[Yokohama Hammerhead] A Simple Day with My Wife

You survive the busy weekdays somehow, and the weekend morning that follows always starts a little slow. We make no real plans. We simply point ourselves toward Hammerhead, on Yokohama’s waterfront, and let the sea air and the open view unknot whatever the week tied up.

Morning at Hammerhead, loosening the week’s tension

First, a bowl of dashi chazuke at a shop that serves Itoen matcha — unshowy, careful cooking that lands deeper than fancier food ever seems to. By the time the bowl is empty, I have stopped checking the time entirely. That is usually how I know the weekend has actually begun.

Two drinks, one shaded table

From there, Starbucks. The sun was strong that day, so the shaded terrace seats chose themselves. An affogato Frappuccino for me, an Americano for my wife — one cold glass and one warm cup sharing a table, our different tastes sitting comfortably side by side. In front of us, a little pale-blue trailer; around us, the bright voices of tourists weaving through the unhurried footsteps of locals.

The luxury of an unremarkable afternoon

Against that gentle noise we talked about our daughter’s growing up, and about a trip we might take before long. No conclusions were reached; the pleasure was in the exchange itself. No event, no purchase, nothing to photograph — and yet I am increasingly sure this is the richest kind of time there is. Wealth, in the end, may just be the accumulation of quiet afternoons like this one.

Notes from the day

• Place: Yokohama Hammerhead (Shinko Pier) — an open waterfront setting
• The shape of the day: a morning stroll, dashi chazuke, then coffee on the terrace — nothing more ambitious than that
• The drinks: an affogato Frappuccino for me, an Americano for my wife
• The takeaway: richness lives in the hours that ask for nothing special