Japan 2018
- We took an 8 day trip in autumn based around work commitments in Yokohama.
- Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan lying 35 kms south of Tokyo, on Tokyo Bay. It was a small fishing village at the end of the Edo period when the US Commodore Matthew Perry brought a fleet of warships into the bay demanding that Japan open its ports to trade. That was in 1854 and by 1920 it was the sixth largest city in the country and continued to grow, especially after World War II. It’s a cosmopolitan place and we had a great time exploring the waterfront, city, Chinatown, and Yamate district where foreigners lived.
- One of the joys of travelling in Japan is that you’re only ever a quick train journey away from some other interesting place.
- We did a day trip to Kamakura which was the capital of Japan for 150 years, from 1185 to 1333. It’s dotted with gorgeous shrines and temples largely within walking distance of one another.
- Another day we took the train to Tokyo (20 minutes away) and explored the Toranomon and Akasaka districts.
- Yokohama won’t be on most people’s ‘must see’ list but we found it a fine place to visit and a good base to discover a bit more about Japan.
Yokohama
Our hotel was in the Yamashita district of Yokohama, south of the city centre. It was right on the waterfront so we could step out of the front door and just start wandering. On the first morning we walked along the waterfront parks, docks and piers into the city centre,...
Kamakura
We caught the train to Kita-Kamkura which is one stop north of the town centre then spent the day walking between temples and shrines. It was rainy and we had to manage around the weather, though we were never going to see all of the sites in one day. If you have the time,...
Tokyo 2018
We caught a morning train from Yokohama to Shimbashi station in Tokyo, then spent the day walking west to Harajuku station and caught an evening train back to Yokohama. We decided to just wander and see what we encountered, using green spaces as waypoints. Tokyo is so...
