Yokosuka Is More Than Just The Godzilla Slide

Above, the Godzilla slide at the Kurihama Flower World. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To Godzilla fans, Yokosuka is best known for the Kurihama Flower World park that is home to the Godzilla slide.

Yokosuka is an hour's ride from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo on the Keikyu train line;

There are other things to see in Yokosuka besides the Godzilla slide. The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun) has posted an article on Yokosuka's role in Japanese history.

Here's a snippet:

Around the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), Yokosuka was visited by a fleet of U.S. ships — which locals nicknamed “Kurofune” (the black ships) — under the command of Matthew Calbraith Perry. The incident led to ending Japan’s longstanding isolation from foreign countries. 

Yokosuka then became a major base of the now-defunct Japanese Imperial Navy. Since the end of World War II, it has been home to U.S. military facilities.

According to the article, tourists are able to see Mikasa Park (where the battleship Mikasa is preserved), Yokosuka Port Market, Sarushima Island, Yokosuka Arts Theatre and the Dobuita-dori shopping street. And more.

So, if you're in Yokosuka to see the Godzilla slide, you may want to do a little more exploring to see what Yokosuka has to show.

To read more, go here.

Shinagawa: Rich In History

Above, a map showing where Shinagawa is located in Tokyo. Source: Google Maps.

Last February, I went to Shinagawa Station in Tokyo to catch the Keikyu Railway Line to go to Yokosuka to see the Godzilla slide at the Kurihama Flower World and to meet up with Tom Logan, a college buddy who was living in Yokohama at the time.

Shinagawa has quite a history and The Japan Times has a feature article on the area.

Here's a snippet:

Today, Shinagawa is a place where old meets new. Visitors can deviate from the old Tokaido road near Keikyu Railway’s Kita-Shinagawa Station by walking along a street south of it that will show how close Shinagawa once stood to the coastline before additional land was reclaimed from Tokyo Bay.

Had I known about the history of Shinagawa, I may have taken a stroll around. But then, it was cold and snowy on each day I was in Shinagawa anyway.

Above, Tom Logan and I at a very cold Starbucks in Shinagawa Station.

If one is interested in Tokyo or Japan history, the article is well worth a read.

To read the article, go here. 

Yokosuka's Godzilla Slide

Above, the approach to the Godzilla Slide. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the things I set out to do while in Japan last week was to pay a visit to the Godzilla Slide in Yokosuka, which is further down the coast, just west of Yokohama.

I got up early in the morning to make the trek. It was cold in Tokyo, but I didn't let that dissuade me from heading down to Yokosuka.

I took the Yamanote Line to Shinagawa Station in Tokyo to catch the Keikyu Limited Express train to Yokosuka. The cost of the one-way train ticket was under ¥700. The final stop of the Limited Express was Kurihama Station in Yokosuka, that is also the closest station to the Godzilla Slide, which is at the Kurihama Flower World park.

Above, a view of the area surrounding the Kurihama Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I arrived at the Kurihama Station about an hour after leaving Tokyo. When I arrived, snow was falling. I decided that I should have a light breakfast before heading to Kurihama Flower World. At the train station, I found an Excelsior coffee shop. So I went there and had some French toast with a cup of coffee.

After finishing my meal, I went outside and hailed a taxi. Although the walk to Kurihama Flower World is about 15 minutes from the station, I guessed (correctly, it turned out) that I should conserve my energy and my feet to concentrate on taking the hike to the slide. Therefore, the taxi was the logical thing to do.

Once I got to the park, I checked the big map boards to see which is the most direct way to the Godzilla Slide in the park's Adventure Land. There really wasn't any. So I went to the trail head that was nearest to the park's entrance and proceeded on. The park does have tram to take visitors to different points of interest. But on this day, it wasn't operating.

I should warn you, especially if you aren't the hiking type or have any physical limitations, the hike is uphill and moderately steep. The trail is paved and it has a some steps to climb. Fortunately, I've had some experience in hiking steep grades, so I knew how to pace myself (especially now that I have clocked over 60 years of age).

The hike itself seemed longer than the 15-20 minutes it actually took, only because the snow was falling a little bit harder and the wind was blowing bone-chillingly cold. Frankly, the ideal time to do the hike is in the autumn or spring months, where the temperatures are not in any extremes. It might be good to hike it during the summer months as the trail likely has plenty of shade from the surrounding trees. The walk downhill is a lot more enjoyable.

Above, the entrance to the slide is at Godzilla's crotch. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Once I got to the hilltop clearing where the Godzilla Slide is located, I found that the area surrounding it was a few inches deep in snow, and where there wasn't snow, it was a big and very wet mud puddle. In order to keep my shoes from getting soaked and muddy, I carefully walked in areas were people had already walked and compacted the snow. As I walked around the Godzilla Slide, I snapped a few photos of it. It is 10 meters tall (about 33 feet) and kids can go down the slide from Godzilla's stomach (actually, the entrance to the slide is at Godzilla's crotch, which is a little bizarre) to tail.

Above, a view of the slide down Godzilla's tail. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The current Godzilla Slide replaced an earlier one that got so weather-beaten that it had to be demolished in 1973. The locals missed having the slide, so a campaign was started to raise funds to erect a new one. The new one opened in October 1999, 26 years after the original one was demolished.

Above, I am guessing that this is a listing of donors who financed the new slide. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you are a Godzilla fan and are physically fit enough to undertake the hike, I recommend a visit to Kurihama Flower World's Adventure Land to see the slide.

For more on Yokosuka, go here.

The Godzilla Slide is covered on page 32 of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.