One Day in Yokohama

Hello Yokohama~

It was Sunday, April 2nd 2017, when we arrived at Yokohama. The weather was much better, a bit cloudy but there was no rain. We only spent one night in that hustling harbor town and went to Fujisawa by next morning. So we tried to make our best spending this precious one day in Yokohama. My oh my, there were lots of flowers everywhere in this city...

Yokohama Park

Yokohama Stadium

Yokohama Park

After we put our luggage at our hotel, we actually wanted to go to Chinatown from Kannai Station. But along the way we decided to stop at Yokohama Stadium and Yokohama Park. There was this Garden Necklace event and tulips were blooming around this area. Some pink cherry blossom were already bloomed too. I'm not sure if there's always tulips in this park or it's because of the event. It's a wonderful sight for me, I had never seen so many tulips in so many colors before. I almost thought that we actually visited Koukenhof...

Tulips bloomed all over the place

Garden Necklace

The Garden Necklace had a mascot which I'm not sure if it's a bear or mouse or hedgehog... We called it Green Kuribo since it had floral frizzly rounded hair and green all over the body.

There were lots of pigeons in this park, another rare sight for me. They're not particularly tame, but they seemed pretty eager every time somebody gave them food. Families seems to enjoy their Sunday around here.

Japanese Garden at Yokohama Park

Still in Yokohama Park, when we walked further to Chinatown direction, we found a small Japanese style garden with pond  inside. It was really relaxing and gave a different atmosphere from the tulip garden. There were some birds nestling around this area, but I'm not sure what kind of bird are they.

Gate to China Town Area

China Town

Across Yokohama Park, finally we arrived at Chinatown district. This place was really crowded and there were lots of tourist too. The vibe that I got from this area reminds me of Dottonbori in Osaka. Vibrant and cheerful, but with a lot of Chinese characters.

Lots of people here~

Our goal to visit Chinatown was mostly about food. We wanted to know how Chinese food are handled in Japan, especially for Nikuman (meat bun), Kakuniman (pork bun), and Grilled Xiao Long Pao. My brother was the one who research around this area and he picked 2 place for us to try. Each already had a pretty long line.

Nikuman

Kakuniman

As a Chinese descendant in Indonesia who grew up with Chinese cuisine but also a Japanese food lover, I have to say... don't expect too much with Chinese Food in Japan. The meat bun and pork bun that we bought were awesome. So if you want to try some Japanese-Chinese food, stick with the bun kind and you'll be fine.

Yaki Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Pao is my favourite kind of dimsum, sadly both of xiao long pao and grilled xiao long pao that we had tried in Yokohama was a bit disappointment for me. the skin is a little thick but wasn't smooth. It had this glossy rough kind of texture in the skin surface. The broth and meat inside was pretty good, but not as delicious as I had expected.

Chinese restaurant in Indonesia like Paradise Dynasty and Imperial group has a much better xiao long pao with smooth but firm skin and delicious content. My brother who already tasted grilled xiao long pao in Shanghai said the Chinese one was whole lot better in different level.

After we warmed up our stomach with dimsums, we strolled around this area and looked around some interesting shops. Then we head to Yamashita Park.

Yamashita Park

Yamashita Park - NYK Hikawamaru - Osanbashi Pier

Yamashita Park is a beautiful flower garden by the sea side. This park was very lively. Couples and Families seems having fun around here while enjoying flowers. We met another Green Kuribo so this place was also a Garden Necklace spot. On the pier we saw NYK Hikawamaru, a big old ship that turned into Maritime Museum. Seagulls are hanging around this area. I wonder if we can actually fed them.

Beautiful seaside garden...

NYK Hikawamaru

From Yamashita Park we were walking towards Red Brick House using the seaside pedestrian road (or bridge...?). Along the way we saw Zou no Hana Terrace, a park that seems the be Children friendly place, and another spot of Garden Necklace which we enjoyed from above. We also saw Osanbashi Pier. It seems relaxing to just sit in the green grass and enjoying the view of the seaport.

Hello again, Green Kuribo~

Another Garden Necklace Spot

Awesome Yokohama~

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

This place might be where Mariko was kidnapped and confined in Waki Yamato's Yokohama Manga.
(Okay, this one might be too segmented...)

Red Brick Warehouse

Nowadays, instead of warehouse, it became a shopping center for indie fashion and food. Lots of young people were hanging around here. There were an indie girl band performance when we arrived in this area.

Inside the Red Brick Warehouse was overwhelmingly crowded with people. There's a lot of interesting shops and foods but it's too crowded for me to enjoy the place and the walkway seems a bit narrow. In the end we prefer to walked around the building rather than went inside. ^^;

After some hours walking around, we finally got tired and pretty hungry. Instead of walk to Minato Mirai area, we had decided to find nearest station and went to Yokohama Station. While we tried to find the station, we also enjoyed the scenery of Yokohama old style buildings around this area. 

