We had a great day in Kamakura today, and I’ll tell you about it as soon as I get the chance, but first I need to say a final word about Yokohama, where we’ve been docked for the past two days. Japan’s second largest city has been one of the biggest surprises of this entire cruise, and in the best possible way.
I had always thought of Yokohama as a gritty industrial port, a mere gateway to the more important and glamorous Tokyo, but it is nothing of the sort. Yokohama does have a large industrial area, but it is well segregated from the rest of this sparkling, modern metropolis. The Yokohama we saw has beautiful parks, restaurants and shopping, and to say it’s clean and feels safe would be putting it mildly.
The best thing, though, is the people, including the immigration officials, who have been uniformly warm and welcoming, and tonight as we sailed away they put the icing on that cake. To our surprise and amazement the city organized a sail away party of sorts, and when we went out on deck there were hundreds of ordinary citizens lining the upper walkway of the cruise terminal waving yellow lights to the beat of Japanese rock music. We’re talking shoulder to shoulder for a good tenth of a mile, and it was quite a sight.
As you might imagine, our passengers swarmed onto the deck and waved back, many (including me) using the flashlight on our phones to increase the effect. All in all it was a wonderful and heartwarming sendoff, and we haven’t seen anything like it on this or any other cruise we’ve taken. Yokohama wasn’t on my radar before this cruise, but it’s going to be one of the ports I highlight when it’s over.
This nine month adventure is all about discovery, and these past two days have been a real eye opener. Thanks, Yokohama. Two thumbs up.
Yokohama has a beautiful seaside park. How about this flowerbed.
And a lively Chinatown, the largest in Japan.
It seemed like there was always something going on while we were there.
The city lights are gorgeous at night.
Last night the dancers and musicians stayed in the theater after their performance to have their photos taken with the ship’s passengers.
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