Yokohama - Craft beer central

Yokohama

Our next stop after Matsumoto was actually Tokyo - we sort of flitted in and out of there a few times  - but I will do all of the posts from there later. For now, we'll fast forward on to Yokohama.

Yokohama

This stop was really all about the beer. It certainly wasn't about the accommodation; we had a truly tiny room (so small you could only just about put the bed mats down), at the top of a block that was probably best described as boarding rooms.

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

We had read that this was the place to come for Japanese craft beers, and it certainly was. But we did fit in a little bit of sightseeing. We didn't bother to go on the ferris wheel, but we did take a walk through the park, with its floral display competition going on, and visit the old ocean liner, The Hikawa Maru.

Yokohama

The Hikawa Maru was built in 1930, as Japan's response to the ocean liners of the UK and USA. It was introduced to sail the Japan-Seattle line, and was state of the art, with some beautiful art deco style interiors.

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

The Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) shipping line was keen to entice some big names to its ship. On hearing that silent movie star Charlie Chaplin was planning a journey, and that he loved the tempura made by the exclusive Hanacho restaurant in Tokyo, they sent one of their chefs to the Hanacho kitchens to learn their secrets.

The ploy worked, and Charlie Chaplin chose the Hikawa Maru for his trip, and reportedly ate the tempura every night.

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

During the war, the ship was pressed into use as a Japanese Navy Hospital ship, and managed to survive striking mines three times without sinking.

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

She resumed life as a cargo and passenger ship on the Japan-Seattle line in 1953, before being retired in 1960 after 254 voyages and carrying over 25,000 passengers. She was refurbished in 2006-8, and visitors today can see the style that the first class passengers travelled in.

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

Hikawa Mura, Yokohama

Red Brick Warehouses, Yokohama

Our second bit of sightseeing was to the popular red brick warehouses, which contain a variety of shops and eateries. We did have a bit of a look here - and bought some rather tasty apple pie from the very busy Granny Smith shop - but quite by chance, we also came across a beer festival.

Beer Festival, Yokohama

It wasn't especially big, but it did have quite a good range, albeit that it had quite a few imported German beers. One German import that we hadn't expected to see here, was a Bavarian Oompah Band. They were very popular, though most of the songs that they did were English.

Beer Festival, Yokohama

There was something quite strange about standing in a beer tent in Japan, listening to a German band play Let It Be, with hundreds of Japanese drinkers singing along and waving their arms in the air!

Yokohama

Which leads me nicely on to the rest of the beer here. We tried a range, from the large 'Yokohama Brewery', to the much smaller 'Bay Brewing Yokohama' microbrewery, and various ones in between. We spent quite some time searching for 'Craft Beer Bar', discovering 'The Taproom' on the way. When we did find it, we discovered that the owner isn't keen on foreigners; he seemed OK with us though, and we enjoyed a quick few there.

Yokohama

While failing to find another bar that we were looking for, we came across the local British Bar, 'The Full Monty', and decided to check that out. We spent some time chatting with the owner, especially when it turned out he was a Liverpool FC fan. When they closed, we ended up going with him to another bar, this time a Scottish Gastro pub called Wyvern

El Nubichinom, Yokohama

And the next day, we did find the one we had missed the day before, El Nubichinom must be the smallest bar I've ever been in, or am likely to go in. It takes about six of us foreigners, or maybe a few more if they are the somewhat smaller Japanese. The photo shows basically the whole bar.

Sweet shop, Yokohama

The owner knows his beers - he judges national beer competitions. With room for only six different beers at a time, he picks them carefully, and changes them regularly. This bar was a great little find, and I would definitely recommend it, though it is best to plan to go for just one or two, as it is only reasonable to move on and give the next person a chance to get in!

Sweet shop, Yokohama

There was one other thing we quite enjoyed here, which was spending a while watching a sweet shop making their little pulled sugar delicacies. it was fascinating to watch them make the little ones, but I would rather have liked to have seen them make the shoes too.

Sweet shop, Yokohama

Sweet shop, Yokohama

Drain cover, Yokohama