Yokohama is Japan’s second largest city and we found it has plenty to offer. We decided not to take the longer bus ride into Tokyo and visit the sites we had already seen with our one port day, so instead we explored Yokohama.

The Sankeien Gardens are more than a century-old. They were built by a wealthy silk trader, Tomitara Hara. There are many historically significant structures in the garden brought by Hara himself from all over Japan. The garden was badly damaged during World War II and donated to the city in 1953. It was restored beautifully to its pre-war condition.

The cherry blossoms and lotus flowers and other buds just starting to burst out gave us this sense of showing up at a party just before it began. But all the bare branches also gave the garden a quiet serenity that was sculptural and lovely and unique.

The Chinatown in Yokohama is over 100 years old and the largest in Japan. It’s the place to go to get some of the best Chinese food anywhere, to get your fortune told, to visit an important temple dedicated to an ancient Chinese general, to shop and to people watch. We did a little bit of everything, minus the fortune telling.

The Kanteibyo Temple has been destroyed and rebuilt four times over the centuries. It’s dedicated to Guan Yu, a famous military general who was so revered he was declared a deity after he died. He was immortalized in the well-known Chinese historical novel, “The Romance of Three Kingdoms.” The general excelled in business as well as war, and even developed the accounting system used by the Chinese of the time. So he is worshiped as a God of commerce and is very popular with the Japanese as well as the Chinese.

Palm reading is a big thing in Chinatown. We saw a lot of palm reading shops set up and in use.

The Yokohama Landmark Tower is the third tallest building in Japan and a hub of activity for Yokohama. It’s surrounded by a tony mall, a hotel, an entertainment area, and of course there is an observation deck on its 69th floor. We went up to what is called the Sky Garden and enjoyed the view.

Good night Yokohama and farewell Japan. You gave us a beautiful send-off.