The Charm of Yokohama, Japan

Yes, I’m going to go on and on about Japan till my obsession subsides and you’ll just have to bear with me.

Somehow, I fell in love with this city. Yokohama, Japan’s second largest urban area after Tokyo, is located about 30-minute train ride from Tokyo. It was still early when we arrived and we didn’t mind taking a walk in the cool weather. So upon arriving Yokohama Station and gotten hold of the city map from the tourist info centre, we set off on foot (that was before we realized, it was a very long walk. It is Japan’s second largest city after all!).

We did make it to our destination - Minato Mirai (the harbor of the future). A reflection of its name, Minato Mirai 21 is a futuristic city area in Central Yokohama, complete with one of Japan’s tallest skyscraper, the Landmark Tower, convention centers, 5-star hotels, a huge shopping center, Queen’s Square, a Hard Rock Café even and lots of other restaurants AND an amusement part, the Yokohama Cosmoworld, with a huge Ferris Wheel towering behind as background.


Landmark Tower, tallest building in Japan
(The Yokohama Royal Park Hotel occupies floors 49 to 70)

The Landmark Tower has a Sky Garden on the 69^th floor as observatory deck. It also boasts the world’s fastest elevators. The answer is no, we also didn’t go up to this.


Yokohama Grand Intercontinental Hotel and the Ferris Wheel

Hard Rock Café, outside Queen’s Square
Don’t ask what is metal structure behind, but it looks so futuristic!

Yokohama Cosmoworld

Cosmoworld was empty but the rides were in full swing, creating quite an eerie feeling to the park. The amusement park reminds me of the book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. (Lazy to explain what it is all about but if you have read it, you'll know what I mean)

Operating rides with no one on board.. scary.

Carousel, so fairy-tale like

Pikachu & Doraemon! Cute ya?

Was imagining the whole place at night.. it would be so magical! But we were too early to attempt to sit there till night. Bf suggested that we check-in to one of the plush hotels right there and then. Should have taken up the offer.


This is what I have missed out (Minatomirai 21 viewed from Landmark Tower)
Photo from http://www.npointercos.jp/Yokohama.html



See? Even the manhole on the street is ‘branded’. Cool, eh?


Landmark Tower and Queen's Tower A & B (there's a connecting Tower C too)

Only passed through Queen’s Square to the Minota Mirai Station and did not shop. We took the metro to Chinatown (yes, it truly is too far to walk!).

The elevator is really high

The Minato Mirai subway station

And I love the trains. They are pink in colour as it is a pink line subway! (the train lines go by colour-code)


Pink line = Pink seats!

Yokohama Chinatown (Chukagai) is Japan’s largest Chinatown. Yes, larger than Malaysia’s Chinatown of course. We were starving by then and so hurried along the streets with the intention of locating a restaurant with pictures of FOOD, listing affordable prices on windows display (can’t read Japanese nor Chinese). Actually nothing much to do there besides food.


Drooling over food at restaurant’s window display


Found an ideal restaurant for lunch


Don’t ask me why I went Japan and took a photo of a Chinese temple!
I'm a tourist and everyone was doing that.

There are four gates stand at the entrances to Chinatown and five more gates can be found within. No wonder we lost of sense of direction when planning to leave. The gates all look-alike.

Two of the entrance-gate

If.. IF I am to stay in Japan, I don’t mind staying at Yokohama, against the over-populated Tokyo. I like it for being close to Tokyo, only 30-min train ride away (it takes me longer to drive from home to work daily for an approximately 15km journey) and it has a huge Chinatown if I get homesick! :)

I know, it was only a day trip and we haven't even finished exploring the city, but I love Yokohama already. Can totally imagine myself sitting staring at cartoonish Cosmoworld and buildings behind at Minato Mirai whole day, everyday. Ok, maybe not everyday, but I will get to shop inside Queen’s Square too, won't I?

In the spirit of Halloween

It was really nice strolling along Universal CityWalk (located between the JR Universal City Station and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka). Felt like a kid in dreamland the moment we turned around the corner coming out from the train station. The whole place was naturally decorated for the coming Halloween.

Saw this Halloween structure that I wanted to take a photo with, but was beaten by a little witch who rushed over and posed like she owned it. She looked so in elements with her killer stare that I stepped back and unconsciously being manipulated to take her pic instead.


Little evil witch!

Look at her! It's as though she was casting a spell with her stare.



Look into my eyes
And be charmed by me
Or you shall suffer a merciless death! muahaha…


Too bad I left my Book of Shadows at home. Or else can cast a counter spell on the little evil witch!

