We arrived back in Yokohama this morning, the port we left from 9 days ago. This is the end of our first cruise and the turnaround point for our next one. Some people will disembark today and new travelers will come aboard. When we were here before, we thought it would be nice to spend some time in Yokohama instead of going back to Tokyo. There is a free shuttle from the ship into the city and this seems like a good starting point for our day. Surprisingly, Glenn is keen for coffee but I decided I would have my coffee with a view today. The Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden is on the 69th floor of the building some 273m up. The observation deck has 360 degree views and the ride to get there is in Japan's fastest elevator. Maximum travel speed of 750m/minute we go from the 2nd to the 69th floor in 40 seconds. The view is pretty good as it is a fine day but the haze in the distance makes seeing Mt Fuji very difficult. You can make out the outline of the mountain but certainly not the normal postcard view you imagine. The rest of the city is beautiful though. My coffee with a view, well yes there is a cafe on this floor and we even got 2 for the price of 1 and it's was real coffee not 43 beans! There is floors and floors of shopping in every building we go into. We went across to the Minatomirai Station with the intention to catch the train somewhere...... But why would you want to spend time underground when there is so much to see outside. One of the highlights of my day was to find a dog cafe. Firstly just thinking it was like a doggy boutique and dog friendly coffee shop, I didn't bargain on just how dog friendly. Inside the cafe, sitting at the tables were 2 ladies and their 2 little dogs. The dogs had ' clothes on' , ribbons in their hair and were sitting on their own padded chairs with water bowls in front of them and their owners were feeding them with chopsticks! It was very cute and the puppies were very cute despite their over bites! Within the Shinko district there is Yokohama Cosmo World, an amusement park with rides and a huge Ferris wheel. Every city we have been to has a giant Ferris wheel along the lines of the London Eye. The tourist bus is so crowded we decide to walk. You see so much more walking around than we would on the crowded bus. The port area is very beautiful, very clean. Further along past the Shinko Central Plaza we come across what looks to be some sort of official police ceremony. It may be a graduation or something similar but it's definitely very important. There's a brass band and the motor cycle police are all in full uniform, their bikes all lined up perfectly and sparkling. The cars and the patrol men and also looking very schmick. Some important people turn up in black cars, black suits and there is an excessive amount of bowing and head bobbing going on so clearly these are the big wigs. The band starts to play and it's all happening. Having no idea what it's all about, we move on. From the ship this morning we could see 2 red brick warehouses across the way, from the distance they appeared to be restaurants or maybe residential. We are heading to them to have a look. Surprisingly the are called Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse 1 and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse 2! They were built during the Meiji Era as a model warehouse representing Japan no. 2 was completed in 1911 and No. 1 in 1913. They used to be the same length but No. 1 was half destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Today the buildings are 3 floors full of cafes, restaurants, street food of all types and large spaces full of boutique type shops selling clothes, jewelry, home wares, toys almost anything really. A bit of an upmarket covered market. Very busy and popular with locals. Time is getting on and the worms are biting so we stroll back to the ship to have some lunch. We still have an hour before all aboard time so we go back to the terminal to take advantage of the free wifi. Back on board we have to go through the same safety briefing as tecnically this is the beginning of a new cruise. Our routine doesn't change but to see all the new people wandering around aimlessly trying to find their way back to their cabins or the restaurant is amusing and to think that was us only 9 days ago, it's amazing how quick you adapt. We decide to do sail away tonight from our own balcony so Glenn grabbed a bucket of Mexican beer Cerveza DosEquis XX and I had a frozen Marguarita and we headed back to our room with our own tasty bar snacks. For the record Dennis, Glenn has tried Asahi but prefers Sapporo but has not had the Kirin yet. My favourite cocktail besides the Marguarita is the Beverley Hills Ice Tea ( gin, white rum, Cointreau, tequila, lemon juice and champagne). Thankfully our dinner waiters have not changed but they are definitely put to the test tonight. The table next to us are so rude and demanding, I feel really sorry for the boys as it seems nothing they do us right. The food is excellent and the service is fantastic. As we leave port this evening, we are warned of the possibility of some more Rockin and Rollin .....they were not wrong!