Sights, sounds and smells of Yokohama

For a few weeks now I have been meaning to go down to Yokohama and have a look around there, but for the last few weeks I have only had one day a week off.  Finally this week I had two days off and decided to make the trip.  It is only about a 30 minute train ride from the centre of Tokyo and being a nice sunny spring day, I donned my shorts and a t-shirt, allowing my arms and legs to see the sun for the first time in a few months, and met up with Dan to make the trip to Yokohama.

Yokohama is Japan's second largest city and has a large port that has played an important part in Japan's recent history.  In 1853-54, an American, Commodore Matthew Perry, arrived at Yokohama demanding that Japan open up it's ports for trade and commerce.  A treaty was signed and the Port of Yokohama was officially opened in 1859.  An increasing number of foreigners moved to Yokohama, especially from China, and these people added to the fabric of Yokohama.  The Chinese, especially, contributed a lot to the city of Yokohama (more on this soon).  In 1983 a major urban development began, Minato Mirai 21.  As with Odaiba (visited in one of my previous posts), this area was built on reclaimed land.  In 1993, Yokohama Landmark Tower was opened and at 296m was the tallest building in Japan (and still is I think, although it is dwarfed by the massive tower to the north, Tokyo Skytree which stands a staggering 634m tall!).  Getting off the train at Motomachi-Chuukagai Station, I walked off in search of my first destination of the day.

Yokohama is home to Asia's largest Chinatown (outside of China of course).  It is one of the famous landmarks in Yokohama and draws tens of thousands of tourists weekly.  Huge gates mark the borders of Chinatown.

There are four (I think) of these massive gateways.  The designs are incredibly intricate and detailed.  An awesome sight.

Stepping through the gateway, you are transported to another world.  Walking along the streets of Chinatown is an assault on the senses, in an entirely good way.  The sights, sounds and smells are intense.  From the smell of smoke from the chestnut roasting, to the bright and colourful shops and restaurant signs, to the sounds of shop and restaurant staff trying to convince you to enter their establishments, there is almost too much to take in.  Almost, but I did!

Chinatown is characterised by those amazing small shopping streets (shotengai in Japanese) that I love so much.

A sample of the shops and restaurants around the area.

This was interesting to see!  A little patch of Canada encroaching on Chinatown.

A lot of the restaurants in the area had all you can eat lunch deals with an incredible array of food available!

Yes, it is safe for children as young as three to start their ninja training.

After walking around looking at food signs, my stomach had started talking to me, so I picked out a restaurant and walked in.  The food was great and all of this cost just $8 (except for Dan's dish in the background).

Feeling satisfied and content I moved on and stumbled upon this!

A Buddhist temple looking stunning with it's meticulously detailed decorations.  Some people get sick of seeing these temples and shrines..............I don't.

I stepped out of the temple grounds and found this on a building above me.  Pretty impressive!

Having wandered around Chinatown for a good two hours, I started heading towards the port area.  The smell of the ocean told me that I was close to it, and sure enough, the city soon opened out in to the port area, home to a large garden area that runs along the length of the harbour area.

Not sure who was taking a photo of who!

Here is the reason Japanese gardens are so meticulously maintained and beautiful.  Battalions of gardeners who take great pride in their work.

The view out over the port was sensational.

A view of the 860m long Yokohama Bay bridge.

These next few photos are taken from the top of Osanbashi Pier.  Osanbashi is the oldest pier in Yokohama, originally opened in 1896.  It was rebuilt between 1987 and 2002 and it's current design is much better able to cope with the demands placed on it by cruise ships.  The top, where these photos are taken from, is an observation deck which gives a great 360 degree view of the bay area.

After wandering around on top of Osanbashi pier, I headed off in the direction of the Red Brick Warehouses.  There were some nice spacious garden areas along the walk.

The Red Brick Warehouse buildings were initially used as customs buildings.

These buildings are now filled with shops and restaurants.

This is a lineup outside of one of the restaurants in the building.  It looks very popular.

Upon closer inspection, I found that it's name is Bill.  It is one of Bill Granger's restaurants (Bill Granger is a famous chef in Australia).  Good to see it is popular here.

I decided to call it a day and started heading back to the train station.  Along the way I passed this ferris wheel named Cosmo Clock 21 (the reference clock is to the massive digital clock on one side of it).  At the time it was built (1989), it was the tallest ferris wheel in the world.  The top stands 112m above the ground, and one circuit takes 15 minutes.

This is the previously mentioned Yokohama Landmark Tower.  On the 69th floor there is an observation deck.  The elevator makes takes around 30 or so seconds to make the 290m trip, making the ears pop as you are thrusted toward the top.

Back inside the station, I made my way back to Tokyo.

I stopped off in Shimokitazawa for a couple of beers with some friends (Straun, Charlie and Leigh)

Satisfied after another great day out exploring, and tired after walking around Yokohama for 4 hours, I slept very well last night.

