Day 3 Yokohama MarkIS shopping

Went shopping again. I was really searching for some good food places for dinner. What I found was a super bougie Western style shopping mall. Think homogeneous Pottery Barn, Gap, and Nine West, but really Asian. Aka, everything is 10 sizes too small, but really really expensive. The only store that was unique was the 3 Coins store. Think Five Below, but everything was 300 yen ($2.44).

Panda chair socks! These are so coming home with me!

Make your rice adorable kits!

Panda rice kit

Expandable Moomin sponges

I did find some food places that we'll probably check out, including another conveyor belt sushi place. I found a delicious looking noodle place, that had a ridiculously long line. Seriously, everyone was eating food from this place. And I hardcore wanted it, but I couldn't figure out how to order and they didn't have a "You're a silly American who doesn't speak Japanese here's a point and pick picture menu." Starving, I came across a stand selling food that I knew how to order, takoyaki. It's a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, stuffed with squid ball. I was really looking forward to eating these.

The first ball was hot as hell. I learned that the hard way because I shoved the whole thing into my mouth. Amateur move. It's totally acceptable to break these guys up and eat them in smaller bites. The second ball I could actually taste. The third ball got a little weird, it was a texture thing. Then the 4th ball was intolerable. The squid was good, pretty chewy, but with a good flavor. The outside of the balls weren't actually very crispy at all. Just like a sticky shell holding the creamy, gooey insides together. It was oddly sweet and fishy at the same time. Definite dislike. But I'm glad I tried them.

As I was leaving I found a great grocery store in the basement. I stocked back up on yogurt and bananas for breakfast. I couldn't resist taking some pictures in the produce section. The Japanese definitely have a thing for melons.

This melon is even smaller than the last one I posted, but is on sale for the same price. It's regularly $14!

They have a thing for designer fruits. All of these fruits, especially the strawberries, were absolutely perfect looking. They could have easily been plastic fruits they were that perfect looking.

You know, a $20 cantaloupe. No big deal.

No but seriously, I want to eat one of these super special melons and see what all the fuss is about. I just don't want to spend that much money on a melon!

Oh, and some giant ass carrots.

On my way back to the hotel I spent some time exploring the little park around Yokohama Port Museum.

So far something I love about Japan is that there is a quiet green area right around every corner. I am also loving being right on the water. Watching it float on by is so relaxing. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of people and so many noises that you don't understand. It's nice to go out and feel the ocean breeze on your face and take in the green for a moment.

The Japanese actually have a word for that. Komorebi (n): sunlight filtering through the trees. Checkout this cool BuzzFeed article on nifty Japanese words.