We arrived at the Ohsanbashi Passenger Terminal at around 8am, again with a port view and another big wheel (ferris wheel at the fun park) showing the time. We were quick to get off the ship – another beautiful day, very warm, albeit a little cloudy. Nishi, our Goodwill Guide was waiting and gave us a lovely welcome – he was wearing an Akubra which he acquired whilst living in Australia for a couple of years – he was such a nice gentleman and spoke good English. Although Tokyo was only 18 long miles away (because of the traffic), we decided just to explore Yokohama which is Japan's second largest city and has a population of about 3.7 million!!
Nishi suggested we walk to the bus stop and go to the Sankeien Garden, so off we trotted, well he wasn't quite as quick as Yayoko and Iwai, it was more of a dawdle…… but we eventually got to the gardens and they were just beautiful – would be even more so when everything is in flower, but we got the gist and there were a few lovely acres to explore. We got the bus back to a very elite street of shops, so window shopping was all that was required. Next it was a coffee, and again we bumped into a couple of our dinner mates outside Starbucks.
We went to Chinatown, with the intention of having a Japanese lunch, but the queues were far too long so went underground and 'strolled' through the massive complex of shops, ending up at a huge electronic store several storeys high, at which we were able to purchase an extra battery for the movie camera – might not sound exciting but we have not been able to purchase one anywhere – and it was half the price, which was amazing as Japanese prices are sky high!!
For lunch we ended up at the Takashimaya Department Store, went straight to the top floor in the Rose Restaurant where we had authentic Soba Noodles, Tempura and Sake (which I have never had before and have now crossed off my list of "should do's" – it was good). A great experience with such attentive waiters, and with full tummies and renewed energy, we walked to the Landmark Tower, the tallest building. We ascended the 69 floors in half as many seconds and walked into the Sky Garden, where we enjoyed a 360 deg. panoramic view of Yokohama, where we got a great perspective of this very progressive and well laid out city. A big harbour, with several canals going in all directions, wide and very clean streets, and attractive buildings. We then walked back to the ship via the fun park and dockside, where they were celebrating "Oktobafest" – you would have thought you were in a German Beer Garden!! We also needed to stock up on some more lemonade so had to walk a few extra blocks to the 7 Eleven, but it was worth it. Totally worn out, we said our farewells to Nishi and thanked him for a fabulous day in Yokohama – we gave him a little thank you gift of an Aboriginal painted plate and some little Koalas.
We had an early dinner in Horizons and then enjoyed sailaway at 8pm. Didn't fancy the Showtime entertainment so enjoyed a red wine in the Wheelhouse Bar, watching some passengers 'wishing to become pop stars' and trying their hardest….. A delightful thought – 3 sea days ahead of us!!
PHOTOS: Three pictures taken in the Sankeien Garden; Colin being very cheeky; My yummy Soba Noodles & Tempura lunch; The Landmark Tower; Three views from the 69th floor of the Sky Garden; Nishi & I at dockside; Sun Princess berthed next to a Japanese War Ship!!; Lights blazing as we sail into the distance.
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