Unless you are either James Bond or a marine soldier, you don't get to ride on an amphibious vehicle easily, do you? But if you can do so without hassle, don't you want to try it? Ladies and gentlemen of adventurous hearts, here's your once-in-a-lifetime chance to do so; go to Minatomirai area of Yokohama and take a pleasure ride on the Sky Duck Yokohama!

 

The Sky Duck Yokohama has started its operation fairly recently on Oct. 2016, and since its opening this double-decker bus in bright red and blue has been one of the main attractions you can enjoy at Yokohama Bayside area. I was one of many people who saw it, and wondered what it was. I was flabbergasted to see it suddenly jump into the water and determined to ride on it one day.

 

This tour bus departs from both Nippon-maru Memorial Park and Red Brick Warehouse 3 or 4 times everyday (11AM, 1PM, 2:30PM and 4PM). One ride takes about an hour at the price of 3,500 yen (for adults). At first, it travels on a road along Yokohama Bay for 10 minutes, guiding around the three historically famous towers in Yokohama (King, Queen and Jack), then comes back to the bay and ceremoniously dives into the water. Once in the water, it circles the port slowly to give you a chance to enjoy the spectacular view of Yokohama Bayside Area from the sea.

 

What I enjoyed most on this ride was of course the thrill and impact of the moment of splashing into the water. However, you can also enjoy the feeling of celebrity because everyone who sees the bus waves at you with smiles on their faces, which makes your day happier and more special.

 

The views from the bus/ship are just amazing. The bus/ship guide surely knows how to attract seagulls to the ship, so during the ride you can play with them, too.

 

One drawback of this ride is that you can't make reservations beforehand. Tickets are sold on first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, someone in your group has to sacrifice his able body to stand in the line to buy tickets for all. I sacrificed myself to do just that and stood in the line for 30 min., but it was a second day of three-day-holidays, so on weekdays I assume it would be much easier to buy tickets. Sadly, the tour guide speaks only Japanese, but you don't really need any guidance to enjoy the views, or the thrills of the ride, do you?

 

Here's the final bonus information for you. When you get on board they will give you a duck-shaped whistle for emergency, which you can bring back home with you as a cute memento of the day when you became James Bond for a short while!

By Takako Sakamoto