's the Inagawa family of Yakuza--and kinda work with the police to keep things under control. Most of the people who live in the area are immigrants from Southeast Asia who work at the docks, plus other folks looking for... work. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of that part of town :(
Yokohama has a huge wheel that lights up neon at night; it's gorgeous. It takes about 14 minutes for the wheel to do one loop and costs about $7 to ride--very much worth it.
Have some views from the wheel:
Also, I heard recently that Yokohama is going to be electrified in few months when they celebrate the port's 150th anniversary.
Anyway. Less talk, more pictures:
Yokohama boasts the biggest Chinatown in Japan, way bigger than the one I've become used to in Philly. However, it's really... more of an amusement park almost. You know how in Chinatowns in the US, there's apartments above the restaurants and people actually live in Chinatown? There's really not much of that in the Yokohama one, and the stores are like... fashion boutiques, a far cry from Philly's Chinatown. I also heard a distinct lack of Chinese being spoken, now that I think about it, and I didn't see any markets selling produce and fish. It was kinda like a gilded Chinatown, very weird now that I'm thinking it over...
As a port city, Yokohama is very spacious when you compare it to Tokyo. I love that bay-side smell you get; Yokohama smells just like Baltimore harbor or Annapolis in Maryland.
So spacious! I could romp around like an antelope if I so desired.
Rainbow Bridge.
We climbed up high onto a hill and got an amazing view.
At the lookout place, there's a lot of graffiti carved into the benches and such. Mostly young couples proclaiming their love for one another, and then coming back when they break up to cross it out or mark it up with some choice words:
Next we went to the Foreigner's Graveyard where a lot of--you guessed it--foreigners are buried, especially Christians from the early 1900s.
You can't actually go into the area with the graves, but cats seem to love the area...
Past the graveyard is an open Shinto dojo that teaches archery.
And then just through the park and down a hill is a trendy shopping district and a tiny shrine.
And THEN, if you go a few blocks beyond that, is the slums. It goes from Chanel to slums in about two blocks, very strange. The Yakuza control the area--I believe it's the Inagawa family of Yakuza--and kinda work with the police to keep things under control. Most of the people who live in the area are immigrants from Southeast Asia who work at the docks, plus other folks looking for... work. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of that part of town :(
Yokohama has a huge wheel that lights up neon at night; it's gorgeous. It takes about 14 minutes for the wheel to do one loop and costs about $7 to ride--very much worth it.
Have some views from the wheel:
Also, I heard recently that Yokohama is going to be electrified in few months when they celebrate the port's 150th anniversary.
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