Tag: Yokohama

A Free Day in Chinatown, Yokohama

The Day Before my Cruise

I had a full day to myself before boarding the Princess Cruise ship, Diamond Princess, so I visited Chinatown, the largest in Japan.  It rained all day, a pleasant and light rain and I was impressed with the clean stores and inviting eateries.  A young man enticed me into his restaurant, which offered 74 or more different items for one set price of 1680 yen, cash only.  Rather than eat at a food stand, I decided to try the restaurant.  I thought the size of the dishes would be much smaller but they were regular size.  It was truly a feast:  ramen, sticky rice, pork shumai, sweet bean filled sesame balls, eggplant, char siu, and a variety of vegetables.

I accidentally came across an outdoor mall in the neighborhood and was happy to find a Daiso, a discount store similar to the 99 Cent or Dollar Stores in the United States.  I found a mini mortar and pestle set and a mini sushi making kit as well as puzzles, barrettes, horsehair paint brushes, and small handkerchiefs for my granddaughter.  There was also a panda themed store where I purchased a snow globe with a panda riding a carousel horse.

I noticed familiar restaurants such as KFC, Yoshinoya, and McDonald’s.  At McDonald’s, they did not offer an extensive menu, but the set prices seemed to include a side dish of corn.  My cousin once told me that the Japanese love corn and always have a can of corn in the cupboard.  You’ll find it used as a garnish on salads, served at restaurants as corn soup, and served as corn sushi at a kaitenzushi restaurant, or conveyor belt sushi.  There is even an instant version in packets.  Yup, they sure love corn.

15-Day Cruise Around Asia

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!

Toyoko Inn Complimentary Breakfast
Toyoko Inn Yokohama
My Hotto Motto
Freshly made food from Hotto Motto