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Thu 1st May – Unosumai to Yokohama

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DW:

Today was a travel afternoon. We said goodbye to the Iwate coast and went back through Tokyo. Yokohama is a port town, just to the south of Tokyo. In modern times, this area is just one dense megacity with no distinct edge between them.

A definite highlight of the day was when I managed to fit both luggage items in the single locker at Kamaishi and saved us 700 JPY.

I have also mastered intermediate Japanese. The trick is to smile and nod and just say “Hai!”  emphatically. Whenever you complete an interaction you use google translate to provide a compliment that reflects what you think the other person is aiming for “this fish is masterfully prepared”, “your restaurant is very beautiful” or “these crepes are very cute”. Then you receive your bow and return your own while backing away slowing and saying arrogato gozimasu continuously until eye contact is broken. Then you do a quick 360 review with your partner on the interaction.

DW: Kamaishi is a Level 3 fishing town. This means it is of national import to supplying seafood. Most of the other towns are Level 1 and are mostly supplying local areas.
CR: We weren’t in Kamaishi for too long, about two hours. We then got on a bullet train for 3 hours and then a third local train for around 30 minutes to Yokohama.
DW: There is a whole Miffy v. Hello Kitty legal battle I was not aware of. I got the Miffy Marshallow Latte and Caitlin regretted not getting Miffy themed food/drink.
CR: This was a big let down despite being very heavily advertised from as early as the train station. But there wasn’t much else to do given we were in the deadly 9-11am window, where nothing is open.
DW: Kamaishi is historically a steel town, but that was mostly shuttered in 1989. The population peaked at 70,000 in the 60s and currently sits around 30,000. This trend seems to be common to the rural areas, but they don’t feel abandoned or decaying like some rural Australian towns can.
DW: Our train back down South runs us through a familiar sight. Caitlin asks if I brought any cucumbers with me. I am afraid to say I ate them all…
CR: Kappas are famed to love the cuke.
DW: In Yokohama we are staying in the equivalent of Darling Harbour. Our room has a Ferris wheel nearby and we are in the get rid of loose change part of the trip, so Caitlin gets a whirl.
CR: I enjoyed the Ferris Wheel. Declan said at one point it was the largest in the world. That sounds like a classic Declan fact – don’t press too hard on it.
DW: Caitlin starts to get worried near the top as there are intermittent announcements that Google can’t translate and we appear to be slowing. She puts on a brave face here, but is undercut with existential dread.
DW: Amazingly we make it off the Ferris Wheel alive. Yokohama sits on the bay so you can actually get a bit of space to see around you unlike much of central Tokyo.
CR: Declan was gifted this little flag from a hoard of small Japanese children in Kamaishi this morning at the Miffy cafe.
DW: There is a knock-off Oktoberfest running nearby for some reason. As per usual, everyone is insanely into this and there are little Japanese ladies enjoying a few beers with friends on a Thursday afternoon. We get a currywurst and pretzel as Caitlin has the munchies as I attempt to stave off her crash long enough for me to get to Mega Don Quijote.
CR: There are zero Germans in the entire vicinity.
DW: The Yokohama Marine Tower is lit up yellow in honour of SixTones, a K-pop boy band. We stand mesmerised by the power of K-pop with a few dozen women who have made the trip just to see this spectacle.
CR: It was exceptionally hard to find out why this was so popular. We had to ask a random girl via Google Translate and then also had to cross check twitter.
DW: Yokohama is famous for also having a large Chinatown. I know all about this because this is where the triads are based on Yakuza: Like a A Dragon. Caitlin says the Chinatown must be better because we are closer to China, I don’t agree with the logic.
CR: Declan is making fun of me but we’re both a bit sick of fish. I am so tired by the end of the day. A lot of travel and then some walking around at the end of the day. Our last destination for the evening is a Mega Don Quitoe (department store with a lot of sounds) and I almost fall asleep on a chair. I sleep very well this night.

Categories:Japan 2025

Cait

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2 Responses

  2. Sorry for the delay in comments. I forgot about the blog once you were home! Such a different day for you guys. I liked the little flag gift and the Chinese lanterns. Pretzels are always a good idea!!