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Motomachi-Chukagai (Chinatown)

Motomachi-Chukagai is the old gaigin (foreigner) part of Yokohama. On the one side o f the canal you have the European/American style area (which includes the Foreigners Graveyard [pic], and on the other side, you have (the much more visually interesting) Chinatown. Chinatown in %85 tourist trap/ %15 real Chinatown. There is also a Museum/mall called Daska [pic] that purports to be a "Historical time travel through Shanghai" (starting in an elevator). Mostly it's just a cheesy display, a surprisingly entertaining floor show, and a food court. as a side note, the bathrooms here are especially clean and nice. In general the food in the big restaurants is shockingly overpriced and (so I am told) suited to the Japanese palate. There are, however, many street vendors selling cheap, filling food such as Pan (called niku-man or whatever-is-inside-man) [pic] in many varieties; from beef and pork to green tea & red-bean. These, along with a moderately priced Tsing-Tao beer, were my lunch.

The night ended with dinner and drinks in Kannai: an developing nightspot in Yokohama, where hundreds of bars and restaurants can be found. In all, Motomachi is a good day trip if you live in Japan and want a simple day trip to see something different, but if you travelled all the way here to experience Japanese culture, you may want to skip this and head to one of the more Japanese-y places.