A Concert in Yokohama

Friday, July 20

Following another slow school day, Chris and I ate dinner, showered, and finished laundry before catching a train out to Sannomiya. From there, we boarded a small overnight bus along with Dylan and Heather and rode out to Tokyo.

Of no relation to this post.

トトロパン, a specialty at my neighborhood bakery. His puffy belly is filled with chocolate pudding.

Saturday, July 21

We arrived in Tokyo at 7:35 am, none of us having slept well in the cramped bus seats. The city still amazes me, no matter how many times I may visit it. This awe certainly stems from living in a tiny town where nary a bowling alley, movie theater, or shopping mall exists. The bustle/eccentricity/crowds/smells of Tokyo leave me constantly craving more.

From the station, our group of four split into pairs, with Chris and I on a train to Ikebukuro in search of the Breakfast of Champions.

Breakfast!
Burger King does not exist in Kansai, I might add.
At least, to our knowledge it does not.

Why eat pancakes when you can have a Whopper with cheese for a morning meal?
I slopped sauce all over myself, and lived up the flame grilled burger experience MY WAY in an I-want-to-be-fat-American-sized portion.

Full of Whoppers, Chris and I caught the train to 横浜 (Yokohama), where the m-flo concert, the reason for which we trekked up north, would be held. Yokohama is Japan's second largest city, and is historically one of the first major ports open to foreigners. Yet though we traveled through the newer, affluent parts of the city, we observed that many residents are hard hit by poverty. Exiting the subway outside our hotel, Chris and I noted rows of homeless men, lined up along the station walkway, sleeping behind makeshift shelters of thin cardboard. Living in the countryside, where financial status among individuals--at least on the surface--appears much more even, it can be startling to be shaken into the economic realities of urban Japan.

The two of us, fortunately fall into the category of those with well-paying jobs, and our first stop in Yokohama was the Yokohama Bay Quarter, a mall in the shape of a luxury liner.

Yokohama residents must love Hawaii. Themed stores filled Bay Quarter, selling everything from Hawaiian bracelets to fabric for pa'u skirts to Kona coffee. Chris and I discovered a malassada wagon at the entrance to the mall. Our donuts were fried on the spot and rolled generously in sugar. We followed the snack with our first cans of Hawaiian Sun juice (200 yen)--Pineapple Orange for Chris, POG for me--in a year. We mentioned to the store owner that we're from Hawaii, and thus looove malassadas. (Who in Hawaii doesn't?) He replied by asking whether we know of Leonard's Bakery. (Who in Hawaii doesn't?) A friend of his works in the Leonard's kitchen, which makes me wonder where his delicious malassada recipe comes from . . . (The shop name is "Malasada Wagon," spelled as Leonard's spells "malassada"--with one 's.')

With a taste of home on our tongues, Chris and I chose Aloha Table, a Hawaii-themed restaurant, for lunch. We shared the "ahi poke bowl" and a loco moco, accompanied by unlimited soup and drink refills (iced Kona coffee). The ahi poke was delicious, though different since I never eat it atop a mound of white rice topped with furikake. We gave the loco moco one shaka up; it was the closest to a local-style loco moco that we've tasted in Japan thus far.

Following a bit of window shopping, we rode to 桜木町 (Sakuragi-cho), where we did a bit of exploring, before checking in to our hotel. We showered and changed into our m-flo gear, Cosmicolor T-shirts that we bought at the concert in Osaka. Yes, I wore a T-shirt in public, along with an m-flo-authorized "POW!" pin that flashed blue and red lights.

We met Dylan and Heather in 新横浜 (Shin-Yokohama), then walked to the Yokohama Arena, the concert venue, flanked by crowds of m-flo fans. We learned that we had nosebleed seats, but we wound up feeling thankful for a clear view of the stage and space to breathe. At Zepp Osaka, we were smashed into sweaty submission by jumping, arm-waving, shouting crowds. This time, we created the jumping, arm-waving, and shouting from our seats.

Granted, I haven't been to many concerts, but I loved this m-flo performance. For those who don't know, m-flo is a Japanese hip-hop group who frequently collaborates with other singers. At that finale concert, nearly all of the collaborators made special appearances, including Alex of Clazziquai Project, Amuro Namie, BoA, Chara, Diggy Mo', Doping Panda, melody., Monkey Majik, and more. The experience was amazing and definitely worth the trip up!

Leaving the concert, we visited the 横浜ラーメン博物館 (Yokohama Ramen Museum) up the street. The museum features a themed street plaza where customers can purchase noodles of regions all across Japan. The four of us ate at a Hokkaido-style ramen shop.

Dylan and Heather chose the super spicy add-on option.
They are tough.

I ate a bowl of mini char siu ramen.
I am weak.

I had hoped that Chris and I would later chill at TGIFriday's with beers and potato skins, but we were both exhausted and wound up returning to the hotel and crashing.