Getting There – October 24 and 25, 2017
I flew into Yokohama two days early to make sure I made it to the Osanbashi Pier in Yokohama to board my cruise. We had destructive hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico and strong typhoons also visited Asia. My American Airlines flight from Las Vegas went to Dallas Forth Worth. I had paid for an aisle seat, and paid again to get closer to the exit, from row 29 to row 13, as the layover in Dallas was only an hour and a half. I didn’t have to worry because they have Skylink, a wonderfully efficient airport transport system where passengers do not leave the security area and the trains go around the loop with stops at various gates every 9 minutes.
The pilot of the connecting flight who took us to Narita informed us that instead of the regular route over Alaska, he was flying a southern route to avoid high winds. Once in Narita, I took the Narita Express to Yokohama and transferred to the Minatomirai subway line and exited at the Nihon Odori station. I relied on a review I read that said the hotel I reserved, the Toyoko Inn Hotel, was about five minutes away on foot. Of course, once out of the station, I didn’t know what direction to go and I asked a passerby. He took out his iPhone to use the flash light and read the address on my printout. He initially said there were many hotels with the same name but ended up escorting me to the front desk of the hotel. Awesome!
The hotel was clean and the staff very friendly. I had been worried because my printout had mentioned shared bathrooms but the desk clerk assured me that the bathrooms were private. I asked if there were any conbinis nearby. Sure enough, there were two. I also discovered a Hotto Motto, where you can purchase freshly made food with plenty of rice for takeout only. In the room, there was no closet but a printout in English that said that suitcases will fit conveniently under the bed. There was also a small rack with a few hangers. For a solo traveler, this was perfect! The breakfast was complimentary and consisted of miso soup, various rice balls, a protein such as meatballs, pickled vegetables and coffee, tea, or water. For a Japanese American tourist, this was food heaven!