This town is pretty~

We went to Marui City Yokohama and got enough rest by sitting and waiting for the lines for Cafe Accueil. We wanted to enjoy pancakes before we went to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. Click HERE for more about this cafe.

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise - Aqua Museum

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise - Aqua Museum

This place is almost 1 hour by train from Yokohama Station by Seaside Line. Just outside Hakkeijima station, there's another Cremia spot. 500Yen for the most addictive ice cream I've ever had so far. :d

We crossed over the road (or bridge... again...?) to finally arrived at Hakkeijima Island and went to Aqua Museum. It was 5-6PM, windy and cold. But the fee for Aqua Museum is a bit cheaper at night, and we do prefer enjoying aquarium scenery as the last activity of the day.

2 years before, we visited Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. If Kaiyukan has an enormous aquarium with whale shark inside and a very lovely smiling seal, then Hakkeijima Aqua Museum offers you smaller but more varieties of aquariums and more activities inside. We even got to see Dolphins and White Belugas show. They were so cuteee~

Dolphin Fantasy

White Belugas

Since it was Spring, the decoration and lighting were having pink and Sakura for the aquarium theme. Walking around this Aqua Museum was very calming and relaxing. But since it's dark, it was pretty hard to took a nice photograph around here.

Sakura Tree

Small aquarium with Sakura for decoration

so cute~

It won't be complete without jellyfish

I wish I could stay here for more hours...

This place is actually better to be enjoyed by day rather than night since there are also amusement park in this area and some animals are asleep by night. But even at night, we really enjoyed our time there. If only it could last longer.

One day in Yokohama was almost over. We spent the rest to went back to our hotel and eat some bento for dinner. The next morning we would go to Kamakura. ~

Cherry Blossom Journey, my Hanami Spots in Tokyo

To be able to see cherry blossoms in their full bloom was my long-life dream. It might be silly for some people, it's just a tree full of pink flowers. But somehow I really really wish to see it, even now after I already saw them last April. I still hope I could be able to see them again next time. I never got bored watching them. Perhaps because I knew that they wont last long, so I want to cherish them as much as I can.

I also respect how Japanese people always appreciate the beauty of changing seasons around them. Perhaps Korean and Chinese people also have the same characteristic? They have the luxury to be able to enjoy this scenery each year. But even so they still looked amazingly happy each time they saw bloomed cherry blossoms.

Since I spent my first day and the last three days in Tokyo, I visited some places around this city for hanami. I wish I could share my experience and what I think of them since each place somehow gave me different vibes. Several of them was visited at the early bloom time and the rest when they're already started to fall and get leafy. I enjoy the full bloomed one in a different cities but that will be for another post.

Shinjuku Gyoen

This might be the most famous place for foreigner to do their hanami when visiting Japan. Shinjuku Gyoen often listed as the number one (or at least as the big 3) spot for Cherry Blossom Viewing. There are entrance fee around 200yen if I'm not mistaken. Security checks were presents to make sure visitors weren't bring sharp object and alcohol in this garden. So it's pretty safe and perhaps comfortable for family activities.

It was drizzling when we arrived at Shinjuku Gyoen. The sky was gloomy. And since it's our first day in Japan, the cold bellow 10 degrees weather was hit me pretty hard. The cherry blossoms were still in an early blooming stage at that time. But they do have several variants of cherry trees and the bloomed flowers were beautiful.

I do feel that this place somehow has a formal-kind of aura. The garden is really spacious with 3 kinds of garden. I don't think I had walked all over the whole park. But I do remember I walked around some ponds and open grassy field. I also took a glimpse of the Japanese Garden and visited the green house.

The Green house contains lots of tropical plants and I felt weird that we went so far to Japan and still saw orchids, palms, and banana trees there. It's an ordinary sight for us, but I guess tropical plants are unique and interesting for Japanese people just as Cherry Blossom and Maple trees are unusual for us.

There were also canteen-like area for people to buy snacks or hanami bento. While I love cherry blossom flowers, I don't particularly like to eat sakura-themed food. Sakura mochi and dango are nice, but the one with cherry paste or jam is a bit weird for my taste.


Ueno Park

We went to Ueno Park after Shinjuku Gyoen so it's still drizzling and cold. But the atmosphere were really different in Ueno Park. Lots of sakura trees just started to bloom and bellow them were people gathering with their friends or colleagues while eating and drinking sake. It felt so cheerful and lively even though the weather wasn't that nice. Maybe because it was Saturday. Lots of food stalls were also available with wide variety of food and snacks.

There is no admission in this park, so you can enjoy around 1000 of cherry blossom trees in this park for free. Some people might not like it since it's pretty noisy and there were several drunk people. But I do feel that it was the charm of this park. And if you wish to experience how Japanese people enjoy their spring festival then you should try to visit this park at the cherry blossom season.

