Seconds later we were whipped to one side and I was laughing to hard to answer him. What I should have said was, I've never been to a theme park in the middle of the city before. But there we both were at Cosmo World, right in the heart of the busy tourist area of Yokohama, in February.
This is the veiw from the corner in front of the train station. The funny-shaped building on the left is the Yokohama Grand Intercontinental Hotel. It has 24 floors. The Ferris wheel is taller. It's not the tallest in the world, there are about a dozen wheels that are bigger, but don't tell it that. The recording that plays in the capsule throughout the ride still claims it is. And it's not a good idea to argue with something that's holding you 170 feet in the air.
It doesn't have to be the tallest to be impressing. The wheel, which you can see from all over the city, takes fifteen minutes to make a full rotation. It never really stops. Riders jump in and out as the capsules tick by, unstoppable as the wheel of time. Incidentally, they call this wheel the Cosmo Clock, because of the giant digital clock on its face.
It costs 700 yen to ride, but the view is worth the price. From the top you can see the other half of Cosmo World across the river, and behind that Queens Square.
You can also see Landmark Tower, which boasted the fastest elevator in the world until Taipei 101 was built in Taiwan in 2003. 
Looking out the opposite window, you can see what looks like a mini golf course on the top of a tall building nearby. Why? Dunno. Welcome to Japan.
The whole city is laid out at your feet. And that's just the Ferris wheel. There is also the spinning coaster, the diving coaster, the flume ride, a bunch of spinney rides, attractions and kiddy rides, along with a large arcade. All, let me stress this again, in the middle of a busy city. It's really quite spectacular.
The park is free to get in, you just pay for tickets to ride the rides. So we were able to leave half-way through and eat lunch at at a Polynesian place in the mall across the street. The bus boy brought us water and then said, "You are American?"
We answered yes.
"You like Obama?"
Grant thinks he was just flexing his English muscles, but maybe he really wanted to know.
Grant thinks he was just flexing his English muscles, but maybe he really wanted to know.
After lunch we rode a few more rides. No lines, no waiting. It is, after all, only the first week of spring. Then we stumbled toward the train station, still dizzy from the Super Planet. It was a good day.
I leave you today with a quote from Anais Nin, "There is no one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person."
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