We enjoyed a classy meal and a night on the town in Yokohama.
We got off work early and took the train to Yokohama, where we walked the Minato Mirai waterfront to the World Porters Mall. Our hosts had made dinner reservations for us at Maimon Restaurant, upstairs on the 5th floor. The decor was distinctly high-class, not like the homey Za-Watami Izakaya experience of the other night.
All work and no play makes Nate a dull boy.
Spending full work days in a single conference room is not the most fun thing to do. Our workshop’s organizers realized that, so they made sure to include one “team building” activity which involved getting off work a little early, and taking a train to Yokohama to have dinner in Minato Mirai. It was about a half-hour trip from Shonandai to the Sakuragicho station where we disembarked and joined the madding crowd.
My colleagues were all wondering where to go for dinner around our hotel in Shonandai. Fortunately, Akiko (our Japanese friend who gave us the excellent Cream of Corn Soup recipe) had scouted out our area before we arrived. She recommended the Za-Watami Izakaya restaurant, right next to the Shonandai Station.
We arrived in Japan and got our train tickets for the Narita Express to Yokohama Station. The scenery at the beginning of the ride was beautiful, with acres and acres of verdant rice fields along the way.
As we got closer to Tokyo, though, you start to see less and less green and more and more tall buildings. The Express dove under the city, so we didn’t get to see much of it until we were well past it. Tokyo would have to wait until another day…