I have a 12 year old bicolored cat named Happi, who I sorely miss back home in the States. So when I was given the chance to go pet cats at Nekobukuro with a few of my friends on Wednesday, I just had to go!
Nekobukuro is located on Sunshine Dori on the top floor of Tokyu Hands; one of the most "creative life" stores in Japan. You can pretty much find anything in Tokyu Hands. It's kind of like a Target or a Walmart but with so much better class which is clearly reflected in the pricing of the merchandise.
We took the escalator and a set of stairs up to Nekobukuro. When we entered, we were greeted by the sound of cats meowing to the tune of Silent Night. It was cute at first, but I realized 10 minutes into my visit that it was extremely annoying.
Besides being a place to pet cats, Nekobukuro is a pet shop. You can buy smaller animals like frogs, turtles, gerbles, a chinchilla even, and lots of different fish. I had a great time just looking at the animals that they had for sale there.
The area where you can pet cats requires a 600 yen entrance fee or about $6. Nekobukuro is like a fantasy land for cats. The more expensive breeds are kept behind class windows, but are made comfortable in their boxes. Each one is themed with such themes as train cars, kitchens, and bathrooms. It's really quite unique because in each themed boxed room for the cats there are accessories that go along with the themed room like a really nice plush sofa chair made for the cat to lay on in the "living room" themed box. The open area was littered with scratching posts, toys, and large cat houses where the cats could play and sleep in. Many of the inexpensive breeds were allowed to roam around the room we were in so we had a chance to take pictures of them and pet them at our leisure. Many of the cats were sleeping. I think it was probably due to the heat in the room and the fact that it was the middle of the day. It seemed like all of the cats were used to humans and attention, so they paid us no mind while we petted them or took pictures of them.
This past weekend I had the chance to visit Yokohama Port one last time before I left for the States. In my Japanese 2a conversation portion of the class, my sensei sent us on a mission to explore a place in Japan with our groups and write a short essay about our feelings on the trip. Since I was leaving early, my group decided to go as soon as possible so that I would have enough time to write and turn in the essay. My group which consisted of me, the one and only American, Chin-san, a Chinese international student, Aun-san, a Korean high school international student, and Kimura-san who was our Japanese class guest and Oberlin student decided on a trip to Landmark Tower at Yokohama Port.
Landmark Tower which sits right near the harbor at Yokohama Port overlooks Yokohama Bay and its surroundings. I was so excited because I heard that the view was spectacular. So at 10 am we meet up at the Sakurachicho stop off the Yokohama Line and headed over to Landmark Tower.
Just like Tokyo Tower, Landmark Tower had its own staff of very nicely dressed young women who guided us to the elevator and took us up to the top floor. The elevator like Tokyo Tower's elevator was very unique. The elevator was dimly light when we entered and as we ascended, the celing of the elevator was illuminated in different colors. It was so pretty!
Just as I had expected, the view was breathtaking at the time. As you walk around the viewing area you have a chance to get a 360 degree look at what is around Yokohama. There were also pictures of the view with the names of the most famous landmarks and buildings pinpointed on the picture map so that you would be able to located them while viewing from the Tower. I took tons of pictures, and yet none of them can really do the view justice enough. You just have to be there yourself to really take it in.
Including the spectacular view, the observation deck also had a souvenir shop, a cafe, and different little decorative exhibits. Since it's so close to Christmas, most of the decorative exhibits were Christmas themed. It was very pretty.
By the time we came full circle in the observation deck, we were pretty darn hungry. Chin-san, the Chinese International Business student suggested a noodle shop in Chinatown that we could go to. So back I went to Yokohama's Chinatown.
After lunch, we decided to take a ferry back to Yokohama station. The ferry which costs about 700 yen or about $7 which takes you from the Park at Yokohama Port and past the ferris wheel up to Yokohama's outlet mall shopping area. The view was terrific and I was so happy to be back on a boat. It definitely reminded me of Boston, reminded me of home and yet a part of me has made Tokyo my home now. I realized then that it is going to be very difficult for me when I finally leave here.
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