Yokohama

Win and Yusuke-san

Training ship Nipponmaru from the ferris wheel

Intercontinental Hotel and Yokohama port from the ferris wheel

Enoshima Island

Hands of the Great Buddha, Kamakura

Junko-san, B, Ritsuko-san, W in front of the Great Buddha

13 February 2012

We set out by train for Yokohama Saturday morning, arriving uneventfully at the Intercontinental Hotel in Minato Mirai just before noon.  Junko's mother had made the arrangements herself, having decided our original choice of hotel would not give us the correct impression of the city.   Well, you really can't beat the view from a large window on the 26th floor looking out over Yokohama Harbor!  Mirato Mirai is the extensive water front development in Yokohama, which makes Boston seem like a small town in comparison.   Yusuke, a student Win had met on the plane in Dec picked us up at the hotel, and we went out to lunch and had a whirlwind tour of the city, including the waterfront, Chinatown (the largest in Japan), and the foreigners' cemetery, dating back to the early 20th century.  In the late afternoon, Junko met us and brought us to her mother's home for dinner.  This was such a memorable occasion that it will be a separate entry.

Sunday was clear, sunny and remarkably warm.  With Junko and Ritsuko, we took the train to nearby Kamakua, an old seaside town of temples, shrines and tourists.  We visited the Hachiman-gu Shrine, a nearby garden with a gorgeous display of blooming peonies, and then the statue of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu), cast in 1252 and a survivor of fire, earthquakes, tidal waves etc.  It seems to have an eternal calm.  After this we had lunch and then took the old train to catch the old boat to Enoshima Iwaya Cave facing Sagami Bay and Fujisan in the distance.  It is said that the caves lead to Fujisan; also that the legend of a heavenly maiden and a terrible dragon originated in the cave.  In any event, it was fun to walk along the rocky shore and walk into the caves holding a candle to keep from knocking one's head.  I think these were places Junko and her sisters visited frequently as children. 
We had a wonderful Chinese dinner (incuding shark fin soup, Peking duck) at a restaurant in Yokohama, all arranged by Seiko-san (their mother). 

Monday we decided to take a turn on the ferris wheel, one of the largest in Japan (takes about 15min to go around once).  I thought it would be terrifying, but the day was calm and the motion mercifully minimal.  The maritime museum was unfortunately closed, so we peeked into the nearby CUPNOODLES MUSEUM, dedicated to Momofuku Ando, a clever man who alone invented ramen packets in 1958 and went on to make his fortune with Nissin food products, most especially cupnoodles.  At the museum, you can make your own individual package of cupnoodles with your own label and flavors and also make noodles - looked like fun but we didn't do it...very entertaining!

Then back to Kyoto.

Love from both of us-