Lunar New Year 2006 in Yokohama Chinatown

(Updated: May 24, 2013 with high resolution photos and better descriptions)

Today (January 30, 2006) was the first day of the new year on the lunar calendar. Because of this the Chinatown in Yokohama had a parade and celebrations. I went with fellow exchange student Ning, from Hong Kong and her Japanese friend whose name I can’t remember now. At Chinatown, we saw many of our foreign exchange classmates there as well. There were so much people that at one point you were just moving with the crowds. Also on this day there were lots of restaurants offering all you can eat, tabehoudai 食べ放題, for around 2000 yen.

The parade was organized by the Yokohama Chinese School (I saw the banners as they passed by) and only consisted of their dragon/lion dance teams. As a result, the parade was pretty short. At least here they don’t try to make it into some kind of “multicultural” event unlike in Vancouver where you have police, native Indians, Indians, firefighters etc.





Also at the parade they set off firecrackers in cages as they passed by and it was really really loud.















We hung around the Yokohama Chinatown area until it got dark and this is the night scene. The neon signs and the crowds made the atmosphere feel very lively.



















One of the main gates entering Chinatown at night.



Afterwards, we walked to Yamashita Park near the harbour where we saw the skyline of Yokohama which includes the Yokohama Landmark Tower, the tallest tower in Japan, along with the Ferris wheel in the background.