The pass was limited to local lines (hence the low price)—the slow, boxy trains that stop in every little town at every little station, and shudder as the sleek Shinkansens sprint past at twice the speed. Nevertheless, with my guidebook detailing the wonders of both the Yokohama Curry Museum and the 7-story Ramen Museum (for real), along with a huge Chinatown and the tallest building in Japan (70 stories), I knew the time in transit would be completely worth it.
During this trip, I decided that the Lonely Planet is great for maps and information on natural features, historical ruins, well-established landmarks, and the like; as far as more current information, however, I could have thrown it in the ocean. The Ramen Museum was closed, the Curry Museum shut down (in its place a Canon store and a KFC)…but yes, there were plenty of other excellent sights:
Chinatown
Cutest kid ever.
Landmark Tower, on the left, is Japan's tallest building.
Oceanside ice-skating rink
A real, live pedi-cab!
"Cosmo World" amusement park
Yokohama was so cool (and my timing not so much) that I stayed a little too late and only made it 2/3 of the way back to Shizuoka before the local trains stopped running. I ended up having to take the Shinkansen the rest of the way home, to avoid sleeping in the Numazu station. It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you that running on a train's schedule and not my own is a challenge :)
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