Mikasa Park and Chinatown

Most people went home for the holidays, but those of us who stayed still made time to go out to see some of Japan. On Christmas Day, everyone seemed to lock themselves in their hotel rooms to watch TV and call home. So, nearing sunset, I finally decided I'd had enough of sitting around for one day and walked to Mikasa Park. This park is built right next to the Base and contains the Japanese battleship Mikasa sunk into concrete as a memorial. She is the last remaining pre-dreadnought ship. This ship was a flagship and fought in the Russo-Japanese war. In the Battle of Tsushima, she led the Japanese fleet against Russian ships. She took more than 30 hits with only limited damage and the Japanese pretty much just stomped Russia's fleet out of existence destroying 21 of their 38 ships, disarming 6 more and capturing an additional 7. This is especially impressive because in comparison to the 4500 Russian sailors who died in this battle, only 116 Japanese were lost along with 3 torpedo boats. So they saved this cool old ship as a matter of pride and in memorial of the brave and excellent sailors. I thought it was a pretty remarkable story.

The park is right on the water and a series of waterfalls and statues guided me there. It seemed like only Japanese couples were out, enjoying the views and walking hand-in-hand. Since they don't celebrate Christmas, nothing was closed. Arriving in the park, my eyes were immediately drawn to the old battleship in her concrete tomb. Mikasa stands proud and haunting. She is on just one edge of a park full of artistic metal arches and fountains. Walking around in the sunset, the arches were lit up orange and and glinting in the last few rays of the day's light.

As I was leaving the park, I came across a black steam engine I hadn't noticed before. I'm not sure of its significance, but it was pretty cool looking in the dusk light, so I took a photo. I made it to the market in time to buy some fresh fruits and veggies. If I haven't mentioned it before, Japan has absolutely amazing produce.

The next day, the few of us got together and hit up Chinatown in Yokohama. There are a total of 10 Chinese gates in the area, and I managed to find 7 before it was too late to wander anymore. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a riot of color and smell. Everything is just as you'd imagine: elaborate, curvy, and cloaked in reds and golds. Fresh roasted chestnuts were being sold on every street corner and free samples were readily available. Between those, the pastries also available everywhere, and the Chinese buffet we had an hour after arrival, I thought I might burst.

We visited a Chinese temple which is remarkably similar to a Japanese temple in layout, but not at all in style. The Chinese temples are red and gold with intricate statuettes covering much of the roof. Large pillars styled with dragons guard the main entrance to the temples. Inside is a golden maze of design with red and green for accents. Its amazing.

Next we approached a large shopping center full of little trinkets and interesting things. A dragon dog and Hello Kitty in a panda suit guarded the entrance. I don't think I mentioned before, but Chinatown has everything panda that you could possibly imagine: keychains, toys, hats, tupperware, stickers, etc. (And Japan is simply stocked full of Hello Kitty.) After spending time browsing, buying funny panda cups, and viewing another temple that was very similar to the first, we wandered a nearby shopping mall and found a cool honey store. Inside were a myriad of honey flavors. One had the largest bee I had ever seen preserved inside. That pretty much marked the end of the day.