Date & Time: Sunday, May 6, 9:00 am –12:30 pm
Spots : Yokohama Park(Yokohama Stadium and Higa Garden), Nihon Odori Avenue, Kanagawa Prefectural Government Main Building, Port Opening Memorial Hall, Zou-no-Hana Park, Yamashita Park(Indian Water Tower, Hikawa-maru, The Guardian of Water, and Rose Garden), Hotel New Grand, and China Town(Yokohama Kantei-byo)
Visitors: An Australian Couple
Attendant: 1 KSGG member
Language: English
An Australian couple came to Japan by cruise ship, the Norwegian Jewel, the night before the guided tour and were leaving in the late evening. They had come to Japan before and wished to revisit during cherry blossom season. Instead, they appreciated fresh greenery and blooming azaleas and roses in May. At the Yokohama stadium, they said that they rarely see baseball parks in Australia. (Baseball is very popular in Japan.) We went through Higa Garden, a western-style park nearby, and on to Nihon Odori Avenue. I explained to the visitors that the avenue used to separate westerner’s settlements from Japanese towns when Japan started to open the country to foreigners about 150 years ago.
At the Port Opening Memorial Hall or the Jack, we looked at the two stained glasses and the painting of Kanrin-maru, Japan’s first sail and screw-driven steam corvette, and I explained to them that the Three Towers of Yokohama, or the King (prefectural government), the Queen (customs office), and the Jack, were western-style buildings with a tower erected in the pre-war era. At the Zou-no-hana *1) Park Terrace (rest area), we saw the cruise ship which they were scheduled to board anchored in front of us. The visitors took pictures of themselves together with the ship in the background. We walked to Yamashita Park and took a short break at India Water Tower*2), having ice cream. They were very happy to watch Hikawa-maru*3) and roses which were in full bloom in the Rose Garden around The Guardian of Water*4). We headed to China Town, dropping in at Hotel New Grand*5) on the way. They were amused to see the bustling streets in China Town. They were also interested in Kantei-byo, a Chinese gilded temple, saying that it is different from Japanese ones.
*1) A bank in the Yokohama Port whose shape looks like a trunk of elephants (zou-no hana in Japanese).
*2) Indian fountain was erected by the Indian community in Japan to commemorate the Indian nationals lost in the great earth quake in 1923.
*3) Hikawa-maru is a museum ship which used to carried passengers and cargos between the North America and Japan.
*4) the Guardian of Water fountain is a gift from San Diego, USA, which is a sister city of Yokohama.
*5) A western-style classic hotel established shortly after the great earth quake. The hotel is famous for its French cuisine.