Today is one of the many bank holidays that Japan has throughout the year, today being 'health and athletics day' (or something like that). I believe the main point of today is that it is when most of the schools hold their sports day, but to be honest I'm not fussed at the reason, just glad of the three day weekend.
And since I had the time, I decided to do something different and go on another trip, this time to Yokohama. Technically it is still part of Tokyo, but it is the furthest south one can ever get whilst still being inside the Tokyo boundary. After arriving I headed to the first place I had heard of - Yokohama Landmark Tower. The Tallest building and third tallest structure in Japan (yes there apparently is a difference). After getting lost inside the bottom floor and elevator system, I eventually found the special elevator that takes you up to the 69th floor at speeds of 750 miles per hour (the fastest elevator in the world. No Really it is). The views from the top were magnificent. You could see for miles in every direction, as well as being awarded stunning views of Tokyo and Yokohama below and a "clear" view of Mt Fuji (although it was kind of cloudy so I had to have faith in my camera zoom). Once I'd seen everything I headed back down and found myself in the Landmark Tower Plaza - basically a shopping centre underneath the tower, where I found a pub ish type place for lunch.
Then it was time to find the exit and an old four masted ship known as the Nippon Maru, that had been turned into a walk through museum. I had the time so I figured why not and after a nice chat with the ticket lady, spend a bit of time wandering the cabins and ship deck. I'm not very big on boats but it was kind of interesting....well it was cheap and something different anyway. Then I headed towards a bridge/island pathway that was made out of an old railway. Nothing special but a nice place for a stroll. Assuming once leg isn't still hurting from yesterday. At the other end of the walkway was another shopping centre, but featured a warner bros themed cinema. Again nothing special but probably where I'll have to go to see The Hobbit in December.
This was when I made the strangest discovery of my entire life. Behind this building was the Cup Noodle Museum. No you didn't just misread, the cup noodle museum. A museum for cup noodles. A place to go and learn about the history and production of CUP NOODLES. WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE GODS IS THE POINT IN THAT???????? It really is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen, and I'm bat crap crazy. Since coming to Japan people have always asked me whether there is anything I though weird about living in Japan, and I always reply 'no, its just a different culture'. CAN'T SAY THAT ANY MORE. They even had a cup noodle gift shop and a 'make your own cup noodle' game. WTF???
After putting my brain back into place, I thought about heading to the other Yokohama attraction - the cosmo world clock. Basically a massive ferris wheel. But in order to do it I'd have to go into the amusement park itself, and doing that alone is kind of lonely. Maybe I'll make some friends who will go with me again some time.
And since that was all of interest to see, I headed back to Akihabara. Upon returning I found another market had been set up, and spent a bit of time wandering around seeing if there was anything cool (by anime standards, and there was) before heading back to the apartment and letting my leg scream itself into normality and get everything ready for back to work tomorrow.
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