Woke up in my comfy bed knowing that I had to get moving pretty quickly if I wanted to see all of Yokohama and eventually make my way back to Shinjuku for the evening. While I’d explored a few areas around Tokyo at this point, Shinjuku seemed to be one of my more favorite neighborhoods for food, ease of transportation, and nightlife. I already had a few things mapped out from the previous evening and had been able to locate some of the more desirable areas to visit around Yokohama. I prepared myself for a day without any data on my phone which would prove to be quite an adventure. I noted the direction of Yokohama’s Chinatown which was just south of where I was staying.
Yokohama’s Chinatown is known as the largest Chinatown in all of Japan and I was excited to compare it to San Francisco’s Chinatown which is the largest in the US. I knew I’d be out for awhile so I packed up my suitcase and checked out of the hotel; leaving my bag at the front desk with plans to retrieve it later. The weather couldn’t of been more perfect as I made my way down some of the empty streets of Yokohama in the direction of Chinatown. Before arriving in Chinatown I found myself in front of a massive stadium which appeared to be a baseball stadium with a nice garden and park located just in front of it. It was a reminder of how big baseball is in Japan, it’s one of their most popular sports and is rare to find in most countries aside from the US. I continued my stroll until I came up on a huge gate-looking structure that surely marked the beginning of the Yokohama Chinatown.
I made my way down the street and as it was a weekday morning there really wasn’t much open or many things going on. I was still able to get the feel for Chinatown which consisted of a few streets but was definitely smaller than the San Francisco one. There was even a kind of cool callout to San Francisco as I passed a small bar called “Cable Car” clearly themed like a San Francisco cable car.
I proceeded to wander Chinatown trying to soak it all in before I’d be making my way towards the pier to checkout what looked like on GoogleMaps to be a massive garden and park. I eventually proceeded to the garden area. Upon the first glance it just looked like a long strip of grass with some trees scattered about, but as I got closer I was able to notice a number of gardens and beautiful flower beds scattered throughout the park. Feeling a little anxious to get back to Tokyo I snapped some quick photos of the cherry blossoms, fountain, and gardens before circling back north continuing along the water to my next destination. The area overall felt a lot like San Francisco or Oakland with the bay, large ships, and American-city vibes. There wasn’t much going on at the park but I did notice an abundance of young school kids and was intrigued by all the different hats they wore. When the younger kids are in school and leave campus with the class they have to wear a special colored hat out. I think the hat coordinates to the grade they’re in but in elementary school the kids all wear the same yellow hats and pretty much have the same school bags. I could see one class of maybe 10-15 kids in orange hats, another in purple, and another in yellow. It was actually kind of a cool idea as there were lots of different classes at this park, these hats would make it easy to spot your kids and keep track of them.
The school system in general is pretty different in Japan. As kindergarteners, the kids basically just have their colored hats when they go out but once in elementary school every school has the same required yellow hats, school bags, and homework books that all the kids in Japan must purchase. As they get into middle school and high school they get to ditch the hat but then they’re required to wear plaid skirts, polos, and other uniforms pertaining to the specific school that they go to. In America you might see that in the private school system but in Japan it’s required at nearly every school. The kids all have outdoor shoes that they store in a shoe locker near the school entrance as well as basically one generic brand of indoor/school shoes that basically every kid owns. They have their PE clothes to change into which usually consists of a matching hat and they typically bring a pair of clothes to wear after school although the older kids remain in their uniforms most of the time. The school you go to can be a huge status statement in Japan so wearing a uniform around town from a prestigious school is a big flex. There are so many schools and the public transportation system is so easy that many kids have an abundance of options as to which school they want to attend when they enter middle school or high school. Most schools have an entrance exam with some being more difficult to others. The kids do tend to stress like crazy over these tests and study a ton before attempting them. Some of the girls even choose their school based off the uniform itself. If they think the school uniform is cute it could sway their decision to attend there. The uniform usually includes shoes, specific socks, winter and summer clothes, as well as even winter scarfs coordinated to match the outfit. What I find a bit crazy is that the school assigned skirts are measured to pass your knee; thus, girls always “roll” up their skirt to look cuter and show some more leg – no complaints there. Girls have to wear their skirts year round and during winter Tokyo often gets cold enough for snow. What’s crazy is that the girls will continue to roll up their skirts super high in the freezing cold in order to look attractive. They’re so used to this by the time that they grow up that even in snowy conditions you can always spot a number of women walking in small dresses or skirts to a date or social gathering.
