Yokohama Chinatown Down the hill from our apartment, across Motomachi shopping street, on the other side of the canal, was Yokohama's Chinatown. By some measure, it claims to be the largest Chinatown (outside of China, of course) in the world. I'm not sure what that measure is, nor could I guess. It doesn't seem populous enough nor big enough. Anyway, there's a Chinese temple, a truckload of (surprise!) Chinese restaurants, and some souvenir stores that stock goods from China. Normally, I would say that it's a good detour, but not a good destination (except for dinner).

The exception is when there is a festival. In October, there are two parades. One for the Independence of Taiwan (from China). The other for the Independence of China (from Taiwan?). If you care to track such things, the Taiwanese celebration drew a lot more people, the year we lived there. A Dancer A Young Celebrant The entire Chinese community comes out of hiding for the parades. October in Japan is a great time to be alive. The monsoons are over. The humidity of summer is gone. The sun is warm and the air is cool. It's a perfect time for a parade. The participants wear costumes from all the regions of China, so it's pretty much a photographers' delight. In January or February (depending on the moon), there is the Lunar New Year celebration. This is a big event, with performers from Hong Kong, Singapore, and China participating. Lion Dances, Dragon dances, and Acrobatics are again the order of the day. You can almost hear his teeth chatter...