Yokohama...the city, not the tires

Last weekend, Bern and I went to the city of Yokohama which is about a 25 minute train ride north of Yokosuka. Luckily for us, Bern's god-sister Melissa works at the hospital on base so she was our tour guide for the day. Yokohama is the home of the biggest Chinatown in Japan and right off the bat we could tell why. From the ornate Chinese pergolas stationed at each of the entranceways to the red lanterns hanging high above the streets; it really reminded me of the Chinatown in San Francisco. Bern got a quick morning snack and bought a siopao (steamed buns filled with stuffing) & even managed to take a quick picture of the Hello Kitty panda bear. We didn't have time to check out all that Chinatown had to offer but at least we know where to look for real authentic Chinese food & dim sum in the future.    

 

Just like Yokosuka, the city of Yokohama is a huge port for Japan right off Tokyo Bay. As we were walking down the bay front, we came across a statue surrounded by a nice water fountain. After carefully reading the description, we were happy to find out that this statue has ties to the 619. It was a gift from the City of San Diego back in 1960....in fact, the same statue stands in front of the County Administration building. How bout that huh?! Right in the heart of Yokohama is an amusement park with small roller coasters and a ferris wheel.

This was a great opportunity for us just to get a feel for the city. We plan on coming back to Yokohama many times over....to ride the ferris wheel at night, checking out a Yokohama Bay Stars baseball game, and visiting the Cup of Noodles museum! YES! Rumor has is that visitors can make their very own flavor of cup of noodles so stay tuned.