Inokashira Park

We visited Inokashira Park on my last day in Japan and walked to the park from Kichijoji Station. It was pretty warm and the weather was great. It's a public city park and the admission is free. At first I only found green trees and I thought the cherry blossom might already turned to green leaves. It did feel like a start of summer scenery. But after I walked around I finally found the place with cherry blossom trees surrounding the lake. It was a really beautiful sight with their petals floating in the air every time the wind blows.

Inokashira Park is perfect for leisure walking with family, jogging, or dating spots. You can rent a boat to enjoy the scenery from the lake. We didn't do that since it's seems a bit troublesome, but the ducks in this lake seems more approachable if you use the swan pedal boat.

The reason I went to Inokashira Park is because initially I planed to go to Ghibli Museum (which in the end I didn't get the ticket for it) and I want to feed ducks in this park. I even searched and got some info that ducks shouldn't be feed with bread and rice is better for them, so I bought some onigiris for the ducks and birds, but my brother refused and always reminded me with the "Do Not Feed the Duck" warning signs that is all over the place. ;_;


Nakameguro River

This is my most favorite place for cherry blossoms viewing in Tokyo. The pink flowered trees were planted all along this river, makes a wonderful scenery and lovely path for walking. I even visited Nakameguro twice, when they're still early bloomed and when they're started to fall. It's really enjoyable to stroll around the river in the morning, and the second time I went to Nakameguro, the weather was awesome with a clear blue sky. A perfect background for the pink flowers and their fresh green leaves. The petals were falling down beautifully, to the road, and the river.

I already fell in love with this place ever since I saw a photograph from my friend who visited this place when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The scenery where it became a pale-pinkish river from the falling petals was captivated my heart. Too bad I didn't get a chance to see Nakameguro River when it was covered with cherry blossom petals, perhaps some other time.

I found a lot of people walking around with their dogs in Nakameguro. I really wish I could pet them but I wasn't sure how to ask the owner without creeping them out. But some are nice enough to let me took photographs of their pets. :3

There are also lots of cute shops and food establishment around this area. At cherry blossom seasons, some shops open food stalls around the riverside road. But we were always pretty early in this area and most of them wasn't opened yet. Maybe this area would be livelier in the afternoon.


Sumida River Park

It's a nice park as well as pedestrian on the side of Sumida River. I didn't actually planned to go to this area. I actually wanted to go to Senso-ji from Asakusa monorail station, but somehow chose this path and found cherry blossom trees were still bloomed beautifully in this area. The other side of the river seems to also have a park with lots of cherry blossoms along the river. The sight of Tokyo Sky Tree become the highlight and makes an amazing view around this place.

We took quite long walk that we're a bit lost with our way to Senso-ji. But thank goodness we managed to arrived at the back side of the famous temple in Asakusa. xd;


Yanaka Cemetery

We found this area when we actually wanted to go to Yanaka Ginza shopping district. But the sight of cherry blossom trees distract me from the main path and we found large area of Japanese cemetery. It's located in the back of Nippori Station. The left and right side of the road in this cemetery complex are decorated with Cherry Blossom Trees. The sun was almost set when we were there and the twilight sky gave a deeper pink shade to the flowers in this place.

People might be uncomfortable to have cemetery complex as hanami spot, but for me it was really beautiful and I was grateful to strayed a bit to found the sakura-dori road. I kind of wish to have a tombstone in this cemetery after I die, but it must be very difficult and expensive. ^^;


Asukayama Park

I went there at the first day when the weather was cold and rainy. Asukayama Park was located a bit north from the central Tokyo even though it's not that far. It's just a crossing road from JR Oji Station. It seems that they're located on the higher ground, so when I was there the cherry blossoms wasn't bloomed yet.

I actually went there for the night illumination in the park. It's a shame we went there not at the right timing. But some other flowers already blossomed beautifully as if they want to cheer us or other people who also came too early. Some were also doing their hanami when we were there.

The landscape of this park is beautiful and it's really a nice place for leisure walking. I saw bunch of children playing around even though the sky was already pretty dark. We can access the park using a diagonal cable car, it's really fun. The park admission and the cable car are free.

I believe there are lots of other awesome places and great spots for Cherry Blossoms viewing around Tokyo. For me, it's always felt awesome when I found something I didn't planned or expect. Like if I follow my curiosity and choose an unusual route and then found a beautiful place, somehow it fills my heart with happiness.

All of these (and actually most of my blog posts) perhaps too personal and subjective. But I hope they could be a helpful reference for people who wish to know about some hanami spots around Tokyo. :)

Next will be, Yokohama ~

Note. I wrote this blogpost in English so I can also practice for the upcoming IELTS test. I hope I wasn't making too many mistake. ^^; Correction are welcomed~