Yokohama for the 2nd time around

My friend was very eager to meet his girlfriend in Yokohama, since it will be his first time to go there, he asked me if I could come with him and make me his guide. This will be my 2nd time to visit Yokohama so, I barely knew the place.

Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kanto region of the main island of Honshu.

Going there we decided to take the Highway bus because it`s cheaper. We leave Okazaki around 7 am and take the bus in Nagoya around 8:30. Spending 6 hours at the bus does not even bored me. We have reached Shinjuku around 2 pm and take a 20 mins. train ride to Yokohama. We directly went to our hostel, A Silk Tree Yokohama located in Ishikawa Cho.

Last time we went to Yokohama we tour the city by bicycle, so with another friend we decided to rent a bicycle. We will only stay in Yokohama for a day, since we have no time, I took my friend in Minato Mirai 21, it`s good to see it at night. It`s a good thing to roam around with a bicycle. We went to World Porters for dinner, went to Cosmo world, ride the largest Ferris wheel n the world, watch a street performance at Queen`s Square Yokohama. For the 2nd time around, staying in Yokohama for just a day still don`t satisfy me, but made me want to explore for more...

Chillin at the Beach

I am always looking forward for OBON yasumi or Summer holiday. This year Obon was held from August 8-16. Last 2 obon seasons I travelled back home in the Philippines, but this year I decided to stay and enjoy my vacation here in Japan. In Japanese practice obon is a time to remember ones own ancestors as well as the dead in general, in short it was like All Saints Day and All Souls Day in Roman Catholic calendar. As for my yasumi, I reserved my first 3 days holiday for my part time jobs, Then do some household stuffs like cleaning and so on. My family decided to go to the beach just to chill, I forgot the name of the place where we went but I think it is in Nishio just near Okazaki. Here in Japan we only get the chance to go to the sea once or twice a year so my cousin Arisa was looking forward for it, in fact, she`s the one who woke me up early in the morning that day. The place we went is not so crowded, we built our own tent, arrange the table and the seats for our relaxation. Though, it`s hot as usual, I felt relaxed because of the wind blowing softly. We had onigiri (Japanese rice balls), packed lunch, chicken, snacks and refreshments. I had a great time swimming in the sea, sleeping at the tent, enjoying the view and taking pictures. So, here are the pictures I have taken at the beach....

People were swimming towards the raft for a dive experience

Ouch! it hurts, my aunt with Arisa

Ayumi with his name written on the sand

Arisa taking a pose with her name on the sand

And me...

Cute kid enjoying the sand

Smile... me and Arisa

Arisa`s rubber clogs
People at the beach

Okazaki Summer Festival Part 1 2009

This year Okazaki`s biggest festival was held on July 31-August 1. Since it`s my first time to witness Okazaki`s summer festival, I manage to attend the festivities, despite the bad weather condition. The festivities start with the Yosakoi and the Gomangoku Odori dances and Gomangoku Mikoshi (portable shrine) parade. A lot of people dress in kimonos and colorful costumes and parade through the streets. Parade participants will march east along Tenma Dori. The Yosakoi dances started at 17:05 then followed by the Gomangoku Odori dances at 17:50; floats at 19:10 and Gomangoku Mikoshi parade at 19:20 and concluded with a Samba parade from 20:30. Aside from the parade, stage performances at Kagoda Park from 17:40 to 18:25 and again form 19:25 to 20:10 was held. We spent most of our time watching the performances in Kagoda park then shift to the parade to watch the samba performances. It`s a good thing that the rain never fell during the festivals activity.

The ceremonial opening parade

The orchestra at the portable shrine

The lanterns at the street

Again, the lanterns that lit the street

The parade performances

Again at the parade

The audience at the Kagoda park

The performers at Kagoda Park

This is the Samba performance: