"Miniature" in Japan.
From the series, "Japan, or an American Retiree's Extreme Vacation."
In Japan, everything is small, miniature. It's a standard phrase that I've heard and read... (By the way, like any generalization, it's not entirely true.) But we'll come back to that a bit later.
We flew into Tokyo.
From the airport, we took a taxi to the hotel... (Mary chose the hotels very well: the first was right next to the port where our liner was docked, and the second was a one-minute walk from a metro station in central Tokyo!) It was already late in the evening, so all we had left to do was get a good night's sleep before the cruise. But the surprise at what we saw in the room was boundless. Of course, despite being tired, I grabbed my phone to take a picture... No, I'll save those photos for last, or you won't look at the beauty of Yokohama and Osanbashi! (Yokohama! Osanbashi! Get used to the Japanese names...) And don't skip ahead! Don't just scroll through to look at the pictures!
We stayed at the APA Hotel & Resort Yokohama Bay Tower.
It's no coincidence that this was the first port in Japan to open for trade and communication with Europeans. (No, that happened long before us, in the 19th century...)
The views from the hotel restaurant are dazzling. You can see our cruise ship, the "Celebrity Millennium".
The city is huge, and we only have a few hours in the morning to walk around before our cruise departs.
From all the snow-white buildings, I liked the Yokohama Landmark Tower the most (it's the first building on the left in the photo). It looks very original. It's a hotel, the third tallest building in Japan, with the fastest elevators and a unique system of stabilizers that help it withstand earthquakes—I found the correct name for them online: "tuned mass dampers." It also has an observation deck on the 69th floor.
The Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel is visible from everywhere. It was once the world's tallest Ferris wheel, specifically in 1989.
And nearby, there was a path made of smooth, wave-worn pebbles pressed into cement. I saw a man take off his shoes and walk along it. I decided to try it myself. I took off my sneakers and... could only manage three or four steps. The pain was unbelievable. But the man walked all the way to the end.
This is a long-standing tradition in Japan rooted in reflexology. It's believed that the soles of your feet have many biologically active points connected to various organs and systems in the body. Walking on a path like this stimulates these points, which supporters of the practice believe improves circulation, relieves fatigue, boosts overall vitality, and helps prevent various illnesses.
Oh no, I tried it, and now it even hurts to look at the picture.
We walked around the hotel; we had about two hours of free time. We've returned.
Our hotel is chic.
There's a lot of light, beautiful chandeliers, and even the small elevator area seems spacious and big because of all that splendor reflecting in the mirrors.
(Well, I guess it's a typical hotel for cruise passengers and business travelers in Yokohama. I'm just not spoiled by hotels, still stuck in my Soviet past. I'll never get used to it; so many things on my trips surprise and delight me.)
And now, for the cherry on top, as I promised: photos of our room.
Did you see it? Did you compare it to the openness of the city and the hotel lobby?
Well, of course, it was a room for two, but they just added (or, to be honest, squeezed in) another bed. It's a tiny room, to put it mildly! But it had everything we needed...
More has probably been written about Japanese toilets than anything else, and I can't avoid the topic, but that's for another story...
Other unusual things in the room included two pairs of slippers (one for the hotel pool, the other for "walking" around the room, if you could even walk in it...), clothes deodorant, antibacterial shoe deodorant, a shoehorn, and a kimono-style robe...
That's all for today. The next story will be about the cruise.
And to be honest, I liked that hotel room.
P.S.
I hope the ladies will forgive me! Because this is a compliment to them! I am sixty-seven. The ladies traveling with me are fifty and sixty.
P.S.
One month later...
Kochi, or Off the Beaten Track.
Story One: The Bridge.
Kochi, or Off the Beaten Track.
Story Two: The Castle.
https://theglobalgrandma67.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-castle-in-kochi-or-off-beaten-track.html
"And why is Fuji a Yama?"
Kunōzan Tōshōgu Shrine, or a Brief Course in Japanese History.
"Never assume!" or "Starbucks" in Japan.
Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka... Haven't heard of them yet? Read on!
Kiyomizu-dera Temple, or One Shade of Red.
Osaka Castle, or Three Lives of One Fortress.
Ferris Wheel, or Fifteen Minutes of Farewell to Osaka.
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