Japan Travels, Day 6

(whee! i'm finally back on my own reliable com!)

Travels @ Windy Yokohama

Morning was misspent at Machida City yet again to try and hunt down previously missed shopping bargains and so on.. hankered after the goods at Comm Ca and GAP though I was generally frustrated with my inability to communicate with the salespeople there... Got really pissed with my shopping companion's(my sis) comments regarding stuff I like.. like when I was eyeing some denim jacket from a cool vintage shop tucked behind the streets, she said it looked crumpled, then when I found cool vintage belts, she said it looked mouldy. -_- sian..

In the afternoon we headed for Yokohama city to find this expansive garden called Sankeien, with beautiful flowers and authentic wooden buildings. Stopped at Sakuragichio train station and my first impression of Yokohama was.. WAH.. so americanized. Ditching the traditional Japanese layouts of shopping centers, skypasses and a general squeezy, built-in environment, Yokohama was spaced out, windy and futuristic, complete with the wide roads so untypical of a Japanese town. I may be talking trash cos, duh... i haven't actually been to an American city, but well, Yokohama deviated from all previous cities in Japan I had visited.. so there.

And indeed, Yokohama was where we first saw other foreigners in Japan, and there was even an ang-moh neighbourhood near Sankeien where caucasian parents were teaching their children baseball and the likes.. how quaint.

Sankeien was beautiful.. like if you ever wondered how the producers found such scenic spots to film in Memoirs of a Geisha, look no further. the park is ringed in by towering trees, hence cutting it off from the busy port industries of Yokohama and giving the whole place a certain air of antiquity and stillness.. One interesting thing was that an old watchtower atop of one of the hills once commanded a scenic view of rocky cliffs and sea, but now gave a glimpse of the bustling port industry in Yokohama without any hint of the sea. sad thing i would think.. but that's progress for you..