To tell you honestly, Yokohama was not really on the list of my must-visit places in Japan. Maybe because I don’t know anything about it, or I just forgotten about it (hehe). Thankfully, my other officemates went there ahead and told us how beautiful the place was. Then I recalled somebody who I’ve been following on Instagram who lives in Japan. He posted photos of beautiful structures and places which I really admire. And guess where most of it was taken? Yokohama!! I was really filled with enormous joy at that moment thinking of the times when I was looking at his photos and wishing I could go and see it in person. I couldn’t believe that I really got to do it!
This is the first time my other officemates and I visited a place in Japan all by ourselves (all first-timers). We don’t have any internet guide (only map screenshots), and none of us can understand Nihongo. We already have the list of places we wanted to explore and we like it this way – discovering a beautiful place on our own. Of course, we have to prepare ourselves for a lot of walking.
Enough with my sentiments. We arrived at the Yokohama station not knowing which exit to take. We are thankful that Japan has maps everywhere. The correct exit for us was at the East exit where an underground mall called the Yokohama Porta is located.
We continued walking to the wrong direction and found ourselves a Japanese map; fortunately, we were able to understand it for about 10-15 mins. Haha! So we went on to find this market our other officemates told us about. It’s quite far I should say. Passing by tall buildings, highways and we even crossed a bridge to get to where it’s suppose to be.
Upon arriving, we figured out it was a seafood section wholesale market. So we went crossing the bridge back (all by foot) and saw a lot of birds by the docks along the way!
All of us decided that we shall go straight to where the big Ferris wheel is. None of us knew how to get there. So since we were already seeing it from afar, we just followed it by sight. The path we took was deserted and we were wondering why. Later on we realized we were at the wrong side of the normal path going to its location. You can just alight from the Minato Mirai station, just a walking distance from the big Ferris wheel which is really hard to miss! Haha!
At last, we have finally arrived! Funny thing is, we only knew the name of the amusement park by the time we got there. Yokohama Cosmo World!
I have mentioned in my previous post how I love amusement parks, this is just another one I don’t want to miss! Not like in other parks, this has no entrance fee and is not a ride-all-you-can. You have to pay every time you want to enjoy any attraction.
Excitement kept us wanting to ride everything! But we only chose the ones that were the scariest (I talked them into riding it with me. Hehe). First, the Diving Coaster, Vanish!
Did we get wet? I won’t tell! Up next, the Cliff Drop – a log flume ride. This is another wet ride I suppose, but you never know unless you try it!
Now, for the huge Ferris wheel or for what it’s called – Cosmo Clock 21. It has a clock at the center, hence the name.
We wouldn’t miss it for the world! If you want to see Yokohama high up above, you must ride this. It’s not that scary at all because it revolves in just a friendly pace. 😉
There is also a kid section of the Cosmo World. It can be seen from the Ferris wheel too.
Yokohama’s skyline is also best viewed at night. But we weren’t able to see it since we already went to our next destination. Of course, we stopped by for crepes! The Cup Noodles Museum was just around the corner as well.
We continued to stroll and found ourselves seeing this show in Queen’s Square Yokohama. Pretty amazing performance in a cold weather.
By the way, the photos from that person I followed on Instagram were the Cosmo Clock 21, and the roller coaster steel art structure below. I still couldn’t believe I’ve seen them right before my very eyes!
Right after, we wandered a little bit inside the Queen’s Square mall. Since we were already in Yokohama, we decided and rode maybe, 3-4 stops to Yokohama Chinatown. I thought that this is similar to the Chinatown in Singapore, but I was wrong. It really was pure Chinese atmosphere! The smell, the dimsum, not to mention the big steamed buns! There were also goodies from Hawaii, India and other countries.
It’s already night time and our feet were already sore. Good thing it’s a long one-ride train back to where we were staying. Yokohama is one beautiful city, and it has still a lot more to offer. I know I say this a lot in all my posts, but I never regret it. It just means I would have to come back again and uncover more of its beauty. Who would have thought I could reach this place in my life? I, myself, couldn’t but yet I did! 🙂
Guest post by: Maria Johanna Ybañez