Walk around Yokohama
{ Japan April 2010 - Day 5 - Yokohama }
After spending the last few days all around Tokyo - Shinjuku, Roppongi Hills, Shibuya, Central Tokyo and Odaiba - we decided that it was time to visit the Japan's second largest city, Yokohama. We spent some time walking around Minato Mirai before going to Chinatown for dinner.
Walk around Minato Mirai
Minato Mirai's full name is Minato Mirai 21 (みなとみらい21) which means Future Harbour 21. The 21 in the name indicates the 21st century. It was built on reclaimed land and housed Japan's tallest building, Landmark Tower. We took a walk around the area, starting from Minato Mirai Station.
Right outside the station was Cosmo World with a large ferris wheel. The ferris wheel which doubled as a clock is the tallest in Japan with 112.5 metres in height. Personally, I prefer this type of ferris wheel compared to the Singapore Flyer in Singapore (click here for the photos). The amusement park looked pretty big with lots of rides, but we did not go in.
Before long, we reached a small park by the harbour. As usual, there were sakura trees and many people were having picnics around the area. The sakura in the park has already started falling.
We continued walking along the harbour and finally reached the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse which is known as Yokohama Akarenga Sōko (横浜赤レンガ倉庫). There were 2 buildings that were originally completed in 1905 and used to be warehouses at the pier. They have since been converted to a complex that housed shopping mall and other event halls.
When we were there, there were a small display of flowers between the two buildings. I believed it was in celebration of the spring! After having coffee under the amazing blue sky and the great weather, we took a train to Chinatown.
Chinatown
The Yokohama Chinatown or as they called it in Japanese, yokohama chūkagai (横浜中華街), is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. We walked around the area, visiting the Chinese temples and had our dinner there. We thought that after having Japanese food for so many days, we should have Chinese food. Unfortunately, the Chinese food here were not authentic and was more like a fusion between Japanese and Chinese food. After dinner, we went home to pack and get ready for our trip to Kyoto and Osaka early next morning.
{ Minato Mirai } The full name is Minato Mirai 21 (みなとみらい21) which means Future Harbour 21. It can be reached on the Minato Mirai Station. Cosmo World, a theme park with Japan's largest ferris wheel, is just right outside the train station. Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse which is known as Yokohama Akarenga Sōko (横浜赤レンガ倉庫) is within walking distance.
{ Yokohama Chinatown } Called yokohama chūkagai (横浜中華街) in Japanese, it is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It can be reached by the train.
After spending the last few days all around Tokyo - Shinjuku, Roppongi Hills, Shibuya, Central Tokyo and Odaiba - we decided that it was time to visit the Japan's second largest city, Yokohama. We spent some time walking around Minato Mirai before going to Chinatown for dinner.
Walk around Minato Mirai
Minato Mirai's full name is Minato Mirai 21 (みなとみらい21) which means Future Harbour 21. The 21 in the name indicates the 21st century. It was built on reclaimed land and housed Japan's tallest building, Landmark Tower. We took a walk around the area, starting from Minato Mirai Station.
Right outside the station was Cosmo World with a large ferris wheel. The ferris wheel which doubled as a clock is the tallest in Japan with 112.5 metres in height. Personally, I prefer this type of ferris wheel compared to the Singapore Flyer in Singapore (click here for the photos). The amusement park looked pretty big with lots of rides, but we did not go in.
Before long, we reached a small park by the harbour. As usual, there were sakura trees and many people were having picnics around the area. The sakura in the park has already started falling.
We continued walking along the harbour and finally reached the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse which is known as Yokohama Akarenga Sōko (横浜赤レンガ倉庫). There were 2 buildings that were originally completed in 1905 and used to be warehouses at the pier. They have since been converted to a complex that housed shopping mall and other event halls.
When we were there, there were a small display of flowers between the two buildings. I believed it was in celebration of the spring! After having coffee under the amazing blue sky and the great weather, we took a train to Chinatown.
Chinatown
The Yokohama Chinatown or as they called it in Japanese, yokohama chūkagai (横浜中華街), is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. We walked around the area, visiting the Chinese temples and had our dinner there. We thought that after having Japanese food for so many days, we should have Chinese food. Unfortunately, the Chinese food here were not authentic and was more like a fusion between Japanese and Chinese food. After dinner, we went home to pack and get ready for our trip to Kyoto and Osaka early next morning.
::: Footnotes :::
{ Yokohama Chinatown } Called yokohama chūkagai (横浜中華街) in Japanese, it is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It can be reached by the train.
