28 November 2009

Clear

November 23, 2009, a Monday, has been declared a holiday in our company --as with most of the other companies here in Japan. I didn't care much as with why it is a holiday, my only concern is that I have no work on that day and I can enjoy a rare long weekend [Okay I did a quick research just before I write this. It is Labor Thanksgiving Day and is celebrated as an imperial harvest festival called Niiname-sai].


A couple of nights prior to that particular Monday, I was staying up all night and until dawn. But I had to get up early, especially on Sunday because I have to go to church. Thus, depriving myself of sleep, which of course I do not really mind because I know I could still catch up with it for I do not have any plans for the following day but stay home and enjoy the holiday.


And catch up I did. I slept for 10 hours from Sunday night until Monday noon, which I feel is still not enough. When I woke up, I noticed that I have missed calls on my cell phone. Ronald Julian, one of my closest friends, called and so I gave him a ring and asked why he called. He asked me if I want to go back to the Skywalk in Yokohama and take photos of the Minato-Mirai with Mt. Fuji as its backdrop. The sky was very clear that day so I reckoned it's a good idea.


Almost a year ago, we tried to shoot the very same view because we had a fair weather and there was a clear blue sky. Well, that's what we thought. When we got to the viewing deck we noticed a very large cloud formation right between the city line and the famous Japanese volcano. We were so disappointed because we were not able to have a shot of the city with Fuji-san in the background. We settled for the Yokohama City's night captures but even that was disappointing due to gray clouds hovering on the entire skyline.


This time, the clouds just cleared the Kanto area of Japan so we were expecting a good view of Mt. Fuji behind one of the famous Yokohama City landmarks, the appropriately named Landmark Tower. Because I overslept, and I had to do the laundries before leaving my pad, I arrived in Yokohama at around 4pm. Ronald and I took the first taxicab en route to the Yokohama-Bay-Bridge-based Skywalk. While in the cab, we anxiously look at the horizon to check if we could still make it to the view deck just before sundown. At 4:30pm, at this time of the year, the sun is already setting down so we know that we have very little time to take photos of the view. Once we got there, after paying the cab driver, we hurried up to the deck.


We made it just in time to witness the sunset. There was a spread of thin clouds just below the tip of the scenic volcano. Just enough to catch the sight of the cone silhouette before the fading rays of the sun. Right there, we’re satisfied with what we saw and what we got. This scene that we have been hoping to catch at the flick of the shutter of our cameras just made us cast a smile in our faces and within us.







The photo above shows the view of the Minato-Mirai 21 (Port Future 21) from the Skywalk view deck, again with the silhouette of Mount Fuji behind it. The tallest structure being the Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan. In front of it lies the Cosmo World, an amusement park opened in 1989. It houses the Cosmo Clock, the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world at the time it was opened. On the right of the Ferris Wheel, three identical buildings with their height arranged in descending order, is the Queens Square Yokohama. The Pacifico Yokohama, one of the most expensive hotels in Japan –or maybe in the whole world, is on the farthest right in the photo. Aside from being a luxury hotel, it was made famous by its distinct crescent-moon shape. Also in this picture, but cannot be clearly seen, is Akarenga Kokusaikan (Red Brick Warehouse), a two-building red brick structure with its original facades (about 100 years old) refurbished from top to bottom.







The Yokohama Bay Bridge, inaugurated also in 1989, is an 860-meter long bridge in the ports of Yokohama City. It houses the Skywalk viewing deck which gives one of the best vantage points looking into the Minato-Mirai 21.


What we hope to capture next in the Skywalk is the same scene, but with Mount Fuji clearly revealing its snow-capped summit.

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