Yokohama – An attractive port city
As our Japanese campervan tour was nearing the end our next location to visit was Yokohama. In the planning stages of this trip it was not a must see for us. This was partly because we are not really fans of cities and would already be seeing Tokyo and Kyoto. Despite this the drive to Tokyo would have been very long and stopping at Yokohama seemed a logical choice. I had also seen some interesting photographs taken at night, so it appealed to me.
Yokohama – A modern, confident city
As we neared the city we decided to look online for a cheap Yokohama hotel. We had slept most nights in the Bongo campervan but now we wanted more luxury. The following night we would head back to the Mount Fuji area which was to be our last night in the campervan. We would be giving back the campervan back in 2 days, and spending our last two nights in Tokyo where we had a hotel already booked.
We ended up booking Best Western Yokohama for an excellent price. The only downside as it turned out was that it was located some distance from the sights we wanted to see. It was not a problem though as the city has a very efficient and reasonably priced metro system. The hotel did not have free parking but they recommended the nearby Olympus car park at a decent rate. Once checked in we took showers and changed clothes. The room was small but it would be fine for a one night stay.
Before taking the subway we both decided that we really needed to eat something. We didn’t have to look far for a Yokohama restaurant, there were a number opposite the hotel. After the meal we walked to the subway and caught the train downtown. While on the metro I decided to engage in some sneaky street photography of the locals.
Yokohama is Japan’s 2nd largest city with a population over 3 million. It has one of the World’s largest Chinatowns and is also popular with expats. The region we wanted to concentrate on was the marina / harbour area. There are a number of photogenic things at night that are illuminated. These include the Nippon Maru, a museum ship that is permanently moored here. Also of interest is Cosmo Clock 21, a ferris wheel that dominates the harbour.
Ewelina and I only spent a couple of hours downtown. We were both very tired after the day’s long drive and keen to go to bed. Despite us not really being ‘city’ people we both enjoyed Yokohama. It’s large enough that you don’t feel cramped and feels modern and clean. It has all the facilities you could want and is really worthy of a visit. If you would like to know more about Yokohama the following website should prove useful.