Yokohama Sparkling Twilight 2013

Each year, Yokohama port hosts "Sparkling Twilight", in which festival attendees can enjoy food, alcohol, fireworks, boats lit up and other events in the harbor. I joined my friend Samurai, who played host for the evening's festivities.

A preview of the sparkling evening:

These flammingos lined the street leading to the port.

First, we explored the area near Sakuragicho station and visited the Yokohama City Library. Likely the best and biggest library with foreign language materials in Kanagawa, Yokohama City Library had a huge selection of English newspapers, magazines and books. It's highly recommended for expats living in or around Yokohama. The only downside: you must be a resident, student or working in Yokohama to take out materials. The library's website in English, is HERE. Google Map is HERE.

If you continue up the hill from the library, you'll reach Nogeyama Zoo. It was closed when we arrived, but I did spot some cute graffiti:

Turning left at the zoo, and continuing up the hill, you'll come across a large public park which has incredible views of Yokohama. This viewpoint was almost deserted, so it's a great place to watch the sunset in private.

View shows Landmark Tower, and Minato Mirai (Cosmo World Amusement Park): 

This park had a hidden surprise: it hosted women's volleyball and men's soccer during the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games! This monument is all that is left to honor the memory of those sporting events. Sports can be enjoyed in the park, but now, only a basketball court is available for rent. You can read the wiki page for the 1964 Summer Olympics HERE.

As dusk began to fall, we headed over to Osanbashi to view the fireworks show, which began at 7:30PM. Osanbashi turned out to be the perfect viewing platform, as the fireworks were launched from a ship in the harbor, about 500 meters from our location. I took a video; please enjoy the sparkling night show!

Information:

Yokohama Sparkling Twilight is held every year in early September. This event lasts two days (usually Saturday and Sunday). The main event area is Yamashita Park, near the harbor front. Access: From Yokohama station, take the JR line to Sakuragicho station. Walk about 10 minutes to Yamashita Park. Or take the JR line to Kannai station, walk about 5 minutes to the park. 
Information about this year's event is HERE. The Japanese site is HERE. 

Osanbashi is the cruise ship terminal for Yokohama. It's very close to Yamashita Park. Information is HERE.

Access to Yokohama City Library (Chuo): From Yokohama Station, JR line to Sakuragicho station. At the exit gate, go right, down the stairs. Walk through the underground passage and go up the stairs at the far end. Outside, to your left, you'll see a signpost in white. Follow the signs from there that say: "City Library". 

Yuka Mammoth Exhibit

In early September, after all the kiddies had headed back to school, I took in an exhibition visiting Yokohama from Russia. The focus was on the mammoth, the giant pre-historic beast that roamed many areas, including Japan.

The exhibit proved to be much more than just a showcase of mammoths; displays also focused on the African and Asian elephants, and their relationship to the pre-historic mammoth. I quite enjoyed it!

After asking, I was allowed to take photos inside, but not of the main piece -- a frozen, complete baby mammoth, with its hair still attached, called "Yuka". In any case, enjoy the photos...

Displays of elephant skeletons:

A mammoth skeleton, featuring large tusks:

Close up of an African elephant's skull:

More elephant and mammoth skulls:

Mammoth skull is in the foreground:

There were several interactive exhibits here, allowing patrons to touch tusks, teeth and even hair from mammoths. I enjoyed touching -- of course!

My hand on a mammoth tooth. 

The feeling was similar to a cheese grater:

The sign read: "Touch it gently."

A giant tusk. I also touched it. Yay! ^_^

What I thought would take only an hour, turned into 2.5 hours of interesting facts and exhibits about the mammoth and elephants. It was really informative. For example, mammoths only have two teeth, which are like the soles of a sneaker. Instead of growing new teeth from the bottom of the mouth upwards, they are grown in the back, sliding forward.

Near the end of the exhibit, I took some funny photos to remember the day.
Here's me, running for my life!

Outside the exhibition hall, where I could "pet" a baby mammoth:

The Mammoth Yuka exhibit ran from July 13th ~ September 16, 2013 at Pacifico Yokohama. Tickets were ¥2,200, but I got mine at a ticket shop for ¥1,500. (Ticket shops in Shinjuku are highly recommended for buying tickets to art/ exhibitions. Shinjuku prices are cheaper than ticket shops in Yokohama, I found.)

