Yokohama, Japan!

Land Ho!! We arrived in Yokohama, Japan, located on the Tokyo Bay, on the morning of February 9th. Everyone gathered on deck to watch the tugboat guide us into the pier. Although the hour was early, a fabulous group of Japanese drummers serenaded us as went through the long docking processs.

The pier terminal is relatively new and beautifully designed: the ceiling is meant to look like origami paper. Right outside the ship--and located throughout Yokohama--was a vending machine that contained ice cream, hot and cold drinks, hot noodles and much more! We were also fascinated by the public restrooms. The women's restrooms had a variety of buttons to press. Our favorites were the seat-warmer (!) and the sound effects button (which played your choice of running water, flushing sound, or music)!!

Our first stop of the day was the beautiful Sankien Garden, originally built by silk trader, Tomitaro Hara, as his private residence. Subsequently, many ancient Shinto shrines were moved from Kyoto, one of Japan's ancient capitols, to the gardens. This is one of the shrines, which we took off our shoes to enter.
There were smaller shrines throughout the gardens. Dafffodils and apricot trees were in bloom, but we could picture how the gardens would be even more beautiful during the spring and summer.

We walked around the interior of one of the homes, which was traditionally laid out with wooden and mat floors and minimal decoration. The kids signed the guest book.

This Shinto shrine, one of the oldest in Japan, was moved from Kyoto to Yokohama. Shinto is the ancient religion of Japan emphasizing nature. Most Japanese are Buddhist, but retain ancient Shinto beliefs and use shrines for weddings and other celebrations.
The terrain and vegetation varied throughout the park.

No trip to a tourist site would be complete without a snack! Here the vendor puts a pellet of ice cream into a machine that makes soft serve ice cream cones. Outside, the dog guards the wide variety of sweet and savory snacks.

Next stop was Landmark Tower, Japan's tallest building at 69 floors. We rode up the world's fastest elevator (impressive!) to see views of Yokohama, which has a population of about 3 million but seems larger because it folds into Tokyo, which is located about 30 minutes away. In the far distance of the left side of the second photo above, Mount Fuji is just barely visible. Yokohama amusement park is just below the tower.

Landmark Tower contains a shopping center and everything is especially colorful. The first photo is a Pokemon store.

Yes, there is a Yokohama Hard Rock Cafe! This photo is for Donnie! Lots of people commute by bike.

We walked through the amusement park and then stopped for a dinner that included Japanese noodles and sushi.

We looked back at the city and amusement park as we walked down the pier towards home. Although Yokohama was an ancient fishing village, the city itself did not come into its own until the mid-19th century. Consequently, many parts of the city have the look and feel of a newer American city.