よこはま！YOKOHAMA!

So, the most important point I have to make in this post is that BSU HAS A SNOW DAY TODAY!

Because I suddenly didn't have my entire afternoon filled with classes, I decided to spoil myself and grab waffles-as-big-as-your-plate and custom-made omelettes for breakfast. Apparently, the rest of campus thought the same thing, so I waited in line for about 50 minutes before getting my deluxe breakfast. But sitting on a stool in front of Noyer's International Cafe for almost an hour was worth it. Seriously. Yum.

So instead of sitting in Japanese 302 and doing each textbook chapter's "話してみましょう！" ("Let's try speaking!"), I'm lounging on my couch, covered in blankets, stomach stuffed with eggs, ham and syrup, and re-reading Tsubasa and Chobits.

What a glorious day.


Yesterday at work, I distracted myself from kanji practice by searching online for different festivals and cities I want to visit during my month-and-a-half-long summer break in Sapporo. Because I already toured much of Honshu last summer (Tenri, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara, etc.), I was planning on flying to the southern islands for a tropical vacation, but after finishing "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi" about a month ago, I wanted to check out Yokohama. From other travelers and native Japanese students here at BSU, I'd heard that Yokohama was "the city for lovers" - which made it perfect for the previously mentioned J-dorama romance with Kazuya Kamenashi and Haruka Ayase. Even its romantic atmosphere couldn't deter me from going solo - or at least with some friends.

So I researched. And I fell in love. Yokohama is only about a 20-30 minute train ride away from Tokyo, so visiting Tokyo again would be a plus. And Yokohama at night, with summer fireworks over the water = GORGEOUS! Key sights:

*Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (discover the history of ramen shops!)
*Yokohama Bay Quarter (a luxury cruise liner-shaped shopping center)
*Chinatown (one of the world's largest)
*Purakin Sanbashi (Floating Pier)
*Yokohama Cosmo World (one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world, seating up to 480 passengers! and it's free, I believe)
*Silk Museum
*Yokohama Doll Museum (doll collection from 130 countries around the world; I'll probably go, unless the dolls are creepy, and then I'll pass)
* The Japan Newspaper Museum (a MUST-SEE for me!)
* The Broadcast Library (shows up to 6,000 TV broadcasts)
* Marine Tower (one of the tallest inland lighthouses in the world)






And it's only appropriate to include a scene from episode 3 of "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi" that has a great view of Yokohama in it. :)
BEWARE: This might spoil it for you if you haven't seen the drama already. And I highly encourage you to, especially if you're a lovey-dovey movie/drama fan.



And that, my friends, is why Yokohama is for lovers.



All photo credits go to Google Images.
BLOG SOUNDTRACK: 牧野 由依　「月のしじま」