This blog post is a continuation from the previous one (you can read that here) of our last week in Japan. By the time it came to our final week, hubby and I were absolutely exhausted, both physically and mentally. Moving homes is no easy feat and when you add a change of country into the mix then you're definitely taking it up a level. Our bodies and minds craved complete bed rest, but we found that we couldn't just take it easy and chill out at our hotel. We felt the need to be out and about, making the most of the limited time we had left in this amazing country, because otherwise we may regret doing nothing during our last few days. We had to make the most of the time we had left.
Hanazono Shrine
Hanazono Shrine
On this particular day though, I did leave hubby to rest up in the hotel, as I wandered out. We were staying in a part of Shinjuku that was quite different to where we normally visit and so I took my vlogging camera and went exploring. I came across the Hanazono Shrine which I'd walked past the previous day but didn't have time to walk around then. The shrine is situated on a main road and used to form part of the Imperial Gardens. The buildings at the shrine have been redeveloped over the years to what's currently on the site today as some of them were damaged during World War II. You can see more in the vlog below, as well as the rest of our final week in Japan.
By the time I'd finished wandering around the shrine, hubby had joined me and we spent the rest of the day in the main shopping district of Shinjuku before heading back to Yokohama the next morning.
Cruise ship at Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama
Back in Yokohama, we had to finish packing up our shipping boxes as they were being collected soon. We did, however, take a break from the packing and head down to the bay one last time. It was such a glorious day that we couldn't spend all of it indoors, especially as it was forecasted to rain on our last day in Yokohama, so you know... we had to make the most of it ;o). We headed to Rinko Park, our local park, and walked along the waterfront where we spotted a huge cruise ship at Osanbashi Pier. Naturally, we had to go take a closer look. We then went to Nihon Odori back to the Turkish restaurant that we'd been to numerous times to say goodbye to the family that run it and grab a bite to eat.
Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama
MM21 all lit up at night
We ended the day with heavy hearts as we walked back from Nihon Odori, taking in the sights that we'd become so accustomed to, one last time. That night we'd be moving our suitcases into our final hotel near Yokohama station, and we knew that we would not be coming back to Minato Mirai 21, the place that had been our home for the past nine months, again. So we lingered around just a bit longer, taking in the sunset and watching MM21 light up at night, for the last time (and wiping a few tears as we did).
Cosmo World amusement park, Yokohama
Whilst leaving Japan was very sad, hubby and I were immensely grateful for having had the opportunity to live in one of the most unique countries we'd ever visited. It also made me glad that I'd taken the somewhat bold step (bold for me anyway) of vlogging as now we had captured memories that we could relive via my videos :o).
Once we'd boarded our flight to Singapore the next morning, the excitement of arriving to
our previous home was starting to take over from the sadness of
leaving our current one. I did do some vlogging whilst in Singapore and I hope to share that with you in the coming weeks.
Although this is my last Japan vlog, it is by no means the end of
my Japan blog posts (or videos about Japan) for I have many things that I
still want to share with you, including all the things that we bought before
leaving Japan. However, all that may take a little time as we wait for
our shipping boxes to arrive and try to progress with our house
renovations, but I will get there :o).
I've been rather inactive on my blog lately due to struggles with my arthritis ridden body. Living with chronic pain, and the subsequent insomnia this causes, means that I don't have the physical energy to do much at all. Even eating leaves me feeling utterly exhausted at times. However, on days like today when I'm feeling a bit more able, I try to do what I can :o).
An iconic steel sculpture in Yokohama
Yokohama sights, incl. the Nippon Maru ship museum and Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel
In today's post I wanted to share a vlog with you showing you what a typical Sunday afternoon in Yokohama was like for us, sharing some of the local sights. Yokohama is Japan's second largest city and just a 30min train ride away from Tokyo, making it a good day trip spot. It is an old port city and it's proximity to the water gives it a more relaxed vibe compared to Tokyo. Many sights/activities/places of interest are all within easy reach of one another. It's the kind of city that you can easily explore on foot or bike. There are self rental bike stations (Bay Bike) at most tourist sights.
On this particular day we wandered through a less touristy part of Yokohama where there was a street festival taking place. After quickly realising that we'd seen many of the acts at a previous street festival we decided to catch the subway to one of my favourite parts of Yokohama, Motomatchi, the last stop on the MinatoMirai subway line. Motomatchi and the neighbouring hills of Yamate/Bluff area are where many of the foreign traders settled when Yokohama opened itself up as a port town, after the Edo period where Japan's rulers prohibited interaction with foreign countries.
A (very faint) snow capped Mount Fuji behind the trees in the centre
In this area there are many western style buildings, some of which have been turned into museums and coffee shops, as well as a foreigners cemetery. On a clear day you can see Mount Fuji in the distance near the cemetery's main entrance. There is a walking route which takes you along the edges of the cemetery down to the back of Motomatchi shopping street. Along the way you get a great view looking out towards the iconic Yokohama Landmark Tower and during spring there are some beautiful cherry blossom trees to admire.
Yokohama Landmark Tower and Motomachi
We wandered through the residential streets at the bottom of the cemetery so that I could show you what a typical residential area looks like along with the style of Japanese houses. With space at a premium, houses are small and don't have much in the way of gardens/outdoor space, unless in a rural location (such as what we saw in Kawaguchiko/Mount Fuji area). Even the smallest of house will have a gap between itself and the neighbouring house. You don't see terraced houses in Japan. I'm guessing this is to allow wiggle room in the event of an earthquake. To me, Japanese houses all look very different to one another. You don't see the kind of uniformity that we get in England with streets and streets of houses that all look the same. Even though most houses don't have a front garden, (or if they do it is a very small), there will always be some sort of potted plants/flowers outside the house, which I think is rather nice touch.
In the midst of the residential houses there is a large fish pond which is home to some beautiful koi carp. I remember the first time we came across this purpose built pond, it felt quite random, just tucked away amongst the houses, but then Japan is definitely home to randomness and that's what we love about it. Can you just imagine a pond like this in the back streets of England?!
From the fish pond we headed for a bite to eat, before wandering through Motomachi shopping street. This street is the closest thing I ever came across in Japan that resembled a traditional high street that we get in England. As the name suggests it is a street lined with shops (including many familiar brands like Zara and Gap) and cafes and restaurants. It is especially beautiful during Christmas time when it is decorated with festive lights. It is definitely worth exploring the side streets that come off the main shopping street as there are lots of independent shops selling anything from crockery and lace to food and witches... yep that's right witches! There is a whole shop dedicated to witches, as you'll see in the vlog above.
I hope you enjoyed this little insight into our time in Japan. If you're ever in Tokyo then I would highly recommend a day or two in Yokohama.
I hope you’re all keeping well. It certainly has been a
while since I sat down to write a blog post! Life has been all sorts of
craziness these past couple of months but things have finally settled down,
albeit only for a short while ;o).
As you may know, our Japan adventure came to an end in May.
Japan was always going to be a short term thing, and I know some people may
question whether it was actually worth it for just nine months. Moving to a new
country requires a significant investment of time, energy and money but for us
it was totally worth it. Japan is sooo unique and different to anywhere else in
the world that we just couldn’t pass it up when the opportunity arose. Having
visited Japan a few months prior to moving there, I can tell you that living in a
country is a completely different experience to visiting
the country as a tourist.
Mount Fuji
Once we found out that our Japan adventure was coming to an
end, there was one trip that we just had to make, and that was to go see Mount
Fuji. This famous sacred mountain is visible from Yokohama, where we lived, on
a clear day but we just had to go see it closer up. Fuji-San (as it’s known
locally) is surrounded by five lakes to its northern side, and so hubby and I
planned a two day trip to the Fuji Five Lakes. This is what will be coming up
in subsequent blog posts and on my YouTube channel.
Our last sunrise from our Yokohama apartment
We spent most of May in a bit of a whirlwind. We had days
where we were drowning in bubble wrap as we started to pack up our belongings
into shipping boxes, and days where we were rushing around taking in some last
minute sights. I tried to capture as much as I could on my vlogging camera so
that I could continue making videos about Japan once we returned to the UK. My
arthritis riddled body can capture footage more easily than it can edit it into
vlogs so please bear with me.
We also had the challenge of selling all of our furniture that we’d
only recently bought. We soon learnt that Japan does not have a big second hand
market and recycling furniture is a very costly affair. If we hadn’t managed to
sell our furniture, we’d have had to pay a lot of money to have it collected by
a recycling firm. This explains why expats often give their
furniture away for free on the local Craigslist. Luckily for us, we managed to
sell everything, albeit at a fraction of the price we paid, with just a week to
go!
