Monday 29th September. Yokohama turn around day.
As we are considered ‘in transit’ passengers, there is no obligation to go ashore. Guests wishing to remain on board are to meet at 9.30am at an appointed place to be taken ashore into the terminal building to complete immigration formalities. Not us! We’re making the most of every opportunity to see more of Japan. And when we return, our ‘Transit’ pass should get us priority boarding.
Biggest problem is, not much opens before 10.30 or 11am. The plan is to walk around the waterfront of Yokohama, go to the Red Brick warehouse; Yokohama World Porters, a shopping centre with a viewing platform that overlooks Yokohama (bonus no stairs); and the Landmark Tower for it’s viewing area on the 69th floor.
So, the Red Brick warehouse wasn’t open, neither was the bonus Oktoberfest area next door. World Porters was due to open at 10.30am, only another 5 minutes to wait. You can access the building where there is a sitting area to wait in until the huge roller doors go up. As the doors go up, there is a security guard inside with his arms spread wide……. No-one shall pass until the rollers are all the way up! Funny thing is, that wouldn’t work in Australia! Seeing as we’ve waited, we go in to look at the Hawaii shop/s. They seem to be mad for it here. There’s quite a lot to look at but we’re not that interested in shops, so we leave to walk to the Landmark Tower. It’s another hot day but there’s a breeze, too much to use my UV umbrella though.
The Landmark Tower and much of the surrounding area is built on reclaimed land, made by using the rubble of a Yokohama destroyed in the bombings of WW11. And what original land there is was formerly industrial and shipyards. It has one of the fastest elevators in Japan. One of the big drawcards is that, on a clear day, it’s possible to see Mt Fuji. I make a beeline for the window facing Fuji and there is just the smallest bit of the top visible, with cloud covering the rest. The clouds ebb and flow but only another small part becomes visible. The funniest thing is when a man realises that he’s looking at Mt Fuji. He’s so excited he claps his hands and points out the mountain to others in his group in a very animated way. I get talking to him and it turns out he’s been on the same cruise as us and is also going on the next cruise. I wonder if we’ll bump into him again??
We’re a little bit familiar with the downstairs area of this building, having come to the shop that sells the studio Ghibli merch. So we know there’s food downstairs. We really feel like dumplings but we can’t find any. We wander for a bit, then horror of horrors, we decide to go back to the ship to eat!! We also know that it’s only 2 stops on the metro to get to the station nearest to where the ship is docked. At Nihon-Odori station, we see a man and woman with suitcases looking around, not sure where to go. They’re so close to their end destination!! We ask them if they’re going to Diamond Princess and they reply yes. Follow us! They’re very grateful. I don’t envy them the walk hauling baggage. Been there, done that!
Burger and fries at Trident Grill and we see Robyn and Dolf with their new glasses. They look really good and are so light! Specs might be on the list next time we come to Japan. A few of the staff recognised us and welcomed us back warmly. The cabin steward in the next section along from us got quite a surprise to see us. That was so sweet. Our steward, Salvador, knew we were back on and I think he was a bit relieved that there was at least one of his cabins remaining the same. But he knew a few days ago.
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