thoughts on yokohama

(Been a little sidetracked the past few weeks, pardon me for my usual tardiness! :P)

Yokohama is slightly over half an hour by JR trains from Tokyo (on an express service, all-stops trains take about an hour), but has a very different feel to its much larger counterpart. However, it can be argued that Yokohama IS in fact part of the Tokyo area itself, since the two areas merge seamlessly in the Kanagawa area.

The port city is probably most famous for its Chinatown, and its many Chinese food stalls and shops that sell treats of the highest quality. However, it is also ridiculously tacky, and is more akin to a Westerner's opinion of medieval China than you'd expect from a country in our part of the world.

Besides Chinatown, Yokohama also has a waterside promenade in Yamashita Park. This is pretty much Yokohama's answer to Tokyo's Odaiba island, although it wasn't built on reclaimed land. Families come here to relax and enjoy the view of the Minato Mirai area directly opposite the shore, and there are a few buskers around to lend a slightly bohemian feel to the place.

Yokohama is a more relaxed city compared to the madness of Tokyo, and perhaps will be a good breather for those who are looking to escape the capital, but still want to have the conveniences that only a big city can provide.