This meant that we then had to spend our last week staying in various
hotels. We spent three nights in Tokyo and used it as an opportunity to visit a
few of the sights (I’m sure there will be a blog post &/or vlog coming soon). The rest of the week was spent in Yokohama liaising with the local authorities and
utility companies to wrap things up before we left.
On our way back to the UK, we stopped off in Singapore for
six days to de-stress as the last couple of weeks in Japan were pretty taxing, and
to catch up with friends. It was sooo good to be in a country where we could
speak the language and get vegetarian and halal food ;o). I did do a bit of
vlogging whilst in Singapore and will post that on my YouTube channel soon.
Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore
The iconic Singapore Merlion
We adjusted to being back in Singapore so easily that it was a
bit like coming home, although I had forgotten just how hot and humid Singapore
was! The heat definitely got to me, as did the stress of the move and
consequently I spent a couple of days on bed rest as my body started to react
to the past few weeks. The six days went by way too quickly and before we knew
it we were on another plane making our way back to the UK.
Cora the Caravan - our current home
We’ve not been back a month yet and already Japan and Singapore
feel like distant memories, more so for me, as hubby has had a trip
back to Singapore for work purposes. It feels strange to be back in the UK
after four years of living in Asia. And what feels even stranger is living in a
caravan…that’s right, hubby and I are currently living in a caravan. Not something I ever
imagined doing but then again, I never imagined living in Japan either ;o).
A few days ago hubby and I made the most of a national holiday and headed out for a relaxing day by the waterfront at Yokohama Bay. Our first stop was the Red Brick Warehouse for some breakfast.
Red Brick Warehouse - the larger one
The Red Brick Warehouse is a collection of two warehouses, over 100 years old, that are iconic landmarks of Yokohama. In the olden days Yokohama was a big port city and the Red Brick Warehouses were the customs buildings. Nowadays they are full of retail stores, bars, restaurants and a banquet hall.
The larger Red Brick Warehouse has a two storey balcony which is west
facing, making it a great place to relax with a drink and watch the
sunset :o).
West facing balconies for a sunset view
There is a large outdoor space in between the two buildings that is used
for festivals and events. It's where the New Year's Eve fireworks were,
if you ever saw my very first vlog ;o). On this particular day there
was a German Beer Garden Festival, as well as fun things for children to do. There are often bicycle rickshaws along the main road by the Red Brick Warehouse where you can pay to be driven around the surrounding area. It's a good way of giving your feet a rest whilst still taking in the sights. Many of the rickshaw owners don't speak much English but they have a map with the different routes and prices.
Bicycle Rickshaw
For breakfast we headed to Bills, an insanely popular Australian restaurant by the Chef Bill Granger. Such is it's popularity that it is common to have queues that are 2-3hrs long...I'm not kidding! We arrived for when it opened and still had to queue for 45mins! That's pretty good going when it comes to queuing at Bills.
Green Smoothie for me & Bill's Beets for hubby
My breakfast of scrambled eggs, avocado, halloumi and bread
Hubby's breakfast of sweetcorn & bell pepper fritters with halloumi and avocado salsa
The food is fantastic and very much the kind of food hubby and I enjoy with fresh fruit juices and smoothies, lots of light, healthy, nutritious and tasty food. You can see more in the video below.
After fueling our stomachs, we walked along the water front promenade to Osanbashi Pier as a cruise ship was coming in. Being the engineering geek that he is, my hubby loves watching the cruise ships come in to dock ;o).
Cruise ship coming into Osanbashi Pier
The views from the roof top garden of Osanbashi Pier are pretty impressive. You can see all of Minato Mirai 21 including iconic buildings such as Landmark Tower, Queens Towers A, B & C and Cosmo World Ferris Wheel, as well as the Red Brick Warehouse, Bay Bridge and Yokohama Marine Tower. You can walk along the water front promenade all the way to Yamashita Park.
Minato Mirai 21 skyline
Bay Bridge
Yokohama Marine Tower & Yamashita Park
On this particular day we spotted Mount Fuji in the distance. We had no idea that we could see Mount Fuji from Osanbashi Pier. As you'll see from the above video, I couldn't pick it up all that well on my vlogging camera, but at least you now know where to look, if you're ever at Osanbashi Pier :o).