アメリカ山公園 | America Mountain Park

I spent a day in Yokohama last month, exploring the Motomachi area. While exiting the subway station, I spotted a sign that said: 公園[ko-en = park].  I have loved parks since living in Bangkok, so why not check out this one? The location was really unique -- it was on top of the roof of the subway station building!

While the name reads (in English) America Mountain Park, there are no mountains. But it's quite a lovely garden, filled with many roses. Let's take a look around....

In the distance--the elevator from the subway station:

Antique lamp:

Wooden benches with Yokohama's Marine Tower in the distance:

When I came across this area of the park, filled with wooden benches perfect for reading a book on, I was even more surprised to find...

....a real, green lawn, with real grass!! Joy!!! ^_^

For those who live in Japan, you'll know it's a very, very rare sight to see real grass. The summers are just too hot to support watering a lawn. As a result, all the parks and play areas at schools here are covered with sand or fine gravel. Finding this green grass was just too tempting....

... so I took off my sneakers and enjoyed bare feet on the grass! Woo!! ^_^ (Luckily, no one saw me)

After putting my shoes back on, I enjoyed the roses in this area. This was my favorite:

The sign read 夢　[yu-me = dream], which I thought was appropriate.

I meandered over to find a large, open area...

To the left of this area, was a lovely English style garden, with more benches and lots of greenery:

If you continue to walk straight, heading slightly uphill, you'll soon approach the park's gate:

 A signpost just outside the gate points to way to several sightseeing spots and the train station:

This park is completely free. Weddings can be held in the garden; there is a wedding planner on the 3rd floor of the subway building. Usually weddings in Japan start at ¥125,000  (ceremony only - $1,250). 

If you exit the park and continue to walk uphill, you'll soon reach the Foreigner's Cemetery, where many former foreign residents of Yokohama are buried. It may sound morbid, but actually, it's a nice walk too...and completely shaded by numerous trees -- perfect on a hot day.

Access: from Yokohama station, take the Toyoko-Minato Mirai Line to Motomachi-Chukagai. Take the Motomachi exit. Once you exit the ticket gate, turn right and follow the escalator up to the roof. The park is there. 日本語はこことここです。English site is HERE.

Japanese Watermelon

I'm sorry I've been away for a while. The summer was so hot here, I practically melted into a puddle.

Today's post is a simple one, showcasing a taste of the Japanese summer -- watermelon.

This fruit is a favorite treat for kids and adults in Japan. What's interesting about the watermelon here, compared to those in Canada, is the shape -- it's perfectly round, like a basketball. The skin is also smooth to the touch.

I bought a whole watermelon during the summer and had a friend cut it up (ever since the kitchen knife accident where I sliced my finger, I'm anti "big things, big knife").

The watermelon, from Kanazawa: 

Slicing:

 An interesting note: In Japan, at beaches everywhere, there is a fun game many play with a watermelon. It involves blindfolding one person, spinning them around for a bit, then, handing them a thick wooden stick, you guide the blinded person, who hopes to hit the watermelon. The goal is similar to a Mexican pinata -- you want to bust open the watermelon so everyone can enjoy it.

I begged my friend to let me do this in my apartment's parking lot, but worry about busting some car tail lights nixed that idea quickly. (>_<)

The surgery is complete:

Cutting into wedges:

Famous areas for growing watermelon in Japan are: Miura Peninsula  (Kanagawa), Nagano (home of the 1998 Winter Olympics), and Akita. The best watermelon in the whole country is supposed to be from Miura. Watermelons there average ¥3,000 each! ($30/ 1,000 baht) The watermelon pictured above cost ¥998 ($10 / 325 baht).

Watermelons can range in taste from sweet to slightly bitter, so careful selection is key. The watermelon season in Japan lasts from late July until early September. Most are sold in August, the hottest month, as the watermelon acts as a cool, healthy treat.

Japan has some unique shaped watermelons. The world's first heart shaped melon was grown recently (via RocketNews24); there are also cubed watermelons too (via nimg.sulkeha.com). Let's try!

*** Special Bonus ***

At my local supermarket, I noticed a new product from Coca-Cola -- Vanilla Coke! I tried it and really liked the subtle vanilla flavor. The smell is also quite nice. Cost: ¥88 (80 cents / 30 baht)