Japan Series - Out and About in Yokohama

German Beer Festival at Yokohama

On the rare occasion when work finished early, there was time to visit the German Beer Festival at the Redbrick Warehouse area near the Yokohama Harbour. Here, the locals had gathered for a beer or two - each beer is 800 JPY. There were some fruit beers, e.g. apple or pineapple beer, something new to me, although I once tried orange beer in Croatia. Although this was a beer festival, no drunkards or bad behaviour were spotted.

Beer tent at the German Beer Festival, Yokohama

More drinking inside the beer tent. Later on, an Austrian band appeared on stage in mock lederhosen, singing songs from the 70s and 80s. There was a young, pretty Japanese girl on stage whose sole role was to encourage the audience to clap, and the audience duly obliged. Everyone was on best behaviour, even those with red faces as a result of a bit too much to drink.

Redbrick warehouse district, Yokohama

Flyover near Sky Terminal, Yokohama

I came across this pathway next to the flyovers when I tried to find my way from the underground to the West Exit of Yokohama Station. I don't see enough of the overground since I walk to work everyday using the massive underground network at the Yokohama Station. It was a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of the underground passages.

Aerial view, Yokohama station

The view of the taxi stand at Yokohama Station reminds me of the orderliness in Japan. There is no queue jumping in Japan at all. In some some stations for example in Nagoya, there are taxis for shorter and longer distances. Once at Nagoya, I must have got on a taxi that goes out of town and the driver was reading his map to find his way. Not a common occurrence in Japan since the Japanese are ultra safety conscious.

The cavernous station at Queen Square, Yokohama

On the Minatomirai line, the exit from the underground to Queen Square is via a series of near empty walkways. The sheer size of these passages, the emptiness of them all on a Saturday was an experience to me. Like most things in Japan, the public places are spotlessly clean. I would rate the public Japanese toilets as one of the best in the world - always immaculately clean and usable.

Part of the Queen Square complex, Yokohama

Queen Square complex, Yokohama

Yokohama Bay