Well, that's it for another week.  I'm actually starting to compile quite a list of places to visit.  Many of my students are recommending places for me to go and see, so I don't think I will run out of places to explore any time soon!  Thanks again for reading.  I hope you are enjoying it!

See you next week.

The pursuit of perfection and random thoughts

I had planned to head down to Yokohama today and have an explore around Chinatown there.  It is the biggest Chinatown in Japan and even has a museum nearby dedicated to Ramen!  I have been there once, but once is not enough!  I woke up this morning not feeling too well and decided against making the trip so I am planning to head to Yokohama next week.

The last 2 weeks I have only taken one day off each week as it has been one of the traditional holiday periods in Japan, which means I am busier than usual.   This holiday period is called Golden Week and there are about 5 public holidays that fall at this time and Japanese people are usually able to take 7 - 10 days off.  Being that it was busier at work for us, I decided to work a couple of extra days.

Japanese workers technically receive 20 paid holiday days each year which can technically be taken any time.  In reality, it is very rare for them to be able to take all 20 days off each year.  They are also pretty much only able to take time off during 3 traditional holiday periods.  The Golden Week vacation, also Obon, the traditional summer vacation in August where people usually go back to their hometowns and spend time remembering dead relatives.  You can read more about it here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival).  The third and final one is Winter holidays where a lot of Japanese companies and shops close down over the New Year period.

I finished work early yesterday as I wanted to head along to a concert last night.  The band that I wanted to see is called Fade.  They are a Japanese rock band consisting of 4 Japanese and 1 American.  The American guy (Jon) is the singer and during my first stint living in Japan (from 2000 - 2004) I lived with him.  At that stage the band was just starting out in Japan, having started in New York.  I kept up with how they were doing.  They actually became quite successful and have had one of their songs featured on a movie soundtrack and also made the intro theme song for the TV animation "Deadman Wonderland"  I bought each of their albums that were released and really enjoy their music now.

So I wanted to go along to watch them for the first time in 9 years!  They were playing halfway down a line-up in a small intimate concert hall in Shimokitazawa.  I got there at about 8:30 and asked the lady at the ticket box what time Fade were on and she said they were on now, so I rushed into the hall, and they had just started their set.  They were great and I had a huge time, I only wish more people had turned out, but at the end of the holiday period, people were probably just wanting to relax after their first day back at work.

For those who are interested, here are a couple of links to a couple of their songs on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpj0YlKjctM 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEu8cFCD_T8 

and their website:

http://fadeonline.com/ 

My favourite Japanese food is okonomiyaki which is like a savoury Japanese pancake.  There are two varieties, one originating from Osaka and one from Hiroshima.  I prefer the Hiroshima style better as it has less batter and sandwiched between a top consisting of a crepe like pancake, and an egg base is a filling of noodles, cabbage, bean sprouts, bacon, and, well anything that you like really.  The word "okonomiyaki" translated into English means "any way you like it" so the choices are only limited to what the shop has for ingredients.

My first experience of Hiroshima okonomiyaki came when I was living here previously and was relief teaching at a school in Shimokitazawa and one of the teachers took me to an okonomiyaki restaurant for lunch.  The first mouthful was a revelation.  So many delicious flavours!  That restaurant quickly became my favourite and when I came back, I was looking forward to going back there for more.  Unfortunately it had closed and had been replaced by a ramen soup noodles shop!  I decided that one of my priorities was now to find a new favourite Hiroshima okonomiyaki restaurant.  I have tried a few, but nothing comes close to my old favourite restaurant.

One of my students heard about my desperate plight and took it upon himself to trawl through a Japanese language restaurant info website and found a couple within walking distance from work.  The problem has been that when it is quiet during the afternoon at work for me, they are not open and they are open when I can't get there.  I had tried one of the ones he suggested and while it was good, it didn't quite match up to expectations, but I will still go back there.  The second one is actually a restaurant that is a sister to one in Hiroshima, so I have been looking forward to trying it.  One Saturday night a couple of weeks ago I headed there after work only to find that they had a private party that had booked out the restaurant, so I wasn't able to try it.  Tonight I decided to make the 45 minute trip from home to have another attempt seeing as it was a day off work for me.  I got all the way there and they were closed!!  It feels as though the universe is conspiring against me in my quest to find my ultimate okonomiyaki experience, but I will not be beaten!  I will try again next week on one of my days off.

Here is a picture of what this culinary masterpiece looks like.

And here is a video of okonomiyaki being cooked in a building in Hiroshima that is dedicated to okonomiyaki!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruy6Ao3U86E 

Anyway, I'll leave it there for this week.  Sorry there were no explorations to write about this week, but they will return next week!

I have also updated last weeks post with Hishimo's (the restaurant that I had dinner at) website.

