On Sunday, I went on a class field trip to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan. It's only about 45 minutes away from our dorms, south of Tokyo. It's the port where Commodore Perry landed in 1853! We rented bikes and rode around the town, visiting Chinatown, a few other areas, and even cycling past the Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters, one of the major yakuza (Japanese gangster/mafia) families in Japan. I totally saw a guy without a pinky -- they're recognizable by two things: their tattoos and missing pinkies, which they cut off when they mess up. Scary but awesome. It was interesting seeing an area of Japan with a large number of homeless and welfare status people just slumming around. So sad. On the flip side, Yokohama's Chinatown was the cleanest Chinatown I've ever been to. It was super nice.
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| The mascot of Japanese customs. So cute! |
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| Yokohama port. It was super clear that day. You could see Tokyo Tower in the distance! (Not in this picture, though.) |
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| Chinatown! |
Tyler was in Hiroshima/Miyajima all weekend, so be expecting an update from him coming soon!
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