Yokohama & Tokyo, Japan September 28, 2006

Even though the Sapphire Princess was arriving in Yokohama just after daybreak, hundreds of onlookers lined the pier and shoreline as the Sapphire Princess headed for its docking berth. We got a 360 degree view of the very attractive harbor area from our stateroom balcony as hard working tugs pivoted the ship in a full fore-to-aft circle before our mooring lines were heaved ashore.

We sailed under the Rainbow Bridge spanning the harbor between Yokohama and Tokyo.	A private cruiser took a parallel course to accompany us into port.	Tugs came out to meet the Sapphire Princess and bring us to berth.
The city skyline, a ferris wheel, and the Coast Guard cutter made for a great photo op!	The cutters were identified in English--- Japan Coast Guard!	The harbor's Marine Tower is the tallest inland lighthouse in the world.

After breakfast we had several hours "at liberty" since our only scheduled activity was an afternoon tour of Tokyo. With nothing special in mind, we decided to get off the ship and spend some time exploring the extensive terminal area we had seen from our balcony.

As it turned out, we spent almost all of our time in the cruise terminal, itself. After checking out a few clothing and gift shops near the gates, we saw an"Information Here" sign and went over to get some suggestions as to where we might do some window browsing and, probably, shopping. "Warm" doesn't do justice to the welcome we received from the three people stationed at the information desk--- big smiles and "How can we help you?" greetings (in perfect English! We told one of the women what we had in mind and she immediately pointed toward the other end of the terminal and said, "Go there, you'll enjoy it?" We didn't know exactly where "there" was so, she waved her arm and said, "Come with me, I'll show you."

She led us through a doorway we hadn't seen earlier and down a long ramp where we found ourselves in a huge hall filled with exhibit booths. Still smiling, she brought us to a small alcove where beautiful kimonos were on display and turned us over to the very attractive ladies on duty there. One of them immediately went to Joan and, pulling her by the arm, led her to a rack of these traditional Japanese gowns. She took one off its hanger and insisted Joan try it on. At first we thought it was an aggressive sales approach but, it turned out, it was just an act of friendship. Ralph took a couple of photos before he, too, was turned into a model.

So there we were, two fair-skinned giants decked out like a geisha and a samurai and it wasn't more than fifteen seconds later that at least eight cameras flashed as grinning Japanese recorded the scene for posterity. Worse, a commercial-sized TV camera was blinking its red eye at us and Ralph feared we might be targeted for the evening news on Yokohama TV.

Our "Information Lady" then took us to a nearby table where two kimono-clad women were doing the ornate calligraphy that comprises Japanese writing. They insisted that we sit down and watch as, after asking our names, they lettered them and told us what they meant. (Ralph is "Gentle Wind" and Joan's was something like "Blossom Scent" (close enough). At this point, the helpful guide left us and we were left on our own to join the crowd looking over the other displays, exhibits, and games in the hall--- handcrafted jewelry, pop guns shooting , traditional koi fish, "delicacy on a stick," Yokohama T-shirts, etc. There was even a performance by one of the many "flag dance" teams we saw in each of the ports we visited in Japan.

We left the underground exhibit hall and walked up a long ramp to the top of the terminal building. This structure is in itself interesting. Designed by a team of English architects, winners of an international competition, it is constructed in the shape of a bass viola and is quite unlike anything we had ever seen. The lower level is the exhibit hall, the main level comprises the ship terminal and customs/immigration facilities, and the top level, outdoors, serves as a park, complete with walkways, gardens, and observation points.

A long ramp leads up to the terminal.	People wanting to look at the moored ships go to the upper level park.	The walkway goes all around the outdoor upper level of the terminal.
Bus and automobile traffic can drive right up to the main terminal entrance.	A large crowd gathered to look over the Sapphire Princess.	Japanese tourists were really interested in the ship.

We got back on board the Sapphire Princess to get our camera and "travel bag" and then at 11:00 went down to the Promenade Deck to where our tour group was assembling. We chatted a bit with our companions for the afternoon trip to Tokyo and then went to the terminal building to find our tour guide and bus. Actually the guide, Keiko Kai, found us and escorted us directly to the bus which was waiting at the front door of the terminal. She introduced our driver , Igichu, and gave us a quick overview of what we'd be seeing on the drive to and from Tokyo and, of course, what we'd be doing when we reached the city. We soon found out that she was very patient, willing to give expanded (and often repeated) explanation's whenever asked.

