A wedding in Yokohama

I was lucky enough to be invited to a friend’s wedding which took place yesterday in Yokohama. It was my first “Japanese wedding” though just like most other young people these days, the wedding was “western style”. It took place at a hotel in Yokohama, with an initial section taking place at a chapel. These “hotel weddings” have become the trend among the young Japanese, who enjoy the chapel/church setting even though they themselves are not Christians.

Attending a wedding ceremony, just like many other cultural “concepts”, is a ceremony itself, based on very strict rules dating back hundreds of years. There is so much to write, both about the rules and the wedding itself but I am really busy these days with studying for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) and working at the office so I guess these will wait for now…

Historic cars and… a giant mechanical spider?

I was in Yokohama on Sunday and as luck would have it there was a historic car exhibition right outside the restaurant I was at in Akarenga / 赤レンガ. Given that there was a ridiculous wind outside I was happy to get a seat inside and almost as soon as I sat down I saw a group of people gathering right outside and surely enough in about a minute the first car passed right in front of the window followed by more. Apparently this was a part of historical tour around Japan which explains how they managed to attract a crowd even under those weather conditions. There was a nice collection of both very old (see the pic above ;)) and very new cars including a few generations of Ferraris, all looking equally impressive to my untrained eye.

It was on my way back to the train station that I noticed this huge spider towering over walls, I suppose a part of some exhibition. I couldn’t see much though thanks to my zoom lens now I can see much clearer ;) It definitely looks impressive, a mechanical spider with (at least) 6 operators controlling its moves. I would love to see this from close up myself. I am not sure what the exhibition was for exactly but I suspect it is a part of the 150th year celebration of the opening of Yokohama Harbor.

Yokohama （横浜） Trip

Yokohama is surprisingly close to Tokyo (30 minutes by train from Shibuya) and yet it looks like a completely different city. For me, it felt much more like a sea-side town with a much more relaxed atmosphere and complete absence of the hustle and bustle of a big metropolis like Tokyo.


Upon exiting the Minato-mirai Station （みなとみらい駅）you get greeted by the ocean and right on the water is a... well, a decent-sized amusement park with a huge ferris wheel (this is the third one I see after the ones in Osaka and Tokyo's Odaiba). Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to check out different rides but I am hoping to do that next time - I got my eyes on the water log ride thingie, it looked like it could be a lot of fun.

I got the chance to see the old port, the new port, the famous red brick building used as a warehouse when Japan first opened its doors to the outside world during the Meiji Era called Akarenga （赤レンガ）and last but not least the Landmark Tower - the tallest skyscraper in Japan. In fack I took the picture below from the deck at the top of the tower called "Sky Garden".

I am planning on being back to Yokohama for further exploration as soon as I get the chance. There is so much more left to explore including the famous Chinatown.





ps. Thanks so much for your hospitality 櫻井さん！.