After a relaxing one day sail (no classes or meetings!) we arrived in Yokohoma on Thursday and had two days to explore the area. Yokohama is a relatively quiet city located about an hour south of Tokyo along the coast.

I spent two days mostly roaming around Tokyo and decided to travel with some friends both days. While I found my solo kyoto experience rewarding, I think I realized that it was ready for some more social travel. Both days I took the Japan Railway to Tokyo (about 40 minutes) and explored different parts of the city. We walked around Shibuya (the Times Square of Japan), Roppongi, Ginza, and Tsukiji (location of the famous markets).

A couple of things about Japan and Tokyo. First of all, Japan is expensive. Everything is marked up and there really was no shopping for bargains. Secondly, there seems to be an extremely strong work ethic. In all the cities I visited, one of busiest subway times was around 11pm when the thousands of 'japanese businessmen' were commuting home, half asleep in their suits. I often wondered to myself what all these men in suits actually do? Are they all well educated? Or perhaps the dress is just part of the culture? Was working 100 hrs a week necessary to afford the high cost of living?

The first day I headed in with a group of coworkers into Shibuya which was a bustling and bright city center of sorts for Tokyo. We walked through Yoyogi park that had beautifully blooming cherry blossom trees and some famous shopping and fashion streets (takesheta dori). Let me tell you, this was probably some of the best people watching you can find, especially given the vibrant tokyo fashion trends. I seriously felt like i stood out because I was dressed so plainly...I was kinda missing my cha-hawk. The group had a couple split offs and towards dinner time, me, Kate, and Andrea headed to Roppongi (midtown) for dinner where we enjoyed some sushi and sake. Given the high prices and relatively easy commute, we all headed back and slept on the ship.

The second day I was excited to travel with Alice and Amy to check out the world famous Tsukiji Fish market at the "but crack of dawn" (we had to leave at 5am). Alice and Amy are a lot of fun to travel with because we all really love Asian food and enjoy reconnecting with our Asian roots and culture. The fish market did not disappoint as I left with a perma-grin after seeing some of the largest fish in my life and sampling some fresh tuna sashimi for cheap.

Amy was born and raised in Okinawa and I enjoyed learning little tidbits about Japanese culture and food, as well as learning more about her story growing up in Japan. We headed back around noon to spend some time in exploring Yokohama where we found some amazing soba, udon, and kare (curry). I split off for the last few hours and enjoyed one of the most gorgeous weather days that I can remember on this voyage. I took a power nap in a park by the ocean, walked around and took pictures, and walked through Yohohama's huge chinatown.

Both days of this port were relatively laid back with little agenda items. Japan had a very unique feel to it relative to the rest of our Asia ports. It seemed very modern, clean, and structured...especially juxtaposed to my experiences in Vietnam and Thailand. Even Kyoto and Kobe felt a lot different then Tokyo, so it was nice to experience the different sides of Japan.

btw1...Masaki, thought about you, wish you could have been there
btw2...sticker pictures are actually a lot of fun!
btw3...next visit to japan, i'll have to conquer mt. fuji