4 July 2011
Another port city near Tokyo is Yokohama City (横浜市 Yokohama-shi), one of the city with foreigner policy from the Edo period during the Tokugawa regime. Now days is one of the city with international flare dominant in some parts of the city, from the buildings to the food.
Breakfast in the most important part of the day. Courtesy of Auntie Anne’s.
Going there using the whole day pass with JR Shonan Shinjuku Line (湘南新宿ライン) from Tokyo to Yokohama. Met a nice Obaa-san on the train and asked me with little English where I want to go since she saw me looking at the signage on the train (all in Kanji and no Romanji). When I said Yokohama, she’s smiling and point her 3 fingers, so I can go off on the third station. Arigatou Obaa-san~~
First stop is the Shinyokohama Ramen Museum (新横浜ラーメン博物館 Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Hakubutsukan). Entry for the whole day is ¥310.
Top 9 Ramen Restaurants representing famous ramen establishment from all over the country.
The first floor shop is fun to buy modern ramen, bowls, chopstick and such, but the second floor with the 50’s theme shops are much more photographer dream.
Some snacks and food (ramen!) small shops in reminiscence of the old days, the replica of 1958 street-like buildings and fake sky. Even the servers, sales men and ladies and the police, dressed in the 50’s getup.
The alley with some of the ‘gentlemen’ pubs and restaurants. People can take photos in authentic phone booth, fire hydrant, old vespa. Even the stickers, lights and cables are ‘old’.
The restaurant alley way with the best ramen restaurants.
Ordering ramen from vending machine by selecting which ramen I want to eat and insert money on the slot. They accept paper and coins.
This one is Nidai-me Genkotsu-ya. Famous for the second generation Tokyo-based Ramen with light broth. The soup base is from pork bone, chicken bone, tough, fatty cuts tuna and konbu (kelp) with soy sauce and salt. The noodles are medium thick and taste good with chicken chasu, eggs, bamboo shoots, fish cake (naruto) and a nori for garnish.
After lunch, stumble upon a traditional sweet shop Dagashi-ya on Yu-yake Shoten (Sunset Shopping Street), found some candies and toys from the 50’s.
Next stop is The Yokohama Landmark Tower (横浜ランドマークタワー Yokohama Randomāku Tawā), the second tallest building in Japan now with 296.3 m. (When I came here, it was the taller building, but in 2012 it was surpassed by Abeno Harukas (あべのハルカス) with 300 m.
The Yokohama Landmark Tower still boasts the highest observatory deck in Japan at the 69th floor, the Sky Garden, 273 m above sea level. Entry is ¥1000.
Going up here from the 2nd floor lobby only takes less, less~~~ than one minute. My ears almost pops with how fast we’re going. Feels like shooting up from a barrel. According the website, the speed is 750m/minute.
Another view overlooking the Yokohama Cosmo World and Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel, the largest clock in the world.
In each corner/side of the observatory desk, there’s a city-scape map with prominent buildings. Walk around and see the whole city in 360 degrees and up to 80 km all around.
The window view as compare to the map above.
There’s also a cafe where people can relax, drink and sight seeing. The spot is famous for couples going on a date.
After a satisfying evening high up here. I walk around outside and enjoy some musicians playing top 40’s with a mix of modern and traditional instruments.
Back to Tokyo and at the apartment, I ended up enjoying a cool drink and roasted chestnuts.
Japan Trip 2011:
Tokyo:
Buddha – The Story in Manga and Art at Tokyo National Museum
Japan Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Art at Tokyo National Museum
Kamakura:
Hakone:
Kyoto:
A Thousand Steps to Discover Kyoto
Nara:
Yokohama:
Source: Wikipedia, Travelwiki, Tripadvisor, Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, Yokohama Japan, Minatomirai21
101MonkeyMagic 
Nice post & photos! :)
Thank you @tefltravelling!