Yokohama and Yosakoi Folks

This morning we decided to sleep in a bit (9:00ish) as we've had a very busy last three days. Also, it's raining quite a bit, and with plans limited for the day and packing to be done, there's no urgency to get out of the house unlike our jam-packed days before.

Yesterday was fantastic, with an early start to catch a train from Nishichiba station to take a trip around Tokyo Bay to the city of Yokohama. Before he headed off, we grabbed breakfast at Sukiya, a fast food restaurant (I likened it to Waffle House) by the station. I had donburi, which was beef over rice covered in green onions. As is typical with that type of breakfast, it was served with a raw egg, which Rochelle told me to crack and separate, putting the white in a bowl and putting the yolk on top of the food to mix in. While I'm not a huge raw egg person, I did learn to eat runny yolk a few years back on a trip to London (after all, it was part of an English breakfast), and I try to eat everything when I travel to get the most authentic experience possible. I enjoyed the meal, and the egg added a bit of creaminess to the rice.

Breakfast - topped with a raw egg.

After we had finished breakfast, stopped by an ATM, and grabbed a drink from the convenience store (grapefruit Fanta - delicious!), we caught a train at Nishichiba station to head to Yokohama (with a transfer along the way). Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan after Tokyo, with almost four million people, and is located just south of Tokyo, on the western side of the Bay, across from Chiba. The trip took about 90 minutes, passing through a steady drizzle along the way.

It was still raining when we arrived in Yokohama, and with umbrellas we made the five minute walk from the station to the waterfront, passing a nice old city hall building along the way. The waterfront was very nice, with park space and a promenade, and as we walked the rain lessened and the sun began to sneak through.

I knew of Yokohama from architecture school, where we had looked at the Yokohama International Passenger Terminal in classes. Rochelle and I explored the terminal, walking the length of the undulating roof and checking out the inside. The building was very nice, though it was surprising how few people were around.

The roof of Yokohama International Passenger Terminal.

From the terminal, we headed north along the coast, checking out some historic brick warehouses which were used as customs houses in the early 20th century along the walk to our next stop, a museum. The museum we visited was fairly unconventional; not dedicated to art or science or history, the museum exists to celebrate the creation of one of Japan's greatest inventors, Momofuku Ando.

The Cup Noodle Museum (yes, really, a museum dedicated to instant ramen served in a styrofoam cup), was a really great place to visit. The building itself was really cool, the exhibits and movie about the history of the product was interesting, and we got to make our own cup noodle mix to take home. We had a great time, and I would recommend a visit!

After the museum we walked toward the convention center and out to Rinko Park on the coast, before doubling back to head to Sakuragicho Station, passing the Nippon Maru, and old naval sailing ship, along the way. We took the train north to Shinyokohama, a newer area of Yokohama further inland, surrounded by high rises. We explored the area around the station on our way to a place called Ra-haku.

Ra-haku is a three-story museum complex dedicated to the history of ramen. Themed like the back streets of Tokyo in the 1950s (the Showa period), the museum also has nine active restaurants representing the different styles of ramen from around Japan. We perused the selection and decided to first try tokotsu ramen made from pork bone. I had the regular and Rochelle had hers with miso added. We got the "small" sizes so that we could try other types, but they were far from small. Nonetheless, after checking out the other places, we decided on a second store to try. This time I tried a soy sauce ramen with and Rochelle got one with a miso base. They were very different from the first round, but I also really enjoyed them.

Our first round of ramen.

Our second round of ramen.

With very full stomachs, we headed back to the station to catch a train back to Chiba. Halfway through the trip, we were able to snag seats, which was nice. Once back in Chiba, we hurried to catch a shuttle bus to head to Marine Stadium for a game of Japan's favorite pastime: baseball! Yes, Japan has a love of baseball that dates back to the 1870s, and I was told that many Japanese don't realize that baseball is a sport enjoyed in America as well.

We had seats in the "cheering section" which I would liken to the environment of a college football game student section. There was a pep band of trumpets and drums, everyone was decked out in team gear, and people took turns on a megaphone, leading the crowd in coordinated cheers and songs. During the game we enjoyed some food. While Rochelle opted for a slightly more American snack (chips and fried chicken) I went for a more Japanese approach of edamame and a seaweed wrapped rice ball with salted pork in the center. It was funny to see everyone in the stands eating sushi, rice, and other things you wouldn't see at a Braves game with chopsticks.

Japanese fare at the baseball game.

The game was an exciting 3-2 victory for the Marines and we were satisfied and ready to call it a night.

Watching the game.

But on the shuttle bus back to the station, we happened to run into two people from Rochelle's Yosakoi team. They invited us to join them for dinner, and we all headed to a restaurant near the station. While they didn't speak much English, Rochelle served as an interpreter (convenient - as she happens to work as an interpreter), and we had a good evening getting to know each other. We ate way too much food and I enjoyed trying a lot of Japanese drinks, facilitated by the all-you-can-drink option many Japanese restaurants have.

A concept that would never pass muster in the US, Rochelle explained that the arrangement is pretty common in Japan. Basically, you pay a set fee and can order unlimited drinks for 90 minutes. I got to try Japanese whiskey (which was pretty good), sake made with barley, sake made with sweet potatoes, and plum liquor. The restaurant was interesting, as it had raised floors so that you sat on the floor with legs under the table, something that is also fairly typical, according to Rochelle. Finally, another typical Japanese feature that I didn't like, was that the restaurant was filled with smokers. It made me appreciate the limiting of smoking in the US.

Finally, very tired and very full, we made our way back to Rochelle's in the rain following a very successful day.