Yokohama, Japan

Yokohama, Japan
11/26 - 11/27/07

Just an overnight cruise from Kobe, brought us to Yokohama the morning of the 27th of November. The good news was that we were close enough to the city to avoid the hassle of hiring a taxi and trying to communicate in Japanese (plus we love the exercise). The bad news was that we learned that we were leaving that same day and were required to return to the ship by 4:30 PM to go with the agent to the Immigration Office to clear out of the country. So, we made the most of our day.

The weather was cool and crisp but sunny so we set off for the short walk along the waterfront. Being a weekday, the streets were busy but not terribly crowded and we saw groups of school children who were anxious to talk with us and take our photos. So cute in their very neat and tailored school uniforms (short pants and jackets and ties for the boys and short skirts and jackets and blouses for the girls and all with little hats). We stopped into the City Grand Hotel to purchase a few postcards and stamps and ask directions, while we had access to an English speaking concierge.

Yokohama is the 2nd largest city in Japan (first is Tokyo of course) with a 3.6 million population which swells an additional 2.5 million every weekend when visitors from Tokyo arrive. It's a major port and fashion center for Japan and a popular tourist city for Japanese and people from around the world. Yokohama is home to Cosmo Clock 21, the world's largest ferris wheel, which is absolutely breathtaking when it's lighted at night. We passed a beautiful park that was built on top of the debri that was dumpted in the harbor after the 1923 earthquake. The fashion boutiques that line the city streets go on for blocks and blocks, one more extravagant than the next, interspersed with fashionable restaurants and spas. Definitely a city we could have spent much more time exploring.

We chose the Silk Museum as our sightseeing destination for the morning and were not disappointed. Of course I was particularly interested due to my fascination with silk painting, but Martha and Doug enjoyed it as well. It covers two floors in the Silk Center International Trade and Sightseeing Building, which was built in 1959 to commemorate the anniversary of the opening of the Port of Yokohama. It's on the former site of the British trading firm known as English House No. 1 and it's purpose was to display the science and technology of silk production, beautiful costumes and to promote the demand for silk. We were fascinated with the display of the mysterioous life of the silkworm and the stages of its metamorphosis, the process of reeling silk from cocoons, the kinds of silk yarns and the complicated procedures of weaving and dyeing silk yarns. One of the more amazing facts was that it takes approximately 110 cocoons to make a silk scarf and over 8,000 cocoons to make a silk kimona. Japan was once the largest producer of silk in the world, but China now holds that distinction.

The highlight of our day was a fabulous Japanese lunch at an elegant but simple traditional Japanese restaurant, which was recommended by a gentleman at the Visitors Office. After removing our shoes, we were shown into a beautifully decorated room that was so sparkling clean we felt we could have eaten from the floor. The waitresses, dressed in kimonas, served us tea and suggested some traditional dishes. We were served a variety of dishes of soup, pickled vegetables, a meat dish, rice and miso soup and everything we had was delicious! We were the only non-Japanese diners so attracted some attention, especially from one little boy who kept staring at Doug (probably thought he was Santa Claus) - so cute.

We made it back to the ship by 4:00 and were whisked away by the agent in order to get to the government office which closed at 5:00. Everything went smoothly and we were returned to the ship by 5:30. Not nearly as difficult as clearing in. While waiting at that office, I was fascinated by a stack of small brochures, which had the world "HELP!" in large letters, in English. Inside, the instructions were in seven different languages, that had to do with "Trafficking in Persons", a crime committed by organized crime syndicates orother criminal groups to bring in foreign women, children or others to be forced into prostitution or forced labor. It instructs: "The red page in this booklet reads: I am a trafficking victim, so please call the Japanese police. Show the red page to a Japanese person on the street and the Police or other official Japanese organizations will protect you." It then lists the phone numbers of the Japanese Police, Immigration Bureau and Counseling Center for Women-Anti Trafficking Project (NGO). This seemed like such a good program, to have the brochures available, I wondered if we have something similar in our country.

Later that night, we finished loading cargo and departed Yokohama for our eleven-day trip across the Pacific. Next stop, San Diego! It will be good to back in the good old U.S. of A., even for a brief visit. From there, we'll head for the Panama Canal and Costa Rica (where we'll off-load these huge empty containers that have been blocking the view from our stateroom since a port in China) and then our final stop in Houston.