Day 9 - Yokohama
I had a meetup planned, called something like Coffee & Code, around 10am in Roppongi.
As I was getting ready, and confirming the location. I saw the organizer just cancelled it about an hour before.
I still decide to head towards Roppongi to explore a bit more the area, have a small breakfast and maybe find something authentic in a shop. At this point I don't need to use google maps, I think the layout of the streets and where is one location or another is mapped out clearly in my head.
I notice that shops are still all closed until 11Am, breakfast places are open, but also the choice is either chain coffee shops or the same place I visited that had good omelettes. I go for an eggy meal.
As I finish the meal, I decide to just head a bit more around without a map. Passing by TV Asahi and notice even they have a small shinto shrine attached to the building.
Going around there's a Tsutaya Books with Starbucks that looks as fancy as a bookshop can get. I decide to spend a little bit of time while messaging friends for tips about Yokohama. A few mention to visit China Town, but a Japanese friend from the previous days, says he wants to come with me.
Surprised by that, I say the more the merrier and we agree on meeting around 1pm at Shibuya.
As I make my way back to the hotel, I pass by a shrine I still haven't, and it has in full display the festival carts, i'm sure the summer festivities are almost starting.
Around 1pm. I grab a few snacks from the mall next to the station and we catch a normal train that takes us directly to the Yokohama waterfront, the journey is no longer than 40 minutes.
The train ride went by quickly, as we snacked away the potato snacks. Arriving at the Yokohama waterfront, we were surrounded by malls, rollercoasters, business buildings in one side and the sea in the other.
He knew a tiny bar, on a barge he wanted to try, so we made our way to Hemingway.
One beer and a few quick bites, as we were floating on the canal and some canoes, or tour boats passing by, similar to any boat docked around London embankment.
After a meal, we continued walking through the rest of the waterfront attractions, some more malls and even a beer fest of all the world beers, we settled for the one that looked blue, from Hokkaido and tasted awful. As it was the only beer with a distinct colour, we kinda fell for the purple cow marketing trap.
Instead of walking through entire Yokohama, we decide to catch another train that takes us to the Gundam Factory and closer to China Town.
I was not expecting much of Gundam Factory, but as from outside you can't really take a good picture, or see much of it, we decided to grab the ticket to get us inside, as soon as we entered we notice the countdown was in seconds before the entire Gundam started moving around.
A good 10 minute show, with music, lights and slow but precise movement of the giant beast, in all languages as well... I'm glad we got the right ticket, at the right moment, after a few more minutes, Gundam did another routine with music and returned to it's original position.
We then made our way to Chinatown - China Town Yokohama is one of three located in Japan - and it seemed as if every street had something unique to offer. From traditional Chinese restaurants, shops selling all kinds of souvenirs, fortune tellers and even stores that offered acupuncture services! Not only that but there were also many stalls offering different kinds of street food, shops filled with everything Oreo or panda shaped buns.
He knew of a specific restaurant, so we headed there, it was quite a luxurious place, more for bigger family meals, rather than a snack for 2, with many options for big sets for the table, we picked a few items from a la carte that he knew about, and enjoyed the tea that was always being served, and the traditional chinese music that started after a while.
Returning to the streets, there was just one more area to visit, Noge or Nogecho, a network of small izakayas and bars for every taste, colourful and authentic, every place had it's own style, some fishy places apparently including whale, some more normal chicken skewers, and innards.
We saw many crowded places but decided to head up for a quiet Jazz Bar, where the ambience was poorly lit, but the music selection was perfect.
A couple of japanese whiskies, and a jack daniels for my friend, and the night almost gets to a final stretch.
We paid our tab and made our way back to a station, very satisfied with our journey that day. A 40 minute ride to Tokyo, a small change for me and we head to our respective homes.
I need to change hotel tomorrow, so i take a shower, and start thinking of getting all of the stuff ready to check out.