Yokohama, Japan

Dear lovely reader,

Kon'nichiwa from Yokohama, Japan!! WE MADE IT!!! :D Our very first international port greeted us with the sun and the nippy weather of 45 degrees, on the morning of Sunday, January 27th. After 9 very long and very rough days at sea, we arrived in this beautiful country, safely and soundly. Before I arrived here, I think I had an idea of what Japan could be like, just because I’m an anime and manga fan-girl at heart. But it’s so much more than what pop culture gives it. And hopefully through this blog, you lovely reader, can see it too. Throughout my four days and three nights in Japan, I will create posts for each city I explored with open eyes: Yokohama, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe.

Bridget, Angela, and I had no field labs and no field programs on the first day. So we roamed around the city of Yokohama with no real destination. But Yokohama is a city where walking is most commonly used as transportation. It’s pretty refreshing to see how far you can go with less energy consumption. When you see locals walking by, they very much keep to themselves. That first morning of Yokohama was peaceful and quiet – an appropriate setting for foreigners to mold themselves into. There’s this feeling that happens right after you set foot outside the port terminal, after you check your passport and finish immigration. I can’t quite explain it, but you feel anxious, beauty, and wonder all at once. No matter where you go, no matter which corner you turn at, there’s always something you haven’t seen before, regardless of where you’re from. And you just get so wrapped up in using all your senses at once – taste, touch, sight, sound, smell. It’s really, truly one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt.

The city of Yokohama is as calm as the water that surrounds her. Once we walked around a few blocks, we decided to eat at a sweet and petite café. Our first restaurant experience in Japan was different but really cool. The waitress was kind and courteous to dance our way around the language barrier between us. But being our first time interacting with locals, a nod, gesture, and smile was enough to get our meal in our bellys. I will just say, one of the most scrumptious and expensive hamburgers I have ever had. But no worries, I wasn’t going to eat hamburgers all day in Yokohama. I learned that in Japan, tip isn’t really at restaurants, probably because it’s already included in the meals. Also, you it’s really easy to pay individually without the hassle of combining money from each person. Japanese hosts and hostesses at restaurants are extremely considerate and patient when it comes to sit-down meals. It’s a little hard to get that at American restaurants. The atmosphere is so calm-mannered between both parties in Japan, that everyone is satisfied and content. I really like that.

Afterwards, Bridget, Angela, and I walked more around Yokohama. We walked by an outdoor and full skating rink. Everyone looked so happy skating across the rink. Figure Skating is very popular in Japan, seeing that the best in the world in skating has represented Japan for almost a decade now. It made me miss skating, a lot a lot. But I know that passion never really fades away unless you let it, and my home rink will still be there when I come back. Near the skating rink, there was this very big public plaza, where an advertisement market was there selling their brands and handing out flyers. It was really cool to see how public space was used in this setting. There were steps surrounding this high-story building, where locals would sit with their friends and family, just sitting, eating, and relaxing. When we walked inside, it was actually a mall. But the difference was that this mall had about a six feet aisle that separated both sides of open shops. No doors or anything, just continuous shopping from one end to the other. It could be a little chaotic, got lost from Bridget and Angela a couple times haha.

Our next stop was CosmoWorld, where we went on the second largest Ferris Wheel in the world. It was pretty spectacular as we slowly went higher and higher and saw Yokohama from above. You could see the streets, the locals, the skyscrapers, the clouds, the sun, the water around Yokohama’s port. We took pictures and enjoyed the calm view as the ride ended. CosmoWorld is an amusement that was built right in the middle of the Yokohama, you could see the entire park from the street across it. It had rollercoasters, and a huge arcade. From seeing the cities of Japan, they are very big on arcades and games. It’s no wonder about that. I think Japan does very well at appealing to its teen and young adult audience. There are a lot of outlets where I can see students come and hang out after school. It’s very accessible too, seeing that everything in Yokohama is within walking distance. Got me a green mushroom keychain from Super Mario. I figured that if I carry this around, I’ll always have an extra life on me wherever I go hehe.

Across the street from CosmoWorld, was the Cup Noodles Museum, an outlet to preserve the memories, dedication, and founder of Cup Noodles Ramen, Momofuku Ando. When you walk inside the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, you can see a room full of cases of all the instant ramen ever created by the year they were born. It was incredible. I haven’t had ramen in so long up until Japan. And I think it was really fascinating to see how much ramen there is in the world. I really only eat the standard Chicken/Shrimp Cup Noodles. I love ramen so much haha, myah! We later stepped into a mini theater as it broadcasted the life of Momofuku Ando. He worked countless and sleepless nights in his workshop until one day, the idea of instant ramen noodles finally clicked. The first invention was Chicken Ramen in 1958. Many businesses tried to copy the idea of instant ramen, until Momofuku Ando thought of the idea of putting the date the ramen noodles was manufactured, to separate the imitating instant ramen noodles from his. On a fact finding trip to America, Momofuku Ando observes super market managers breaking up Chicken Ramen noodles, putting them in a cup, pouring in hot water, and then eating them with a fork. Cup Noodles in 1971 transformed “made in Japan” instant ramen into a global food. Lastly, pursuing his long held dream to invent a ramen that can be eaten in space, Momofuku started work on Space Ramen in 2005. Momofuku Ando dedicated his entire life to thinking about food in new and creative ways. Throughout his 96 years, he practiced creative thinking and never quit until he achieved his goal. Every time I eat Cup Noodles, I’ll definitely think of Momofuku Ando.

I’ll post as many pictures as I can separately, after this blog. The blog after that will contain Tokyo backpacking adventures! Thank you for reading this blog in its entirety lovely reader.

All love and hope,

Kimmy