When you think of Yokohama, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me Yokohama has always been about two things - the bay area with glittering new buildings and ultramodern but still very nice looking in a way that Tokyo can never be, and Chinatown.
This weekend I was able to see another side of Yokohama.
The key I guess is to even know to look.
As anyone who's done any travelling in Yokohama knows, the main place with stuff to see - the shopping center, Chinatown, the harbor, the Red Brick Warehouse and all kinds of other attractions - is all centered around Sakuragicho Station. Just walk out and head north to the water or east to Chinatown and you're there.
But if you head out the southwest from the station instead, you find something completely different.
Noge (野毛 or のげ - written on the arches above), is the name of a small section of the city, and it plus Miyagawacho (宮川町) forms a line of several blocks south of the station along the river. Here there is just an amazing number of little businesses all crammed into a tiny space. In many ways it feels a lot like the "downtown" (下町) parts of old Tokyo you see in Asakusa, Shinjuku, Kita Senju and many other areas, but even more tightly packed.
This old, crumbling building is just one of many that may feel a little old and worn, but they're still very much in use and thriving, as is the whole area.
I love this street scene (above). On the left there's a police box with a sign up that says "out on patrol." To the right across the street is a capsule hotel and down the street ahead is a curved line of bars all occupying the 1st and 2nd floors of a long building that looks like it was intended to only last until more permanent construction could be built, many many years ago. The view further down the street is the 2nd pic in this post. Each little bar sits around 10 (maybe) with just enough room behind the counter for a bartender and a cook, and that's about all.
More amazingly, the 2nd set of bars above is reached by climbing a set of rickety stairs where you enter from the back side, above the river. Incredible.
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Yes, the place could use a little paint, a fixed window here or there, but it has a lot of character, especially after dark. I really love the slatted windows in this standing bar, named appropriately Standbar.
You could wander around the same paths several times and not even notice everything there's so much to see. After walking around all afternoon and into the early evening we decided to get a bite to eat. And that was a fantastic little journey in and of itself. We went into what looked like just another building, only to find it was actually the entrance to an arcade spanning down an old covered alley. There we sat down at a teeny French restaurant where they had Foie Gras steaks on the menu, (we opted for pâté instead) seating for 4 at the bar if you're thin, and two other small tables and that's it.
For anyone interested in seeing what's probably the best place to drink in Yokohama, and maybe also the best place to eat, I really recommend a jaunt. The whole area is only a few hundred feet long from north to south and it's all close to the station, so the journey isn't a problem at all. I honestly can't believe I never knew about it until now, but I plan on going back again for sure.
If someone wanted to try out the French I had (which was really good, and decently priced), the place is called the Bistro Graine Marche (you can see it on the map here), but you have to look around a bit because it's not on the street really. When you find it on the map, head into the glass doors and look around. Even if there aren't any seats the area has a ton of cool bars, bistros, Japanese dining.
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These pictures were all taken with my Panasonic GX7 and the excellent 12-35mm F2.8 lens. If you'd like to see more click on any image above or head to my Flickr Photostream. You can also check out some other posts about this wonderful city to the south of Tokyo: A View From Above (where I head up the Landmark Tower), To the Red Bricks (cool sightseeing around the harbor) or Yokohama Nights.
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