o you see the big building over there? What about the huge ship over there? Look at all the small cars below, and the tiny people, they look like ants. I held Norris in my arms and looked out over Yokohama from our room high in The Tower. We had arrived late the night before at Haneda Airport after two long flights — 6 hours to Honolulu from Portland — then 9 hours to Haneda. Before falling into bed we only saw clouds and the shapeless glow of the city. Waking up to a view made my legs anxious, ready to get out and explore.

The first stop was breakfast at Jonathan’s, which is a “Family Restaurant” that seems to be related to Denny’s. The menu has eggs, toast, sausage and your standard western fare, but also Japanese breakfast sets: grilled salmon or hamburg steak with rice, miso soup, natto and nori. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s cheap and the quality is decent when compared to most places in the USA. After the battle to get Norris to eat his pancakes we set out for the banks of the Ooka River, which is lined with cherry trees near Asahibashi. We zig zagged through the streets and up Isezakicho. Small trucks puttered by making their morning deliveries and crates of beer bottles clanged as restaurant workers cleaned up the flotsam discarded by partygoers the night before. Here and there a commuter passed by on foot or bicycle, crisp clean clothing and a bag in tow.

We arrived at the banks of the river, which to more accurately evoke an image, should be called a canal with its straight concrete sides topped by a wavy red railing and winding through the inner city. We saw faint pink in the distance. The cherry trees were blooming, but nowhere close to full bloom. While the wider perspective wasn’t spectacular we were able to hang out near some trees that were just shy of full bloom. Of course we had to do our duty and take some posed photos to stamp our virtual stamp book that is social media. A couple boats motored quietly past us on the still waters of the river. We heard some quiet voices and light splashes from upriver, where from under a bridge a group of 12 people on standup paddle boards went by. Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) from a SUP, what a wonderful idea. Norris watched through the railing as the group waved at us with smiles on their faces.

Norris was excited to be out of his stroller, not taking much time to enjoy the blossoms, only concerned with moving forward. We decided to turn around and head for the train station, goading Norris to go the same way by chasing him and playing hide and seek behind the cherry trees. We came across some stone work in the path which formed a circle and drew Norris in, putting him in a trance of twirling. We saw several more of these patterns throughout the rest of the day, always taking some time to spin.

We left the train station at the base of Yamate, or “The Bluff”, an area where foreigners lived starting in the mid-1800’s. I pulled up a map on my phone, looking for some path of small streets that would lead us up towards Motomachi Park and the unique architecture of the old foreign mansions. After hitting a dead end we came across a long set of stairs, but Norris was napping in the stroller. Should we go back down the hill, wait here for him to wake up, or carry the stroller like a palanquin? While considering our options he thankfully woke up and was in a good mood. He saw the steps and immediately went to work climbing them. Midway up the flight of 200+ steps school let out and teenage girls streamed by as Tram and I encouraged Norris to keep climbing the stairs.

As we came to Motomachi Park and the old western style house I felt as if I was in a Ghibli movie. The stairways up the hill, western style architecture and glimpses of views over Yokohama gave the sensation I was heading towards the antique shop from Whisper of the Heart (1995). From Motomachi Park we walked over to Harbor View Park from expansive views and started going down hill towards Chinatown. On the way down were several staircases which were a new experience for Norris. The walk had turned into stairmaster training, providing a great base for Norris to learn from, as stairs and escalators would be a daily occurrence for the rest of our two week trip in Japan.

The shouts from food vendors and chattering of families and couples was in stark contrast to the quiet walk we’d experienced on the bluff. Ready to replenish our stomachs, but not sure taking Norris into a restaurant was a good idea we stood in line from some fried xiaolongbao (焼き小籠包 yaki-shoronpo in Japanese), grabbed a bao and then went to a convenience store for some beer, milk and fried chicken. Conbinis are our weakness, with them all over the place we tend to eat from them more than we should.

After a jet lag induced nap we walked to the nearby mall. The sun was setting, but the clouds were overcast and the sky was nothing but a twilight blue. We met Kumiko outside the station, did some tax free shopping, and then grabbed dinner at a robatayaki style place in the food court. Simmered fish, fried fish, and baked onion among beer, sake and good conversation. After a stop by the Nippon Maru we made our way to a 7-Eleven with an insane craft beer selection. They had beers from around the world, including some small and well respected breweries from Oregon. We grabbed some Japanese brews, walked back to our hotel, and finished the night with conversation on our balcony while Norris slept soundly in the bed behind us. Tomorrow we’d board the shinkansen headed for Nagoya.

This post is based on a trip to Japan and Hawaii that we took in April of 2024.