Yokohama: Day Trippin’

Perhaps you’ve become over-stimulated by the massive spread of Tokyo and need a slightly smaller cityscape. Perhaps ramen and Chinatown fare would really hit the spot. Perhaps you just want to see what Japan’s second largest city has to offer you. No matter your reasoning, at only half an hour from Shinjuku Station, Yokohama makes for an excellent day trip during a long vacation to Tokyo.

 

Getting There and Around

 

First, you’ll need to get to Kanto. You can fly with Peach into Narita, which is awfully far away and inconvenient, ANA or JAL into Haneda, or you can take the shinkansen. This is especially convenient if you decide your first stop should be Yokohama. You can just get off at Shin-Yokohama and shave off a couple yen from your ticket. Night buses can also get you there (though I try to avoid these as I cannot sleep on long-distance buses; Ono to Sannomiya knocks me out, but otherwise it’s impossible; UGH!), straight to Yokohama, Shinjuku, or even Tokyo Disneyland!

 

Once in Yokohama, there are many trains throughout the city. You can take them to get to all of the interesting things to see and do. Yokohama station has coin lockers, though its layout can be confusing. Make sure you take a mental or paper note on where you’ve left your bags if need be.

 

Where to Stay

 

Tokyo has many, many options. Ace Inn Shinjuku is cheap and well-located, though the facilities are a little unkempt. Khaosan has several locations and is also affordable. Toyoko Inns are much more expensive than their counterparts in other cities in Japan. I’m unsure of what’s in Yokohama itself as I was fortunate enough to have a bit of floor at a friend’s apartment to sleep on.

 

What to Do

 

A great first stop is the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum http://www.raumen.co.jp/english/ (yes “raumen;” I don’t know why). A one day ticket will give you entry all day, so you can have all of your meals here and try all of the available varieties! Most or all of the shops have mini size. Though it was only offered in the regular size, my favorite ramen (and the most unusual I’ve ever had) was the pepperoncini one at the Italian ramen shop. Instead of broth, it had a spicy sauce. The atmosphere of the museum is also entertaining with its Edo period architecture and performances throughout the day.

 

Cosmo World http://cosmoworld.jp/ is an amusement park and houses Cosmo Clock 21, a giant Ferris wheel. It was the tallest for eight years. Since then, the record has bounced from country to country in a spitting match of sorts. Now, it resides with Las Vegas’ High Roller, which was opened in 2014 (nice to see my birth city can be known for things other than gambling). Currently, Cosmo Clock 21 has a couple Pikachu themed cars.

 

Nearby Cosmo World is the Cup Noodle Museum http://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/index.html. They have collaborations from time to time with other museums in the area, so while we were there, they had a velociraptor in the entryway, because why not? (In actuality, they were advertising the Dinosaur Exhibition that was occurring during that time period). Get here early if you want to make your own Cup Noodle, otherwise they may sell out. Not knowing this was a possibility, we strolled in an hour and a half before closing and were unable to partake. As a result, I have little else to say. Fortunately, there is a location in Osaka, so I can go make my own if I really want to.

 

The last thing we did during our day trip was check out Yokohama’s Chinatown http://www.chinatown.or.jp/. It is much bigger than Kobe’s (though both are located near stations named 元町), and is the largest in all of Asia. Sadly, we were still too full from our ramen extravaganza to partake in some of the delicious smells wafting through the streets, but we had just a tiny bit of space for goma balls and egg custards, both of which were satisfyingly sweet without being cloyingly so.

 

Last Minute Points

-Until this trip, I didn’t realize that Toyoko is a combination of the first two kanji from Tokyo and Yokohama (東横). Kanji is fun!

-There is a cat cafe near Chinatown that is heavily advertised. Its prices are ridiculously high. You’re better off going to Cafe Calaugh in Asakusa or one in Kansai once you return home if you need a kitty fix.

 

Yokohama has plenty to offer for a day trip or more! Definitely consider visiting next time you venture out to Japan’s capital.

 

Brittany Teodorski