Day 66 - Yokohama

Day 66 – Monday 17^th March 2014 – Yokohama

After breakfast in the Britannia Restaurant, we were ashore for 10.00, given guidance and maps from the tourist office in the passenger building.

The next hour and a half was spent going between the Post Office and Banks, trying to extract Japanese Yen from the cash machines; eventually this was achieved and I now know how the system works.

Yokohama Port

   

Yokohama Bridge

Not too far away is the Marine Tower built in 1961 and 106 metres high.  With it being a fine sunny day; the views from the observation platform were spectacular.  The views over the port and city skyline, and onwards to Tokyo, situated 18 miles away. 

The suspension bridge from our advantage point; it was unbelievable the ship got underneath it.

Motomachi

From up here, I was trying to work out the parts of Yokohama, I had been to before.  Of course, after forty years the skyline had changed, and there is now a six lane built up highway, passing through the district I used to know.

 After leaving the tower, we went to the Motomachi, (shopping area), which I used to know and I was really disappointed.  All of the shop fronts had been Westernised, the side streets where the bar/restaurants used to be had mostly gone, but some people call this progress.

We now resorted to Plan B, as Colin had been in Tokyo twenty years ago and travelled a lot by train. We went into the nearby Isikawacho Station and purchased return tickets to Tokyo, an overland journey of three quarters of an hour.  Of course, this city is one of the most populace cities in the world, with the hustle and bustle it creates, exhilarating.

Main Street, Ginza

Ginza

       

Not far from the station is the area known as Ginza which is the main shopping area, with all of the big name brands here and surrounded by office blocks. 

We were shopping for beer and could not believe most of the places we went into were closed, and did not open until 5 or 6 o’ clock.  Eventually, we found a basement bar and had an expensive cooling beer.

This is not our idea of having fun, a city with no beer, and decided to head back to Yokohama.

Tokyo, Main Railway Station

  

Kanni Station

I was very impressed with the local train services which run very frequently, they are clean with explanations in English by signs and voice.  We left the train at Kanni station and walked back to the ship through the Shinko area. 

This is a very modern area with earthquake proof high rise buildings.

Nippon Maru

In amongst these structures is the sailing training fully rigged sail training vessel ‘Nippon Maru’, very well preserved and floating in a dock, and beyond there was a very large fair ground.  With its ferris wheel and big dippers.  Towards the ship, the old warehouses have been converted into shops and restaurants; people were around in there thousands.

They all must like their evening strolls and with the fine weather and the attraction of the big ship, they were all here to take in the scene and enjoy themselves.

We ambled or found our way through this enormous crowd back to the ship for 19.30 and into dinner for 20.30 of soup/salad/veal/cheesecake.

The ship’s staff have been very busy with 700 passengers leaving today, so a fond farewell, to our Australian friends, to be replaced by just as many, with mixture of Japanese and Europeans.

The excitement of the build up to us leaving was very evident on the passenger terminal, and surrounding quays, they were crammed in everywhere.  We had to hold back until low water before leaving the quay to a crescendo of noise from the hundreds of people at the terminal and on the quay.  Flags and stick lights waving, shouts of sayounara (goodbye) from the quay and the ship, an absolute wonderful send off and not forgetting this is eleven o’clock at night.

Under the Bridge

The ship was lined up and we passed under the bridge at 23.30 with two metres clearance from the top of the funnel to the underneath of the bridge. There were people on the bridge and on the ship whopping and a hollering as we passed under.  A wonderful piece of seamanship.

What a day, it had been absolutely marvellous.