Back to Minatomirai - March 11th

Now that Nick has had a few days under his belt to digest what it is like to be in Japan it was time for Train riding 101. The ride from the airport does not count because of the semi awake state that one experiences while traveling. The one from Shiori to the outlet mall counts as a 98 level course because it is pretty simple and does not have the traffic that heading into the big city has.

Yesterday we swung by the JR Yokosuka station after work to pick up a Suica card. This is a card which you can put money on for train travel. You pass the card over a section on the wicket gate and travel through. When you leave the next station you perform the same action and it deducts the difference between the station you entered and exited. This is an extremely fast way to get through the train system here.

So after we got off work we headed back the hotel and then headed to Shiori and hopped on the next train. Which was awesome because it was an Rapid Express meaning it was 5 stops to Yokohama. After three stops you can transfer to a Limited Express, but this does not gain you anything because it is two stops from there to Yokohama. At Yokohama station we exited the Keikyu line and transferred to the Minatomirai line.

After arriving at Minatomirai we walked around the area for about half an hour. Taking loads of pictures as you can see below. Then we headed into the Landmark Plaza Mall. I made a stop at a shop that has many things from Studio Ghibli films. Then it was to the ground floor of the mall to eat some Okinomiyaki, which is really good. I will allow those interested to Wiki item themselves. After words we went and got some Coldstone. As they were preparing our Ice Cream they sung. I rewarded them with a tip which resulted in much bowing and another song. Nick was bright red at the experience, but I was not too many shades off myself. As we walked out a group of Americans were in line and one of them said to me, "You must have tipped them."

We then headed back to Yokohama station and got on the platform to head back to Yokosuka. The green train pulled up and 30 people got off, it was still pretty packed when we got in. Being a Limited Express it was three stops back to Yokosuka Chuo. It is about a 15 minute walk from that station to our hotel. We could have taken a local back to Shiori, but it was a good experience for Nick to see how the stations were related.

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