Minato Mirai

Today we went to Minato Mirai, a big high end shopping and entertainment mecca in the heart of Yokohama City.  Our destination was the Pokemon Center Yokohama, an official retail outlet for all things Pokemon.

The Pokemon Center did not disappoint.  There was a cornucopia of product and the air reeked of consumerism, but this being Japan, most of the stuff was just so damn cute and/or useful.

For example, when in Japan and out and about, locals have a handkerchief tucked in their bag or pocket.  These cloth squares may be made out of typical handkerchief material, or, they may be made out of tyical towel material.  They come in handy because public restrooms do not have paper towels or air hand dryers.  The only way to dry one's hands after washing them is to use your own hanky or towel.  And what did they have at the Pokemon store?  Handkerchiefs and small square towels with Pokemon designs on them.  The kids picked hand towels for themselves.

They also picked up plushies, cards and figures, as well as, some souvenirs for the Pokemon lovers in our lives.

By the time we finished up, we were all very hungry.  We found a bakery/cafe on the ground floor tucked in amongst dozens of restaurants vying for customers.  Sag had two "double cheese" hotdogs ("is this mayo in here?"  "yes it is"), Cap had corn soup, a favorite food of his when in Japan, and a roll, Gem had a brown bag lunch, and I had this:

I needed the caffeine and sugar, I am so sleep deprived, and was pleasantly surprised by the chocolate pastry.  The cake was just barely sweet and had a lovely soft, almost bread-like quality to it.  Inside was a chocolate cream in the hollow of the cake and the cream was surprisingly deep in its tones.  I loved the air pocket inside...that the pastry wasn't stuffed to the max with the cream.  The top of the pastry had a coating of dry cocoa powder.  The tea was "milk royal tea" a featured item of the shop.  It hit the spot.

We had one of those wonderful traveling treasure moments after lunch.  We ventured outside for some fresh air and immediately came upon an incredibly arresting structure...

The Pokemon Center is located in The Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan (69 floors).  We had lunch in a restaurant area on the ground floor of the building.  The building was built at the tip of a former ship docking area!  I loved how they incorporated this location into the building of this super modern complex.  It is rare to see older Western architectural relics in Japan and this place really caught my eye and imagination.  Yokohama is an old port city and has more Western influences in its architecture and history than most other places in Japan.

More pics of the day will follow.  But, now, I must off to make some dinner.  It was really a wonderful afternoon.  Gem is taking a nap, Sag is doing some journaling (in his new Pokemon notebook :-), Cap is grading papers, my dad is on his way home from work and my mom and sister are on their way here from the airport having landed safely.

Love and light to you.