If anyone reading has any questions about Japan, or life in Japan, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer, or some of my Japanese readers may be able to provide some insight as well.

Until next week, take care, and thanks for reading.

And now, for my favourite place.......Shimokitazawa

When I was getting ready to move back to Japan, one of the most important things I had to do is decide where I wanted to live.  I decided I wanted to live in the same area that I had done when I was here before.  I was familiar with the area, it was a nice area, and not far away there was a simply amazing little place called Shimokitazawa.  

Shimokita as it is affectionately known is loved by the hip and trendy crowd who shun the more built up, mainstream areas of Shinjuku and Shibuya.  It is an area popular with the young, and popular with people who have a love of the arts, or who are artists, musicians, writers etc themselves.  It has a very active live music and theatre scene.  I love it because it has a vibrant atmosphere and wonderfully interesting small shopping streets that have an amazing array of little shops, cafes, bars and restaurants of every variety imaginable!  There are an enormous amount of small shops in the area selling everything from fashion to household goods to donuts to..........everything!!  And everything in between! As you can probably tell, I like Shimokita!  But enough of the ranting, how about some pictures so you can see for yourself.

Shimokita is only 2 express train stops from my home station (about 5 minutes), so I took the 8 minute walk from home to the station.  

Trains in Japan are interesting in themselves.  People doing anything from talking to friends, texting others, surfing the net on their phones, reading a paper or just listening to music.  The inside of the trains are covered in print advertisements to keep people busy if they want to read them.

The station is currently undergoing some major renovations that has involved sending one of the two train lines that intersect Shimokita underground, so the station has a bit of a temporary feel to it.

Unfortunately the first thing you see when you step out of the station is something that is not Japanese, but it has always been like that in all of my time in Japan.

I'll let the pictures do the talking for a while.  Here are a selection of some of the shops you will find in Shimokita:

(Karaoke)

There are a couple of amusement arcades in the neighbourhood and these are always packed with young people and the noise of hundreds of video games washes out onto the street whenever the doors open.

In Shimokita, even KFC has a restaurant serving alcohol!

Is this a rhetorical question?

As mentioned before, Shimokita is loaded with restaurants of nearly every cuisine imaginable (although I don't recall having seen an African resaurant, that might be a business opening for someone!)

Ramen

Italian and Mexican

beef bowl, curry rice and lots of other dishes

Steak and Hamburg (as it is know in Japan, it is not a burger, just the meat pattie)

Hiroshima style okonomiyaki which is a savoury pancake with cabbage, pork, green onions, noodles etc (my favourite Japanese food!)

I'm not sure, but probably and izakaya (Japanese dining bar, or like a Japanese tapas bar)

Hamburgers

Natto (fermented soy beans) from a vending machine!

Another one of the things that makes Shimokita special is that it's streets are so narrow that the only cars that are brave enough to make their way along them are the highly skilled taxi drivers. This makes it quite safe to walk down the middle of the street.

By this time I was feeling a bit hungry so I contacted a friend Charlie who lives in Shimokita and organised to meet him at one of our favourite little restaurant/bars called Hishimo.  The owner, Hiroki, and his staff are incredibly friendly people who always have time for a chat, even as they are madly cooking and working away to get the food they create out to their diners.  Hishimo doesn't specialise in any one kind of food.  What they do specialise in, however, is making incredibly delicious food influenced from spices all around the world.  In fact, you can smell the spices in the air as soon as you walk in the doors.  It is an amazing smell that any food lover would find irresistible.  

Mmmmm, Blair's After Death chilli sauce, not for the faint hearted!

The spices that they create their delicious blends from!

Hiroki, the owner.

Here are a couple of their dishes that they prepared during the time we were there.

Lamb, my favourite red meat!!

mussels cooked in broth

Spanish omelette

Chili beans on rice.

Hiroki explained to me one time I was there how it is that Shimokita has retained the atmosphere it has, and kept the small shops, cafes , bars and restaurants that make the area unique.  He told me that towards the end of WWII, Shimokita was not damaged in the constant bombings that occurred, so the land and property remained in the hands of the original owners, in many cases, individuals, rather than big corporations who are only looking to make a large profit who would allow large shops and malls to be introduced to the area.  I personally am thankful for that!

Here is Hishimo's website (http://hishijapan.com/hishi/) which is in Japanese only, but if you view it with Google translate, you can see it in English.  Hiroki has told me that they are working on an English website at the moment.  They also have a facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/hishimokita)

If you are thinking of heading to Shimokitazawa for dinner, I truly recommend Hishimo, your taste buds will thank you for it!!

Well that's it for today.  I did take a whole lot more photos, but I have used enough of your time.  Thanks for allowing me to take you to my favourite place in Tokyo.  I hope I was able to do it justice and that you were able to get an idea of what the place feels like.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week.