Anyhow, let’s get back on track. I proceeded through the park and eventually found myself along the water facing what is known as “The Red Brick Building”. This is quite simply… a red brick building. It’s a known landmark around Yokohama and features a large courtyard that hosts Christmas markets, weekend festivals, and other markets throughout the year. I suppose it could be compared to the Presidio buildings in San Francisco which house food trucks and seasonal festivities. Just next to the Red Brick Building is a small shopping mall which houses one of the coolest candy shops for international candy. Not far from there is the “Cup-of-Noodle Museum” which I visited on a different occasion. **add link to it
I hadn’t realized it at the time but this specific area was known as Sakuragicho and while it’s a little ways from the main station, it’s a super popular destination in Yokohama.
Also in the area is a small theme park known as Cosmoland, an observatory with amazing views of the area, a number of street performers, a small canal which provides a home for a large number of jellyfish in the summertime, and 2 massive shopping malls.
Still managing my directions from a phone without a SIM card, I was now a bit desperate to find some wifi and look up my return trip details for getting back to Tokyo. The plan was to check into my hotel in Shinjuku and rest a bit before exploring once more around the area. The following evening I would be joining my previous soccer meetup group for a pickup session as well. I’d been invited by some of the guys to join them for a fun night out around Shinjuku which seemed like a good way to close the “Part 1” of my trip and help me kickoff the “Part 2” of my trip which would take me south to Osaka and the Kansai region. I was getting a little hungry and had rushed things earlier in the morning to try and see everything as soon as possible. I concluded that I would hit up a local coffee shop and grab myself a coffee, a sandwich, and utilize the wifi before returning to my previous hotel to pick up my luggage. I stumbled upon a pretty nice looking cafe and recognized it as a chain I’d seen around Tokyo. I quickly made my way inside to decipher the menu. After some pointing and broken Japanese I had ordered myself up a sandwich, donut, and cup of coffee. Content with this breakfast, I decided to find myself what I’d planned on being HQ for an hour or 2 while I got my things in order. To my surprise, after settling into a table near the corner of the cafe, I couldn’t find any wifi available with the name of the cafe. A bit confused I went back to the cashier to continue my broken Japanese exchange with her in an attempt to figure out the wifi details. I didn’t even need to speak Japanese to quickly understand that this cafe didn’t have wifi for customers – maybe an attempt to keep people from camping out and doing work for long hours. A bit depressed and with my anxiety slowly creeping up due to my departure time approaching soon, I was now determined to scarf down my meal, coffee, and get back to the hotel lobby where I knew there would be some wifi available.
For whatever reason I didn’t really want to be seen getting back to the hotel and using the wifi without picking my bags up so I decided to instead, post up on the corner of the street near some bushes just within wifi range. I knew I wouldn’t have long or the relaxed atmosphere I had sought in a cafe, but the most important task was taking some screenshots of my next train connections and directions to my hotel in Shinjuku. Once I’d completed that task I entered the hotel to grab my bags from the desk and proceed to Yokohama station. According to the directions I’d only have to take one train to get to Shinjuku and then within a quick walk I could arrive to my hotel. I’d chosen a pretty swank and hip looking hotel that was located near my initial hotel when arriving in Japan. I felt comfortable with that area and most of Shinjuku was within walking distance of there. Furthermore, the plan for the following evening was to attend a house party of sorts after soccer and follow that up with some clubbing around Shinjuku – meaning my conveniently located hotel was perfect for a wild night out.
