12 May 2009

Since we were up so late last night, we slept in really late and didn’t even take advantage of the free breakfast. We all finally got up around noon, and it was nice to feel well-rested. We picked up brunch at the convenience store, and I got a nikomon (steamed pork bun) for 105 yen. It was already very hot and humid outside, so that is probably one of my least favorite things about Japan. We still hadn’t taken photos of Osanbashi Yokohama International Port Terminal, so we went there first. We ran into four of our classmates who were also photographing the famous port, and we tried to finish quickly in order to visit other nearby sites. First, we took the train to Shonandai to see Keio University. There were multiple architecturally interesting buildings on this campus by Fumihiko Maki and Associates, Shoei Yoh + Architects, Yoshio Taniguchi and Associates, and Yasushi Ikeda. During our long walk to the campus from the train station, we stopped at the Fujisawa Municipal Gymnasium by Fumihiko Maki and Associates. They were all very decent projects, and I’m glad we were able to find all of them since the architectural guidebook isn’t always really clear with directions. After Shonandai, it was already 5pm. We still had plans to visit Toin Gakuen, which had the Toin Gakuen High School and Memorial Hall. The buildings were designed by Kenzo Tange Associates, Jiro Inazuka and Associates, and Akira Kuryu and Associates. Even though we were photographing at night, I was able to use my tripod again and get some really great shots. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to shoot photos indoors, and since it was night, some teachers told us we could only shoot photos from street level. It was a bummer, but we still wandered around the outskirts of the campus and viewed the buildings from the road.
By the time we finished up at the Toin Gakuen High School and Memorial Hall, it was around 10pm. I can’t believe we had another late day. We took the bus for 210 yen to the Nakayama JR Station and had dinner at Nakau. I got curry with beef for 490 yen, then we took the train back to the Yokohama Kannai Station. It was after 11pm by the time we got back to the hotel, so we did a little bit of work on our project for tomorrow then went to bed. Tomorrow we have class at 2pm at the NOMYC, so our plan is to enjoy the complimentary breakfast, checkout by 10am, then head back to the NOMYC for class with Don. This will be the second to last time we have to move, so I am really glad about that. It began to rain lightly tonight however, so moving in the rain will not be fun.