Yokohama: The Sogo Museum of Art and Chinatown 横浜:そごう美術館と中華街

Yokohama!

With all of the recent Golden Week holidays the past few weeks have been full of adventures and travels. Last Tuesday, April 29, or Showa Day,  little man and I adventured to the land of his birth- Yokohama. As with many of our explorations, we started our trip by finding the station stamp upon arrival in Yokohama. Most JR stations have unique stamps, and we are collecting them in a special stamp book.

Getting our station stamp.

The main purpose of our visit was to see the Thomas and Friends exhibit at the Sogo Museum of Art. The exhibit included original illustrations from the book series, as well as copies of the original books, and the small engines used in the television series. It also included a play area with wood track and trains, and a few video stations.

 Ticket to the show.

 

 The Sogo Museum of Art, located in the Sogo Department Store, attached to Yokohama Station.

I was concerned that little man might not be into the exhibit, or that we would go through it quickly, but he spent time looking closely at each and every illustration, having me read the labels that described the stories for each, and working through the images to invent his own stories. A true museum goer!  He also acquired his first exhibition catalogue, a serious milestone.

 Art lookin'.

After a few hours at the museum, we took the train over to Chukagai, Yokohama's Chinatown, which is the largest in Japan, to have dinner and do a bit of exploring. It was wonderfully nostalgic to be back in Yokohama, where Joe and I lived for a year, and to show little man around the city where he was born and spent the first half year of his life.

 Chukagai gate.

 Chukagai restaurant. Little dude called the lighting "treasure lamps."

 Mmmmmm......

Another Chukagai gate.