Photo-Editing Mania: Yokohama

What's more fun than to visit new places and taking photos? Fiddling around, editing the photos you took, of course.

It's Golden Week. Being a nice sempai, I asked along the kouhais for a trip to 横浜 (Yokohama) on Friday. Frankly speaking, I'd have gone there, with, or without them anyway. Hah! It was my first time there.

Yokohama was devastated during the Great Earthquake and destroyed again in World War II. But it was then rebuilt, and till now, maintained its status as one of the largets ports in the world.

The 1,575-yen lunch in China Town wasn't too satisfying an experience - it was below expectation. Streets were crowded. The sun was scorching hot. (Okay, I exaggerated. But the point is, it was way too warm for spring.) The place reminded me of the streets in Penang road, with Chinese kopitiams and shops selling useless trinkets at ridiculously high prices. "Irasshaimase!" that's when I got jerked back to reality, that I was still in Japan.

This is the first authentic Chinese temple I've seen in Japan. "Authentic" in the sense that it's totally in Chinese style. In fact, this temple is of built according to Ming and Qing Dynasties' architecture. It is dedicated to 関羽, a Chinese deity, for the prosperity of the local business. The craftsmanship of the temple is especially mesmerising when the place is litted up at night. (More photos on that coming up later.)

When Yokohama was opened to foreign trade in 1858, foreign merchants were only limited to a small compound now known as 関内 (kannai), allegedly for their protection from anti-foreign sentiment. A famous spot in Kannai is 馬車道 (basha michi). It used to be a busy place where horse carriages used to past during the early days when the port was opened to foreigners. Old Western-styled buildings can still be seen along both sides of the road. The street lamp shown in the photo above is one of the first gas lamps brought in to Yokohama by Western merchants.

One station away from Basha-michi is みなとみらい (minato-mirai), a city of lights. It boasts the tallest buildings of Japan, high-class hotels and shopping malls. This 112.5m ferris wheel with a giant digital clock display is one of the world's largest. Night scene is especially beautiful. Recommended spot for dating. In fact, I like this place more than Odaiba.