About this experience
In the plot of the second part of Boris Akunin's novel 'The Diamond Chariot,' young official Erast Fandorin begins his Japanese journey in the city of Yokohama. This city is also mentioned in 'Cemetery Stories.' For those who have read the novel, it is easy to imagine how Fandorin strolled on the hill to the south of Motomachi district, already renowned for its imported goods shops (beloved by O-Yumi, Fandorin's lover) and cozy cafes.
It is also here that the elite residential quarter of Yamate or The Bluff is located. During Fandorin's Japanese journey, this area was a settlement of foreigners - an island of Western civilization, which was hard to imagine during the isolation policy of the ruling Tokugawa clan, but became possible after the opening of Yokohama port for international trade in distant 1859.
Unfortunately, many foreign consulates, mansions with European-style fireplaces, and club buildings were destroyed by the powerful earthquake of 1923. Nevertheless, you can still find stone mansions of diplomats and merchants from that time, offering views of the seaport. When I, with my imagination and newly acquired immigrant nostalgia for everything Russian, walk through these halls, I see figures of Fandorin, faithful servant Masa, lovely O-Yumi, powerful Don Tsurumaki, and cunning Bullocks from Akunin's novel. These mansions have preserved the atmosphere of that time so accurately that many have gained the status of historical monuments or important state cultural sites.
I also enjoy visiting the only surviving wooden mansion, miraculously transformed into a museum. Here you can find ukiyo-e prints, advertising posters from different eras, porcelain and crystal, an organ and elegant furniture, antique books, and a list of non-Japanese individuals who contributed to modernizing Japan and are buried in the nearby Foreigners Cemetery. Among them are the founder of the first brewery, the first ice cream manufacturing workshop (a Western delicacy previously unknown to Japanese), the engineer of the first railway, the publisher of the first magazine, the first translator of the Bible, diplomats, and sailors from foreign ships who died in clashes with samurais who opposed the government's opening of borders to 'overseas barbarians.'
Let's take the novel 'The Diamond Chariot' with us and follow the footsteps of Fandorin and O-Yumi, while I share all my favorite Yokohama stories, interspersed with quotes from the novel.
Don't delay this walk for too long if you want to experience the atmosphere of the quiet serenity of the old prestigious Yamate district - the author announced over a year ago on his LiveJournal blog that the novel will be filmed with some scenes shot in Japan, which I believe will attract many Russian tourists to these quiet streets :)
Who Should Take This Excursion
- Anyone willing to spend half a day on foot (bike rickshaw routes are limited and not always available for booking).
- Parents of WELL-BEHAVED children (otherwise we will be politely but firmly asked to leave the mansion-museums).
- Those who don't mind taking off their shoes to see something interesting. In some mansion-museums, visitors are required to change their street shoes for provided slippers. This might not be a pleasant surprise in winter, so it's better to bring spare warm socks or your own slippers :)
Organizational Details
- It is preferable to book the excursion on a weekday - there will be fewer people everywhere, and the walk will be more relaxed.
- Days when some mansions are closed vary (but most are closed on Mondays or Wednesdays), so it's better to have several date options for the walk.