We got started and Keiko-Kai pointed out some of the major Yokohama landmarks--- the major buildings, government facilities, the home offices of prominent business, and, something we'll never forget, what Keiko-Kai called the towering Yokohama "ferry wheel."

Probably the most noticeable thing on the drive to Tokyo was the absence of open space, green or otherwise. It seemed that as far as you could see every inch was occupied by an apartment or condominium, warehouse, or factory. Keiko-Kai filled us in on some pertinent facts, saying that the Greater Tokyo area is positioned approximately in the center of the Japanese archipelago, a chain of islands that stretches nearly 1,800 miles from the arctic north to the semitropical south.

The metropolitan area is made up of Tokyo City and the three neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba. Tokyo is the capital of Japan and , with a population of 12.5 million within the city limits and 37,500,000 in its metropolitan area. Keiko-Kai said that Tokyo is the world's most populous city but, as we would hear the following week, some Chinese cities (Chongqing, for example) claim that "honor" is theirs. It all depends, it seems, in how you define the word "city." At any rate, count 'em as you will, there certainly are a whole lot of people in the Yokohama/Tokyo area and, it seems, almost all of them live in high-rise buildings.

Keiko-Kai said that the most common request she hears from American tourists is to see the famous Ginza "strip" so she had the driver take our bus down that street twice. Just as shown in movies and TV ads, the bright, almost garish Ginza Street is home for the world's most famous brands and, according to Keiko-Kai, is crowded at almost all hours of the day and night. We saw throngs of afternoon shoppers looking over the goods and products attractively displayed in store windows and streams of officers workers (called "salarymen" and identifiable by their ever-present briefcases) walking determinedly toward destinations known only to themselves.

The feature attraction of the day was our stop at the Imperial Palace, a cluster pagoda-style building set in a vast park near the center of Tokyo. Keiko-Kai told us this is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family, the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world. Keiko-Kai said that unless you have a personal invitation from the Emperor, the Imperial Palace is closed to the public. But, she added, anyone is free to wander the gardens since they are considered public parks. Correspondingly, when the bus dropped our group off about a half-mile from the Palace, itself,we walked through a pretty park featuring bonsai trees, statues, and interesting people until we reached the moat that surrounds the section of the Palace complex that we were permitted to visit.

Although some of the original gates and stone walls of the Imperial Palace still remain, many of the buildings seen today were erected in the wake of the terrible earthquake and fire of 1923. Incredibly, considering hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs dropped on Tokyo during World War II, the Palace somehow was practically untouched by the terrible devastation. The role of the Emperor (or occasionally the Empress,) has varied in importance over the years. Considered to be a divine being until the end of World War II, Japan's postwar Constitution made him the "Symbol of the State." Today, he plays a largely ceremonial part in the life of the nation.

After an hour or so strolling through the Palace park and taking pictures of the various Imperial buildings, we reboarded the bus and started back to Yokohama, again with Keiko-Kai pointing out some of the landmarks we hadn't seen earlier--- Parliament, the massive structure where General Douglas MacArthur set up has occupation government after World War II, the Kabuki theater zone, etc.. Once again, we enjoyed just watching the street scenes as we passed through the city.

The Mitsuoshi financial conglomerate is headquartered in this building.	"El Supremo's" headquarters during Japan's postwar reconstruction.	The Diet, Japan's Parliament, meets here.
Home of the stylized Kabuki theater that is unique to Japan.	Tokyo schoolgirls wear the same kind of uniforms as those we saw in Sapporo.	Tokyo cabs have white doilies on all their headrests.
Want a flashy new Nissan? Shop here!	Rush hour is rush hour no matter where you go.	Who knows? Probably a restaurant catering to local trade!

The return route to Yokohama harbor and the Sapphire Princess took us over the Rainbow Bridge, internationally acknowledged for both its technical and aesthetic values. Keiko-Kai had our schedule worked out perfectly and we pulled up to the ship almost at the stroke of 5:30. We were in such a hurry to get back aboard that we had to skip the nearby MacDonalds and, in addition, we failed to notice the crowd assembling on the top level of the terminal building. Our cabin was on the "wrong" side of the ship to see them but we heard later that literally thousands and thousands of people showed up to wave Yokohama's farewell to the Sapphire Princess. We did, however, get to see the lights of the harbor as the ship slipped out to sea.