VISITING NIPPON MARU MEMORIAL PARK A.K.A YOKOHAMA PORT MUSEUM

[DAY 4] 5th June 2014 ~ Adjacent to the big ship, the Nippon Maru, was the Nippon Maru Memorial Park a.k.a Yokohama Port Museum. Why it is called a memorial park, I am not sure but in Malaysia, a memorial park refers to something else. This was my very first museum visit when I was in Japan. *yeay*

This museum tells the story of the history of Yokohama - how the city has developed to become one of Japan important city ports and also at one time, when the port was destroyed due to heavy bombing during the WWll but was rebuilt again.

Photography is prohibited in the exhibit area. Too bad as there were many interesting things that I could share with the readers. Most of the photos were taken at the entrance, foyer or the museum exit.

This museum was a fun place to visit and there were some interactive activities that people could try. I really loved the one where we could manouevre the a cargo from a ship in a harbour, complete with a crane and a lorry, vice versa. The other one would be a simulation which allowed a visitor to steer a ship into a harbour.

While we were walking, there was this Japanese lady, a museum staff, who approached us. She had stayed in Terengganu a long time ago for 5 years and could speak a little Malay and we had a short conversation. We were glad to meet her and I think, she was also happy to get to meet Malaysians at her work place.

This was not the only museum we visited in Yokohama. Surprisingly, there were some more.

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GETTING ON BOARD NIPPON MARU

[DAY 4] 5th June 2014 ~ This was a sight to behold - a huge ship on the river in the middle of the city. This was the first thing that caught my eyes as I was walking from the train station to Landmark Tower. 

Nippon Maru was actually a sailing ship that was built in 1930 and was used as a training ship for cadets. It is now, however, a museum but I am not sure whether it could still sail on the river. It (the river) looked quite shallow.

Did you know how the crew clean the ship back then? They used coconut husk to scrub the floor which should be something not easy to do.

Unfortunately, only the front part of the ship was opened to the public so we could not see much. At the same time, it had started to rain and it was not a good idea to stay longer on the deck so we ran off the main building of the museum. Please read HERE for more information of the vessel.

the tourist guides of the day

NEXT: Nippon Maru Memorial Park a.k.a Yokohama Port Museum.

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THE WALL DECOR AT LANDMARK TOWER, YOKOHAMA

These are the framed objects that serve as the wall decor at Landmark Tower, Yokohama. How simple things could be turned into work of art. Most of the content of the "photographs" come from the souvenir shop or from within the building itself. I always wish I could be as creative as these people.

bottled mineral water

Landmark Tower watches

Landmark Tower t-shirt

I think I could frame the shirts I bought when I went abroad or given to me as souvenirs by my friends but then, there was no more empty space on the wall of my house. If not, I can have a very interesting wall display at home.

Landmark Tower Shopping Bag

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LANDMARK TOWER - THE 3RD HIGH RISE STRUCTURE VISITED IN JAPAN

[DAY 4] 5th June 2014 ~ One of the must-visit spots in Yokohama is its Landmark Tower. People are allowed to go up the building (for a small fee) to observe Yokohama from the viewing deck. I was still unlucky as the day was still cloudy, in fact cloudier than the last three days I was in Tokyo, or else I could have observed a more beautiful panorama of Yokohama city.

the souvenir shop

the lift decor on the ceiling

There is also a shopping complex at the lower levels of the building. As I was not there not to shop, I easily walked away but I could see a Pokemon Shop here and a curved elevator at one of the sections of the mall.

the curved escalator

NEXT: Some work of art that I liked at the viewing deck.

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