Yokohama

Posted on 2013/03/08 12:49:10 (March 2013).

[Sunday 3rd March 2013]
Woke up early thanks to jetlag - even earlier than usual actually - around 3:30 - and didn't really get back to sleep again properly after that. Erika seemed to sleep through fairly well though, so we weren't too concerned if it was just us grown-ups staggering around like zombies.

This did at least mean we had the opportunity to enjoy the sunrise over Tokyo from our hotel room, on the 49th floor of the Ritz Carlton (which only really starts at the 40th floor).

Spent most of the morning lounging around our hotel, and popped out for breakfast at the attached cafe some time after 9.

At 11 we headed out in the direction of Yokohama, where we planned to spend the afternoon. Our first port of call was Myorenji, a couple of stops away from Yokohama proper, where we met up with my friend and former colleague Tanaka-san, who had kindly invited us to his house for lunch. I'd spoken a lot with Tanaka-san about the pros and cons of having kids (he has two himself) so it seemed very appropriate to take Erika to meet him and his family. His wife made a very nice lunch for us (I think Tanaka-san must have tipped her off that I like fried things!) involving some unusual delicacies like sato-imo (a kind of potato), gobo (burdock) and avocado gratin.

Whilst there a nappy change turned rather, um, dramatic shall we say, and I had to borrow one of Tanaka-san's shirts to go home. Tanaka-san found this hilarious.

After that we said our goodbyes, and headed to Yokohama proper to meet up with Yuka again, and have a bit of a wander round Yokohama. It's not somewhere I really came to much when we were living in Tokyo, so it's all a bit unfamiliar, although to some extent it's much like any other city centre in Japan.

We had an early dinner at a tempura place which was a bit naff, actually, and then as we were starting to get tired decided to call it an early day and head back to the hotel.

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