Rooftop garden of OsanBashi Pier with cruise ships on either side
Osanbashi Pier & Bay Bridge in the background
The pier building itself has a very unique structure with an underlying nautical theme. Its different decks and layers are designed using floor boards and grass to resemble rolling waves. There are often events taking place at the pier and on this particular day there were several quirky food vans.
Quirky food van
Walking around the pier is free and a great way to relax in the sun. Hubby and I got an ice cream and sat in some chairs, soaking in the sun whilst being kept cool by the gentle bay breeze.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour around some of Yokohama's tourist attractions :o).
We are currently in the midst of Golden Week here in Japan. Golden Week is when there are four national holidays within the space of a week. It is one of Japan's busiest holidays, as a result tourist attractions as well as public transport are incredibly crowded. If you're ever visiting Japan during Golden Week then it's worth bearing in mind that hotels in major cities get booked up very early and, as expected, prices tend to be higher.
During this national holiday there are lots of festivals and events taking place around the country. Here in Yokohama, we had The 63rd Yokohama International Costume Parade take place yesterday. The weather was truly glorious with bright blue skies, sunshine and a gentle breeze. Hubby and I headed out to Yamashita Park, the starting place of the parade. There were over 40 acts taking part in the parade, walking a route of almost three and a half kilometers.
You can watch the parade and the rest of our day in the video below :o).
We didn't spend too long outside as hubby has been quite unwell recently with severe back problems. In fact, he had to have two steroid injections in his back and hip the day before the parade. Anyone that's had them will know how incredibly painful steroid injections are. However, he was determined not to miss out on the great weather and seeing a Japanese parade ;o). The great thing about our apartment is that it overlooks Yokohama Bay and Rinko Park so whilst we called it a day fairly early, we could still hear the music and watch some of the activities from our balcony.
I hope you enjoyed this little vlog of a relaxed Sunday :o). What did you get up to on your Sunday?
On the weekend we finally got a break (for the most part) from the April showers, just in time for the annual Yokohama Street Performance Festival. This is a 2 day festival which showcases and celebrates the talents of a huge range of street artists and performers, ranging from mime artists, singers and belly dancers to acrobats, tight rope walkers and jugglers.
The festival involves not only Japanese performers but also artists from other countries. Whilst it is a free event, donations are collected at the end of each performance and we were only too happy to oblige given how fantastic all the performances were.
The event takes place at various locations around Yokohama, including where we live in Minato Mirai 21. There were two designated special stages which showcased some of the more complex acts such as synchronized trampolining and tight rope walking. You can watch these and more in the video below :o).
As you would expect, the map/brochure detailing all the performances was in Japanese but using specific landmarks we were able to decipher exactly where the events were. Also the index border with photographs of all the different performers proved to be most useful in determining what their talent was...so even though we cannot read a word of Japanese...where there's a will there's a way ;o).
Luckily for us the two special stages were located near where we live and we prioritised watching the artists at those sites as the performances looked particularly exciting. On Saturday we watched an entertaining mime act who did impersonations of a Rocky fight as well as some Michael Jackson and super heroes inspired performances.
We then wandered across to the special stage located outside the Yokohama Museum of Art to watch a duo from Colombia do a number of performances whilst tight rope walking. These men did an amazing, and somewhat nerve wracking job given that it was very windy on Saturday. They didn't appear to be wearing any harnesses but there were a couple of men moving an inflated mattress along the length of the tight rope, just in case. We ended our little outing on Saturday by watching some belly dancing at one of the nearby malls.
On Sunday, we went to the second special stage but by the time we arrived all the best spots were taken (the joys of being vertically challenged;o)) plus it was starting to rain. So we headed into the nearby mall to pass the time until the next scheduled performance.
Whilst at the mall we found an area by the stairwell that proved to be a great viewing point for the special stage. We watched some truly fantastic performers who did the most amazing things with their bodies. I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of physical and mental strength, determination and focus those movements required.
I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our weekend and that the video gave you a little taste of the Yokohama Street Performance Festival. Now that the weather is starting to warm up I think there will be a lot more fun activities and events coming up.
What fun activities/events have you been to lately? I'd love to hear about your weekend :o).
