moving out of the beast

September Silver week has just past and my roommates and I took it upon ourselves to really get out of the downtown Tokyo and explore its outer ring.

Yokohama

Kawasaki

Chiba

Nerima

Yokohama Internation Terminal by FOA

Our first venture took us to Yokohama to see the International Ferry Terminal by FOA.

Outside of this terminal I noticed that the pathway leading up was a renovation rail deck, similar to that of the High Line in NYC, except much more run down and basically just a paved walkway...no foliage.

The city of Yokohama did not feel as dense as Tokyo, didn't see as many Konbini (convenience stores...to which there are many in Tokyo) as well as the number of Koban (police stations) were few. Also encountered out first hinged door (instead of sliding) in a public setting which was kind of shocking.

The Red Brick Buildings (1 + 2) which line the waterfront as one approaches the International Terminal from Yokohama station was a very odd site. Very similar in appearance to the Distillery District in Toronto. Probably the first time Ive seen substantial amounts of red brick in Japan.

At this construction site, they were monitoring the incoming power generated from an array of solar photovoltaic pants and vertical wind turbines. At mid day they were achive an average of 40 Watts!!

KAWASAKI

Then we made our way to Kawasaki. This trip was primarily to hunt for car parts. But we ran into the delightful intricacies (side streets or restaurants, local shops) all without the hustle and bustle of downtown. Kawasaki was much quieter, definitely a sleepy residential town, a working town with many businesses and infrastructure along the JR line (major rail).

Also grabbed a great deal on trade work pants, only 990 JPN yen!!

CHIBA

A couple days later brought us to Chiba, but the weather didn't welcome us with open arms. Another sleepy town, potentially because of the rain. We came across a number of families picking their children up from school and the area we were in was potentially all residential...as in appeared to us. Very little in the retail market and all of the larger stores and shopping happened in the Chiba rail station. 2-3 floors of massive retail spanning many blocks. Enough so to have their own mono-rail.

CHECK OUT THIS MONORAIL!

NERIMA

A couple days after Chiba...which we needed to get our spirits up again from being rained on in Chiba...we headed over to Nerima. A wonderfully quite residential town with the most beautiful park nestled in the middle of the city.

Shakuji Park

Shakuji Temple

The environment this temple was located was absolutely stunning, the shrine sits on an island connected to shore with a bridge. It doesn't sit in the middle of the pond but just off concentric behind cedars and it makes for the most wonderful walking circuit.