At the base of Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

Why the base? Well, because we were too ‘chicken’(?!) to ascend the glass-enclosed escalator up to the Floating Garden Observatory :P


We arrived when it’s already dark

Yes, it gets dark rather early, by 5.30pm, but we were planning to see the night view instead (that was before we chickened out). AND, we took a looong way to walk there not knowing there is a pedestrian tunnel under the railway tracks.. (bish ourselves!)

---> suggested route on foot
___ the route we took (on foot!)

Anyway, we got there..

The Umeda Sky Building is the 7^th tallest building in Osaka City, Japan. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. It costs 700 Yen (about RM 20) to go up to the observation area. With no roof covering the observatory, the first of its kind in Japan, visitors can feel the fresh air while enjoying the view.

Photos from top view are taken from
www.skybldg.co.jp/garden/e/index.html, as shown in leaflet too


Open rooftop observatory

Now comes the scary part.. both the elevator and escalator are see-through.

This is how it looks like..

Claimed to be the world’s longest escalator


The glass-tube escalators for ascending and descending the floating garden observatory

Ahem.. that was when we decided maybe it's not worth paying 700 Yen and risk dropping 36 floors to our deaths? hehe..

Ok, by then, we were also distracted by this little commotion happening at the courtyard at the base of the building. We strolled around a bit..

Some sort of drumming performance

Found out that a beer festival was going on! What excellent timing on our part. Beer and food from various countries, all congregated in this area. There is no entrance fee, just had to pay for the beer and food.

Stalls representing each country selling food




yummy!!!

Aren't we lucky after all? :)

Ok, before leaving the scene, took this photo with camera on floor and me almost lying on the ground to capture it as well! hahaa… (I seemed to do that quite often in other countries but not in KL, lest I bumped into people I know)

日本 – The Land of Boots!

Besides Kitty-hunting, I have been busy keeping an eye on the feet walking the streets of bustling Tokyo. Districts like Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro are populated by women walking in the ultimate footwear i.e. boots. So many different styles of boots had me green with envy! I have always wanted to own a pair of boots. The feverish sensation usually heightened when on holidays to cooler countries.

The thing is, I live in this hot & humid country! I’m not complaining. I love going bare legs, dangling sandals over my feet. I don’t think twice in giving tights, pantyhose, socks and all other leg-wear a pass.

But how can one resist the temptation of daily (or every minute of the day out) looking at all these women striding down the streets adorning their legs with long boots and leaving a subtle feminine finish..

women in boots..

looking stylish in boots..

in boots and yes, boots again..

looking cool wearing boots in trains..

I got so obsessed that everywhere I go I see boots!

OMG! I couldn’t stand it. The next thing I know, I have made this one most sinful purchase from my trip.. and walking down Tokyo streets in it the very next day! hahahaa..

isn't it lovely?
I heart!

Even though I probably will have no appropriate occasion of wearing this again now that I'm back home.

Oh ya, they do sell Crocs in Japan. But take a look! As comparison, this is such child's play..

Hello Kitty - Kawaii Part 2

Another post dedicated to Hello Kitty. She deserves it seeing that I’ll be flying off to Kitty land tonight (and the fact that our birthday is coming).

I’ve been a bit obsessed with this mouthless cat recently. No, I didn’t turn my car (fully) into the Kitty automobile.



But bf has been talking about changing my car exhaust pipe. Think we can find this in Japan?? It’s awesome!!



And since I’m getting a new Bluetooth headset, (ya, mine disappeared and never been found.. blame it on my fetish for big huge bags. Can’t bloody find anything in my bag!), what about this?



Oops, what is Kitty doing with a Bluetooth headset? She has no mouth! (haha…)

Q : Why doesn’t Hello Kitty has a mouth?
A : Because she speaks from the heart (aww… so sweet)

Well, instead of an iPod Touch, what about getting an iBook? Then I can kittify it with a new layer of skin!

Who says Hello Kitty doesn't know anything about cars and gadgets?

Actually, to be frank, I’m getting quite sick of all this Kitty overdose. Sorry Kitty, the phrase ‘In cuteness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part’, I think I can’t do it with you (btw, there's a Hello Kitty wedding ring! and wedding dress too! ugh! OMG!!).

So yes, decision made – I’ve decided NOT to give in to Sanrio Puroland when in Tokyo.

Goodbye Kitty..so sorry..

Ok, ok.. I don’t hate Kitty, just not such a fanatic. Maybe I shall just stick to buying friends Hello Kitty ice-cream through Facebook instead.

Here, have some ice-cream on the house!

And I'll see you all when I get back! Bai-bai!!