Getting back to Yokohama station wasn’t particularly difficult and not only had I been able to screen capture the trip details, I’d also succeeded in scheduling a date in Shinjuku for the evening. What came next really ramped up my anxiety and proved to be a pretty good learning experience in Japan. I had arrived to the platform just a few minutes before the scheduled train and given my past experiences with the San Francisco BART – the trains don’t always follow the schedule to the “T”. What I had forgotten was that in Japan there are many more trains and they DO follow the schedule to the T. The train I had wanted to get onto was set to depart in like literally 2 minutes but just then a train pulled up to the very platform I was waiting on. Assuming this was my train as the departure time were approaching quickly, I hopped on nearly right as the doors closed. The train was a little busy so I wasn’t able to secure a seat which meant I was standing between the exit doors basically staring at the small TVs that show constant commercials as well as the train destinations and updates. After 2-3 stops I realized I didn’t recognize any of the stop names and out of pure curiosity decided to open up my Google Maps. Now, I have to hand it to Google, even without a SIM or any Wifi – as long as I’ve loaded a part of Google Maps while on wifi, it will still appear and somehow even show a rough estimate of my current location on it. I quickly realized I was traveling south instead of north in the direction of Tokyo. Anxiety hit me like a train and what was supposed to be a casual one-train-trip back to Shinjuku had suddenly turned into a situation where, without wifi or knowledge of the stations, I would now need to navigate my way to Yokohama and board the correct train for Shinjuku. Precipitation began to form on my forehead and the train car was getting smaller and smaller by the minute. I decided to hop off at the next stop which was a simple station with only 2 platforms, ensuring that if I just crossed the platform I should be accessing a train heading back north. Luckily for me the train was quick to arrive and it was the same line I’d accidentally boarded which meant it would be returning to Yokohama station. A hectic hour later I had gotten myself on the correct train and was now heading in the direction of Tokyo – clearly displayed on the train monitor for reassurance.
Arriving into Shinjuku brought on a sigh of relief as I was back in a territory I was familiar and comfortable in. I made my way to my hotel which turned out to be even more hip than I’d originally imagined. The room was located in the corner of the hallway and was a dark, small (of course), but perfect room for the next 2 nights. I had just enough time to grab some food nearby and take a quick nap in the conveniently dark room before my evening plans. The previous travel anxieties and lack of actual food had taken a toll on my energy levels and I needed to recuperate if I wanted to survive the evening. I embraced the hotel’s quick wifi as I searched around for a spot to grab some lunch. At this point I’d learned that zooming in on Google Maps would show you some of the more “mom and pop” types of places that don’t get accumulate as much traffic as the larger establishments. Without much hesitation and with my body begging for a nap, I quickly unpacked some of my bag and made my way to find yet another amazing and hidden treasure. Not much had popped up around my area so I just decided I would wander the alleys behind the hotel knowing that it gets somewhat busy in the later evenings and housed lots of host/hostess bars. To my surprise, it didn’t take more than a few minutes to stumble up a pretty well hidden izakaya that had an appealing look. I slid the door open and made my way inside. I did my now casual “sumimasen” in Japanese which means “excuse me” and is quite commonly used in Japan. I put up my 1 finger for the server who appeared to be the wife to the male cook. She pointed me to a counter spot but quickly stopped me from making my way to the seat. With some quick-tongued Japanese she was pointing me towards a big machine near the entrance. This would be the first and surely not the last day I would attempt to order from a vending-like machine. I walked up the machine a bit nervous and hesitant as I’d done good so far to avoid these machines which typically have everything in Japanese and provide no help in figuring them out. The thought of making a run for it crossed my mind as I glanced at the large menu buttons featuring Japanese kanji. I was fortunate enough that each of the buttons provided a small picture of the things you could order. I was also lucky that the server had noticed my hesitation and had come to the machine to help me put in my order. Basically at these machines you have to put in money and then you can click on a number of menu items with minimal customizations. Once you order everything you “checkout” which provides you change and also a few separate receipts with your order details. Usually theres one paper per item and you simply go to your seat and then pass the papers to the cook who then prepares the food and passes it to you. It’s pretty simple if you can get past the language barrier and actually avoids complicated or confusing orders as you only have a number of buttons to click.
I stood in front of the machine and immediately realized that I’d wandered into a ramen shop which was definitely something I was craving. I chose the button that had looked the most pushed for my ramen selection and then had to get some help from the server to locate the “nama beer” which is just “draft beer” but actually directly translates to “raw beer”. I ordered up my ramen, some gyoza (yeah, that obsession wasn’t over yet), and my draft beer. The papers shot out of the machine along with my change and the lady held out her hand with what I imagine was a warm smile hiding behind her mask. I made my way to my seat with a grin and a little strut in my step now confident in that I’d successfully understood the ordering machine. This let me leave a zone of discomfort and uncertainty and enter a feeling of relaxation knowing I could order more on my own.
