July 27, 2009

• From July 18 - Yokohama

  Yokohama is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its opening as a harbor, and had a couple of sailing ships on display, so what could we do but go?  I think that we already saw one of them in Nagasaki, but that's ok. 

  

  We thought this building looked interesting, and over for a look.

  

  

  We really liked the interior!

  

  

  

  There was a concert going on, so we stepped in for a minute.

  

  

  

  

  This is the Customs Building.  We will have another waterfront view later.  Turn around 180 degrees to behold today's main attraction.

  

  These are two training ships, the Kaio Maru (King of the Sea) and the Nippon Maru.

  

  Here is a scene on the way to the ships, a 3D chalk drawing of Commodore Perry entering Yokohama Harbor, with some of the Yokohama skyline in the background.  The destruction to this area that was wreaked by Godzilla and Mothra has been repaired.

  

  

  More Yokohama

  

  Jellyfish in the Water

  

  Another view of the Customs Building

  

  

  This is another ship permanently docked in Yokohama, the Hikawa Maru.  It was a luxury liner that carried such distinguished passengers as Charles Chaplin, and has the room in which he stayed on display.

  

  

  

  

  The ship also seems to have modern navigational equipment.

  

  

  

  As evening approaches, a crew member goes out to start taking in the flags.

  

  

  More crew members board to batten down the hatches for the evening.

  

  More Yokohama Skyline

  

  Yokohama Bay Bridge

  

  Anyone for a cruise?

   Now we are heading back inland.

  

  Explanation below:

  

  Behold the former British Consulate General below.

  

  This has now become a museum and we would have loved to have seen the exhibition below, but it was near closing time.

  

  It was about the birth of Yokohama and the arrival of Commodore Perry, and ran only until 7/26, so we were not able to see it.  Ya just can't do everything.  We did take a brief run around the outside of the place.

  

  Below is the tree mentioned above.

  

  

  You can see the same tree depicted in this painting of Perry landing in Yokohama.  Wow!  It is funny, but since I saw this picture in Yokohama I have also seen it on TV and in a museum in Fukuoka.  Yep, I got the refrigerator magnet version.

  

  Here is some more colorful local scenery.  This fellow was making a fashion statement, but I an not sure what language he was speaking.  He had huge pine cones dangling from his ears.  Has Santa gone senile?

  Back at home...  This evening the garbage disposal got stopped up with something, so I had to crawl under the sink to wrestle it.  We got the little pieces of metal dislodged, but the autopsy revealed nothing as to what they used to be in their former existence.

  • 22:40
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