I Am A Celebrity!: Cruising In Japan - Yokohama (We Really Didn't Go There)

OUR HOLLAND America itinerary named Yokohama as a port stop. It really isn't a "stop." The cruise started and finished there. While I have always personally thought it disingenuous to advertise it this way, it is very common for cruise lines to do so. At least, though, it gives a couple opportunities to fit the port city in. In most cases, I would probably recommend that you come into the port city a couple (2-4) days early. Not only does this give you some insurance that you won't miss the ship if there are travel exigencies, but it gives you an opportunity to spend some quality time in the city. We have found that at the end of an eventful cruise we are tired, and ready to head home (though we have enjoyably spent more time on land at both ends of some of our cruises).

YOKOHAMA IS one of those words that has a catchiness to it. It is prominent in at least two American pop songs (by Chuck Berry and Linda Ronstadt). It rhymes with some other popular words; particularly "mama." At least one source says it means "wide beach" in Japanese. Yokohama is one of several ports on Tokyo Bay, and is said to be the second largest commercial port in Japan (after Nagoya). There are multiple wharves which are dedicated to cargo shipping as well as a very robust passenger terminal (Osanbashi). Opening in 1859, I believe it was the second port (following Kobe in 1853) to open up to world trade during the end years of the Meiji dynasty. This opening is widely attributed to U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's historic visit to Japan. Ironically, this formerly isolated nation (truly a world in and of itself), and specifically Yokohama, has become a world leader in manufacturing and exportation of products. Yokohama is home to a number of multi-national giants like Isuzu, Nissan, and JVCKenwood. Because of its early opening, Yokohama was the first to have an influx of foreigners (notably Chinese), and one of the first places to embrace "western" fashion and culture. It is today home to Japan's largest and most robust "Chinatown." It is known as a cosmopolitan port city.

OUR YOKOHAMA experience was pretty much limited to the area around the cruise terminal. That is unfortunate. Online "digging" suggests that Yokohama would be one of those cities you could spend a few days seeing. The only problem there is that it is so close to Tokyo, and most of us would choose Tokyo over Yokohama - at least if we hadn't spent any significant time in either one of them.

WHICH IS exactly what we did. We had the added incentive that our grandson is in Tokyo, so we planned to spend a few days there before heading to the Yokohama cruise port. Someday, I think it would be great fun to see some of the things Yokohama has to offer. I think Chinatown would probably justify a good part of a day. There are also art and history museums, an amusement park, and some pretty good waterfront areas. Maybe on another visit to the Tokyo area, we will spend a little more time there.

ON THE day of our cruise departure, our grandson's other grandpa drove us (along with grandson and mom) to the cruise port. We left a bit early, with a plan to spend some time together seeing at least some small part of Yokohama. He owns a business that brokers and sells industrial machinery, and as the Yokohama Port is a huge industrial and warehousing center, he was pretty familiar with the area. It was a nice time. We went to the Shinko Pier area; one of several cruise ship piers in the port. The main pier is the adjacent Osanbashi Pier where the main international cruise and passenger terminal for the port is situated. These piers take up substantial real estate on the harbor, which is defined by land to the west and the Yokohama Bay Bridge to the east. This area is said to be able to accommodate up to 4 good sized cruise ships at any given time. The Shinko Pier also houses the Yokohama division of the Japan Coast Guard, including a rather large facility.

THE SHINKO Pier is actually part of a small island (Shinko) separated from the mainland by a canal. On this island, the Red Brick Warehouses (1&2), built in the early 20th century (and relatively large warehouse properties for the times) are a 2-building, two-story warehouse complex that has been converted into mostly commercial retail space (primarily restaurants and shops). Out in front along the wharf is a large park area that extends to the water, where there are nice views of the water, including a view out to the Bay of Tokyo and the Yokohama Bay Bridge. The area the Red Brick Warehouse serves also has a skating rink in the winter, and an area with a stage which is a popular destination for outdoor shows. That day there was a (presumably Spanish) Paella/Tapas festival. More importantly - for our grandson - there were several young people's groups performing dance moves on stage. He sat and watched for a long time.

THE AREA surrounding the warehouses is immaculately landscaped and planted - primarily - with carpets of colorful flowers (at least it was in the Spring, when we were there). I am photographically attracted to bright colors and the massive and impressive flower beds were an immediate draw for me and my camera.

ANOTHER ATTRACTION on the Shinko Pier/Island is Yokohama Cosmo World Amusement Park. That Ferris wheel you see in all the Yokohama Port pictures? That's Cosmo World. One of my "list" items for our Yokohama port departure was to get that iconic photo of the Yokohama skyline with the Ferris wheel, at night, in color, when things were all lit up. Holland America (and it's probably not fair to blame just them - so I'll add the port authorities in too), threw a monkey-wrench in the works for me. Cruise ships have been getting bigger and bigger. So much so, that the newest megaships are unable to safely get underneath the span of the Yokohama Bay Bridge to reach the cruise piers. In order to accommodate the megaships, the port built a new cruise pier/cruise terminal building to the immediate north of the harbor, on the outside of the bridge, on yet another island: Diakokufuto. Even though our ship - the Westerdam- is one of the smallest and oldest ships, for some inexplicable reason, it was docked at the Diakokufuto Pier. There was no view of the Ferris wheel from there. Bummer.

MY SHOT shortly before we sailed away was my consolation. Difficult lighting and not the backdrop I hoped for, it still made a memory. This would prove to be a fun and educational cruise.

I WILL hope for another chance. In the meantime, the best I could do was an overcast morning as we returned to port and disembarked the ship.

I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Cruising In Japan - Yokohama (We Really Didn't Go There)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive