Date & Time: Friday, June 5, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Visitors: A couple from Kansas, the U.S.A.
Spots: Washington Hotel, The observation deck at Kitanaka Brick & White, Nihon-odori Street, Yokohama Archives of History, Zou-no-Hana Park, Yokohama Chinatown, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
Guide: a KSGG member
Language: English
The state of Kansas is in the heart of the North American continent, famous for its sunflower fields, tornadoes, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In that story, a young girl is swept up by a tornado and reaches a dreamland called Oz. Similarly, one of the visitors said he arrived here in the dreamland of Japan right after Typhoon No. 6 passed through.
They seemed to like the atmosphere of Yokohama—their first destination in Japan—as well as Japanese dishes. They said they would come to Japan again. Was it a dreamland after all?
Whenever he spotted a Subaru branded-car, he snapped photos right away. Why? It turned out he works at a car dealership that also sells Subaru vehicles. As for his female companion, she was originally from Mexico. She mentioned that although her town in Kansas is rural with only a few restaurants, it has a thriving Mexican community, so there are more Mexican restaurants than she had expected.
They would like to work hard and study hard for their future, and they were considering going to college again. These wonderful visitors had a never-ending interest in seeing, eating, and experiencing all that Japan has to offer. By the way, their beloved family includes a sweet dog and, surprisingly, a charming axolotl, a type of Mexican salamander.
The visitors enjoyed the view from the observation deck at Kitanaka Brick & White－a culture and shopping complex－because it was easy to point out Yokohama’s landmarks from there. Then, the guide gave them a brief overview of the opening of the Port of Yokohama and the beginning of Japan’s modernization using old maps to illustrate the city’s history. Yokohama has overcome many calamities, including the major fire seven years after the port opened*1, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923*2, repeated U.S. air raids, and the devastation of World War II. Despite those disasters, the people of Yokohama have continued to support and develop their city, and they continue to do so today.
The woman had arrived in Japan two weeks earlier than her partner and had already visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima. After this tour, they were planning to visit Nara and Okinawa before returning to Tokyo. The guide hoped they would really enjoy the rest of their trip in Japan.
*1: This major fire broke out in Yokohama in 1866, seven years after the port opened. It started at a pork shop and destroyed much of the Japanese residential area and part of the foreign settlement. The fire led to major changes in the development of Yokohama’s urban landscape.
*2: The Great Kanto Earthquake struck Japan on September 1, 1923, with a magnitude of 7.9. It caused massive destruction and killed about 105,000 people. Yokohama was one of the hardest-hit cities, and much of the city was destroyed by the earthquake and the fires that followed. The disaster caused a major turning point in Yokohama’s history and its subsequent rebuilding.
2026-8-20, 9-7