The first thing we did was take the elevator to the top floor of the tallest building in Japan. The Landmark Tower in Yokohama is 69 stories high. Now, even by LA standards, this isn't very high. The US bank building, the tallest in LA, is 73 stories high and is surrounded by other tall buildings, the Landmark Tower is relatively alone at its height of 972 feet.
The ride to the top costs 600 yen, but was well worth the expense, because on the way up, you are also riding in the world's second fastest elevator. Our guide book said it was the first, but I got a blow when I went to double check this info for my post.
750 meters per second at top speed, means that you fly up 69 stories in just 40 seconds
the view:
if it weren't so hazy we could have seen to Mt. Fuji
when we were done at the top floor, we went down. However, the lift left us at the 5th floor, in the middle of a mall. We walked around there before leaving.
I told you the Japanese don't do western food well. This was in an Italian restaurant
These made Aren laugh, popular anime
There are escalators everywhere in Japan, some are cooler than others
Pokemon is still huge in Japan. This shop was quite large and packed to full capacity with very excited little kids
After our time in the Landmark Tower, we walked over to the other big thing in the Minato Mirai 21: one of the world's largest ferris wheels. The Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel used to be the world's tallest when it was erected in 1999, since then the record has been captured by other wheels, which are taller than the 344 foot Cosmo. Again, this one will cost you, this time 1000 yen. And while it took you 40 seconds to go about 900 feet in the Landmark Tower, it will take you 15 minutes to go up 344 at the ferris wheel, and you'll pay more to do it. Since it no longer is the tallest in the world (thanks London) it may not be worth it to most people, but it was fun.
View from the train station
View of the landmark
Getting close
This was kind of cool. From the ferris wheel we could see the top of this building. In the center was a gazebo, surrounded by a ring of water. There were people in yakatas hanging out here, resting.
When we were back on the ground we continued our hunt for gifts in the Queen's Square, a HUGE mall. The Queen's Square is a collection of three skyscrapers. Connecting the towers is a mall, that covers a few levels at the base of the buildings. It is right next door to the 5 level mall in the Landmark Tower, and a short walk away from two other very large, multifloor mega malls. People shop a lot here.
Then, later on in the evening we went back into Tokyo. However, if you stay in Yokohama, make sure to ask about the train times. The last Shinkansen leaves Shinigawa at 10:56, cutting most evenings short. That's not to say that there aren't things to do in Yokohama. We didn't get dinner in Tokyo, and didn't go out again for food until midnight. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find anything, but most places were not only still open, they didn't close until 4 or 5 am! They stay open late since the trains stop fairly early. If you miss your last train, you can hang out until they start up again in the morning. Getting a full dinner at midnight was pretty spectacular.
No comments:
Post a Comment