Lanterns and Lions

According to Wikipedia, Yokohama boasts the largest Chinatown in Asia (presumably not counting any city or town in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan).

That said, Chinatown in Yokohama is the cleanest, quietest Chinatown I've ever had the occasion to visit (I've been to five).  Although admittedly, I had forgotten this when I arrived Monday evening for the much-celebrated Lantern Festival only to be greeted by silent streets and empty storefronts.  At first I thought I had missed the celebration entirely, but I persevered and found the quiet pockets of revelers congregated at the two Buddhist temples in the town center.

The Lantern Festival is the end of the Lunar New Year (a two-week affair with parades, dragon/lion dances, and food).  Although perhaps not as elaborate a celebration as in other parts of Asia, the Yokohama festivities did not disappoint.  It was still quite beautiful to see the red lanterns hanging from the temples and to watch the lion dance.

This Onsen Life

The other weekend, we stayed at an awesome ryokan/onsen in Izu, at the Hamanoyu.  It's a fantastic ryokan, easily within distance from Tokyo/Yokohama and passes through Odawara (so you can hit up the castle on your way back).  The hotel shuttle picked us up when we arrived and dropped us back to the station when we departed.

We only stayed one night, but I can say, hands down, the food here was perhaps the best keiseki ryori of all places.  They, like most, accommodated our disdain for mammal/bird meat and gave us only seafood for our meals.

And now I am spoiled.  I can only go to ryokans with private open air baths in the room.

From our balcony, nothing but rippling endless blue.

I don't know how they do it, but they pump spring water into all of the rooms for the private onsen tub.

The menu was originally in Japanese, but they also had a simplified English menu.

Course 1 of the ten course meal.  

The meal isn't complete without a sushi platter

This was by far the best fish I've eaten, called Kinme-dai, boiled in soy sauce and sake.

Chilled asparagus and spinach soup

Fish Nabe, Yuzu-Citron Style

Strawberry Mousse

The breakfast was not as elaborate an affair, but it was equally phenomenal.

We didn't get a handwritten menu with this one, but it was still delicious.

Our hostess wrote Jeff's name on the sushi boat

      

And told us "good bye" and "see you again"

Of course, you may get tired of your private room onsen and want to go to the stone hotspring on the rooftop.