Yokohama

Arrived Yokohama yesterday morning after a horrific night at sea.

I actually woke up (from the little sleep I got) in pain! It was as though I'd been beaten up! The stormy weather agitated the sea so much that I found myself trying to hang on in bed. The ship would list starboard side and I would slide to the foot of the bed. It would list port side and I would hit the headboard! I finally quit trying to shut all the drawers as they slid open because they would just open and close themselves. It was very frightening how much punishment the ship took. I found myself praying for safety during most of the night. I braved it in the middle of the night and went across the hall to check on the boys who I assumed were as freaked out as I was. I opened the door of their small man cave and was bombarded with silence. They were sound asleep!! In the morning, I asked Ben how he slept, "Great! Jeremy and I fell asleep as soon as we laid down."

We finally left the ship around noon. Immigration and the SAS rules regarding departure seem to take about 3 hours to clear the ship at each port. But no surprise raid on our cabins this time! ; )

Yokohama is a big city very much like Atlanta. So getting around was fairly easy. We opted to stay near the port area because we only allotted a half day in our itinerary. We made a stop at the Cup of Noodles Museum (who knew?!) and went straight to their restaurant. They are big on Ramen noodles here so they built a 4 story museum in honor of the instant noodle in a cup!

There is an amusement park in the middle of the city as well as a waterfront ice rink for the winter. Yokohama is a busy city which sits on Tokyo bay, a beautiful sight itself.

There is shopping, restaurants and clubs of all sorts. The boys enjoyed walking around and not feeling too out of place. Everyone we asked for help was more than accommodating and most spoke enough English to answer our questions.

Dinner was at a sushi bar. As you sit at the bar, all types of freshly made sushi pass by you on a conveyor belt.
So the process is:
1. Grab what looks appetizing
2. Eat and enjoy!
3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you are fully satisfied.
As you clean off your plate, you stack them to the side. Once you are done, they count up your plates and hand you a bill. So efficient! Something, I'm sure we will be doing again before we leave Japan!

We are headed for Tokyo this morning. More later!