The food rolled out and wow! At this point in my trip it was probably the best ramen I’d tried and the gyoza was delicious as well. I crushed a beer and made my way to the machine to secure another ticket as I brimmed with confidence this time around. I exchanged my ticket for another beer and was able to finish off my meal.
Now feeling full and fully relaxed thanks to the 2 draft beers, I decided to head back to my hotel and take a nap before my evening plans. I still had a bit of planning to do since Mai, whom I’d hung-out with twice before, wasn’t very familiar with the area.
Waking up a few hours later and feeling amazing, I decided to do some quick recon my phone to ensure a fun evening that would end in the vicinity of my hotel. I remembered that Mai wasn’t a big fan of drinking but had mentioned that she loved french toast, Italian food, and ping-pong. I’ll have you know that in Japan dessert is easier to find than alcohol. I was somehow able to prepare what would be a fun-packed evening. We would kick things off with some ping-pong at a nearby game center in Shinjuku and then work our way to an Italian restaurant located in a basement followed by dessert at a pretty instagram-worthy looking french toast restaurant also located in a basement. I wasn’t sure what the vibes would be like after everything so I didn’t make any concrete decision on what the next stop would be. Although, I did do enough research that I had 3-4 different options depending on the endgame.
The time finally rolled around to meet up with Mai and let her in on the surprise that we’d be kicking things off with some ping-pong. The place we went was pretty interesting, at the entrance there was a large wooden desk for “check-in” where you would be assigned an area in the game room depending on what you wanted to play. The gentleman at the front was dressed like a fancy butler and led us to a small standing table next to the ping-pong tables. The place was pretty vacant with just a few people occupying private rooms housing a golf simulator game. The table had an assigned # and an old school lan-line phone. Apparently, since the bar and staff was located upstairs, all you had to do was pick up the phone and you could relay your order which the staff would bring to your table. Excited to try out this system I ordered myself a beer and Mai ordered up a ginger ale. Overall with this system you pay at the end for whatever activities you did and what you ordered over that specific amount of time. We had set ourselves up for one hour of pingpong and had been asked to order at least 1 drink each. Our drinks arrived and I was quickly reminded about how annoying ordering beer could be in Japan. My draft beer came in a smaller glass and was filled only halfway, leaving the top half to be full of foam. A reminder that Japan really loved their foam on beers. We began to rally and chat and before we knew it the hour was up and we didn’t hesitate to extend one more hour and order up another round of drinks. Conversation and pong continued and eventually we were content and ready to take our leave. We headed back upstairs and paid our dues at the front desk.
Now that we had worked up a little appetite it was time for us to make our way to the underground Italian restaurant. Upon arrival, one of the managers was actually outside passing out free soft-drink coupons to attract customers. Luckily for us we were already planning on stopping in so we grabbed some coupons and headed down into the basement. The Italian restaurant had a somewhat authentic feel. We got a table and began to look over the menu. While the menu was in Japanese it featured lots of photos and luckily for me I knew enough to point and say “kore o” meaning “this one”. After we decided on which pasta dish we wanted we called the server over and ordered our soft drinks as well as our pasta plates. Keep in mind that in Japan it’s VERY rare to find a place that will refill your soda for free. Coke and the few sodas that are available are typically $2-4 and come in smaller glasses. If you want another, you better be willing to fork over some more cash for another ice-filled small glass of soda. Conversation had somewhat died out while waiting for our food but was quickly revived at the arrival of a younger idol-looking kid accompanied by a very flashy older women. Something seemed a little off from the start but the couple made their way to a table where the boy was quick to order up some food while the woman fondled over him. Mai explained that in Shinjuku, boy and girl bars (also known as host or hostess bars) were very common and featured “idol-like” hosts and hostesses who would flirt, pour you drinks, and keep up a lively conversation. We deducted that this encounter was probably a women who wanted some fun company for the evening and had decided to “rent” the boy to go out on a nice date with her. Judging by the amount he ate and the lack of interest he was giving her I’d say he wasn’t doing his job too well – but who knows, maybe that’s how she wanted it. She maintained a tight