Yokohama Bayside Marina... an Outlet Mall with a theme (Japan)

Located along the Seaside Line in Yokohama is a unique outlet mall. The theme of Yokohama Bayside Marina is a yacht harbor. It gives the ambiance of being at Nantucket even though this wharf is located in an industrial area of Yokohama.

Yokohama Bayside Marina lighthouse, originally uploaded by martian cat.

The idea of looking at numerous boats in the harbor gives you the feeling that you have left the bustle of a busy city. It is nestled with container loading docks, but your attention is drawn to the atmosphere of the harbor. There are areas where you can enjoy an outside meal at a restaurant.

The boats are privately owned. There are yachts going in and out of the marina every day. It is not a museum... even though you might imagine this because there are boats floating at their berths.

Yokohama Bayside Marina's boats, originally uploaded by martian cat.

This outlet mall provides with a large variety of stores that will satisfy your day's shopping. There are numerous clothing and furnishing stores. You can purchase numerous types of boating and sailing equipment, too. After all, every yacht harbor should have these stores, too!

Yokohama Bayside Marina outside dining, originally uploaded by martian cat.

Imagine having a chance to enjoy a day here. There is ample parking for those who prefer to drive. I find that it is very relaxing to just sit with a cup of tea after my shopping is completed and watch the boats floating in a harbor...a favorite pastime. It is one of my favorite places to get away for a day of retail therapy and relaxation.

Yokohama Bayside Marina, originally uploaded by martian cat.

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My visit to Mikimoto Pearl Island Co., Ltd (Japan)

In November of last year, I had the opportunity to visit Mikimoto Pearl Island Co., Ltd in Toba, Mie Prefecture. I was able to walk around and rediscover the beauty of pearls. I say rediscover because I had visited this area several years earlier.



When I hear the word Mikimoto™, I immediately think of lovely round cultured pearls. I think that pearls are such a beautiful part of nature.



At Mikimoto Pearl Island, there are women divers, who in Japanese are called Ama. The costume the Ama wear is white. They do a demonstration about how they dive for the pearls at different times during the day.



On the day that I was there, the weather was sunny and I was able to take a couple memorable photos of the diving demonstration. The Ama’s characteristic behavior is to whistle into the wooden floating tub after each dive.



A visit to the museum did complete my day’s visit. Of course, I was able to enjoy some pearl shopping, too.

Now, I can only hope and dream that someday I will be another chance to return for another visit.

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Himeji Castle (Japan)

One place in Japan that I had always wanted to visit was Himeji Castle (or in Japanese Himeji-jo and alternately known as Shirasagi-jo, the White Heron Castle). This castle is located in Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture and is a little over one hour by train from Kobe. This feudal age Castle is easily accessible from the train station.

Himeji-jo is a Japanese National Treasure Site. It became one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites in the 1990's. Imagine... this structure was constructed as a fort in the 1400's and rebuilt in the 1600's as a castle.



My father was in Japan with the Occupation Forces as a U.S. Military Police from 1946-48 in the Kansai Area (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Lake Biwa). During my childhood, he shared his stories of visiting many places in that region of Japan.

One of the places he often talked about was Himeji-jo. I think that one of the reasons it was such a memory to him was because it was never destroyed during WWII. The pilots thought that it was just an untamed area because of the water and the area looked very overgrown. So, it was preserved, not destroyed.

To my father, it must have looked majestic at that time as Japan was recovering from so much war damage. He often talked about the structure being built of wood.. without any nails to hold the structure together. He often encouraged me to visit Himeji-jo when we chatted together on the phone.



In July, I had the opportunity to visit Himeji Castle. One of my dreams came true. I met a friend and we hired a Silver Guide. In Japanese, he described the history of Himeji-jo. The Guide's stories were fascinating as we walked around the area.

Uniquely, the castle's stones came from many different places. Some stones are even from tombs. As we walked around, my mind began to think of how much smaller the workers were at that time. I just could not imagine how many people it took to move the massive stones into place at the bottom of the structure before the building was built.

It is five levels and has one floor below that really makes it six stories. There are some gates built for defense that actually confused many enemies. The walls of the original fortress were built in the 1500's are still visible. Also, you could imagine that the location was ideal. As we climbed the stairs from floor to floor looking out of the fortress, there were magnificent views of the coastline. It seems amazing that such a large structure has survived earthquakes.

The reason for the nickname, Shirasagi-jo, is because the secured tower or the keep in the early structure resembles a white heron.

This is one area that I would enjoy revisiting. I love Japanese architecture and its history.

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Sankeien Garden in Yokohama (Japan)

Sankeien Garden is a lovely place to enjoy for visit. There are places where you can imagine women performing the Japanese Tea Ceremony to guests in the ancient tearooms. These buildings are located in the Inner Gardens.



Sankeien Garden is a place where you can enjoy a moment looking at buildings displaying an architecture that is no longer built.



There are many lovely sights in a panoramic views across the small lake. Remember to bring along some stale bread to feed the colorful carp.



The gardens at Sankeien change with the seasons and you should visit it at least four times a year to appreciate the flowers and trees.



If you are lucky, you can find a place to enjoy a quiet moment.




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An Old Post Town in Fukushima (Japan)

Japanese history has always interested me. After arriving to Japan, I began to immerse myself with reading books about culture and history.

Last weekend, I was able to visit an old post town that is preserved in the Aizu Wakamatsu area of Fukushima Prefecture (or Fukushima-ken in Japanese). This was my second visit to the area because last year, there was a terrible rainstorm soon after I arrived. Last year's rain prevented me from enjoying the sights of yesteryear.

Oouchijuku's main street, originally uploaded by martian cat.

The name of this area is Oouchijuku. It is the oldest post town (in Japanese shukuba) in the area. Oouchi Shimogoumachi (in Japanese, shimogo means preserved and machi means a town) was once a busy road stop in the 1600's. It was originally one of the toll stops along the road between the Aizu Wakamatsu area and areas in Tochigi Prefecture (or Tochigi-ken in Japanese). Merchants and the lords (in Japanese, daimyo) frequently travelled through these small town areas.

Oouchi, Shimogoumachi, originally uploaded by martian cat.

As this shukuba became more settled, residents began selling their goods from small shops. Of course, there were tea houses, and inns for the convenience of weary travellers. Also, these areas provided fresh horses for travellers. The area of Aizu Wakamatsu is known for lacquerware. Even today, there are many merchants in this Shimogoumachi that are selling these items from their homes giving us a chance to recreate in our minds how it was to walk along the dirt road, climb the sidewalks (because it is built on a slope), and enjoy the atmosphere of long ago.

Another specialty of this area is soba (in English, these are buckwheat) noodles. There are small places where you can enjoy a summer meal of cold soba noodles for a meal. I was able to enjoy cold soba noodles for my lunch during my visit.

Along the street of Oouchijuku, originally uploaded by martian cat.

Just walking along the street, I could not help but feel like I had stepped back into a time long ago. In this area is located in the mountains, I could not help feel like I was walking around a time long ago. In my mind, I was seeing the damiyo riding horseback along the streets and many women walking in kimono with their parcels. And, of course, children in kimono running around with other children.

Oouchijuku, originally uploaded by martian cat.

Last year, I felt that I had stumbled upon a place of nostalgia. There are not many buildings like these in Japan because of the costly maintenance of the thatched roof.

Thinking about it, I cannot help but imagine how beautiful this area must look line in the snow...




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