squeeze on him throughout the meal even while barely eating. After the meal they asked for the bill in which the women picked up before dragging the younger stud out of the restaurant. We eventually finished our meal which to my surprise was actually pretty decent pasta. Now, full on carbs, I decided it was a good time to surprise Mai with our dessert plans. Her face lit up at the thought of getting some french toast and while we were somewhat full, the idea of some sweets was mouth watering. She was pretty surprised by my memory of her preference but also by the thought of eating some amazing french toast. We headed down the road and eventually down into the basement of this comfortable little dessert cafe. We’d visited the Alice In Wonderland cafe together earlier in the trip which had been occupied by tons of girls taking insta photos – this was a similar situation. As I recall, I was the only guy in the whole spot but I didn’t even bother with the scenery as the amazing looking french toast had now stolen my attention. The pictures on the menu were mouth watering and the desserts had began to get my heart racing. We quickly called over the server and made our order of several different french toasts. We didn’t have to wait long for the toast to come out and it tasted just as good as the pictures looked. Our conversation at this point was pretty bland as we were just stuffing out face and making our own hums and haws over each fluffy bite.
As they say, all good things must come to an end and sadly our meal was complete. We were content and eager to actually hold a conversation from this point. We decided that we’d head over to explore an area that I’d discovered earlier in the day. According to Google it had an Irish pub and some other fun spots located nearby. The neighborhood had a lively atmosphere which was identifiable by the street lights featuring a Japanese man drinking. In many parts of Tokyo you can tell which area you’re in by the street lights. I was living in Ebisu for quite some time which is known for Yebisu beer and all the street lights were actually 2 draft beers cheering together. After arriving to our destination which had the Irish pub located on the second floor, we actually decided on trying a different “beer hall” which was located in the basement of the same building. I was pretty excited to witness the underground beer garden but we were quickly turned away by a Japanese guy apparently explaining that the restaurant was full and there wasn’t any space available. We opted to go to the Irish pub where I could get myself a beer and my current partner-in-crime could get herself a Shandy Gaff (beer mixed with ginger ale) which was one the few drinks she was willing to drink. We walked into what was a pretty busy pub and were quickly pushed into a small corner. Obviously a bit irritated by the location the server was quick to move up to the corner of the bar area where we could get some good views of the entire crowd. We ordered up our drinks but decided we wouldn’t stay long as the people next to us at the bar were surely trying to end their pain by consuming a ridiculous amount of cigarettes within the evening. I’ve stated it before, and as places are slowly changing to “no indoor smoking”, smoking inside is legal in Japan and many bars or pubs are filled with smoke regularly. Ironically outdoors you can’t smoke anywhere you want and there are small “cage-like” structures designated for smoking outdoors.
We did hold a bit of a conversation while sipping our drinks despite the smoke. Once finished, we closed our tab and were set on trying to find a slightly less rowdy location to have a nightcap before last train. I was still set on another drink whether or not my companion was on board. We wandered to several other bars in the area but it seemed that each was filled with smoke and loud salarymen. I finally decided to pull out my final card and take us to a low key fancier lounge located a bit closer to my hotel knowing it would be quiet and a good way to end the evening. To my surprise they were playing some table-tennis on a small TV as we entered. We sat nearby so we could catch the finals which featured Japan vs China. The bartender came by to take our orders and I ordered myself a whiskey drink that was featured on their menu. Mai chatted with the bartender a little and was talked into trying a fruity seasonal cocktail. It was at this point though that the evening began to spiral out of control. It had gone from a great evening to a pretty dead conversation and us just watching some table-tennis on TV. Despite my nap and attempt to recover from the past few days of travel, my engine was quickly revving down with the assistance of alcohol. By the time I had finished two drinks and Mai her first, we were pretty ready to call it a night. I honestly didn’t even have the strength to try and invite her back to my hotel and instead walked her back to the station to say my goodbyes as I crept my way back to the hotel to get some rest for what would be a long evening the following night.
