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Yokohama
Information
Introduction
Yokohama is situated on a peninsula facing the western
coast of Tokyo Bay and lies a mere 30 kilometers(18.6
miles) from Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Yokohama enjoys a relatively mild climate. In 1990, the
average temperature was 16.6 degrees centigrade (62 degrees
Fahrenheit),while the highest and lowest temperatures
were 31.9 degrees centigrade(90 degrees Fahrenheit) and
1.3 degrees centigrade(34 degrees Fahrenheit) respectively.
More than 3.27 million people live in Yokohama, qualifying
it as Japan's second largest city. Its total production
output is valued at \9 trillion($72 billion), or \3 million($24,000)per
capita.
The port of Yokohama was opened in 1859 and ever since
has played a major role a window to the world. Japan's
first Western style hotel and restaurant were opened in
Yokohama, and our city was also the site of Japan's first
coffee shop and bakery as well as its first modern waterworks
and railroads. Yokohama, built on its rich heritage of
enterprising endeavor, has become a truly international
city and Japan's largest international trading port.
More foreign vessels enter the port of Yokohama and more
exports leave its Japan. Since 1969, the dollar amount
of trade passing through the port of Yokohama has been
the largest in Japan.
Attraction
Guide
The first stop should be the Silk Center, 1
Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku, tel. (045) 641-0841. The center
contains the Tourist Information Center on the first floor
and an underground shopping arcade. The Silk Museum,
open daily 0900-1630, admission ¥300, is on the second
and third floors. An array of exhibits shows everything
in the silk-making process, from silkworm cocoons to finished
kimonos, while the museum's boutique sells a variety of
silk products. To arrive, either walk 15 minutes from
Kannai Eki or take bus no. 26 from Yokohama Eki.
Adjacent is Yamashita Koen, a long narrow strand
of green fronting the bay, billed as the oldest harbor
park in the country. A canopy of ginko trees lines the
boulevard running along the park, and permanently berthed
at the south end is the Hikawa-maru, a passenger liner
that plied the Pacific from Yokohama to Seattle, Washington.
The ship, open daily 0930-1600, admission ¥800, contains
various restaurants, historical artifacts, and an open-air
beer garden in summer. Along the boulevard next to the
park, look for the Hotel Yokohama, and just next door
is a 19th-century period piece, Soka Gakkai, built
in 1867, open daily 1100-1900, free admission. The building
itself is the main attraction, but inside is an emotion-provoking
pictorial depicting hunger and nuclear holocaust.
The Marine Tower, a 106-meter-high lighthouse,
is also at the south end of Yamashita Koen. This structure,
at one time the tallest lighthouse in the world, was built
from rubble collected from the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
An elevator to the observation deck operates daily 1000-2100,
admission ¥700. The tower offers a lounge and snack
bar on the first floor, the Kaiyo Kagaku Hakubutsukan
maritime museum on the second, and a bird aviary on the
fifth.
Just near the Marine tower is the Yokohama Ningyo-no-ie,
a doll museum open daily except Monday 1000-1700, admission
¥300. Inside is a colorful collection of nearly 1,000
dolls collected from around the world, along with a whimsical
puppet theater.
You can also ride an elevator, ¥700, to the observation
floor atop the Hotel New Grand, which also overlooks
the park area and harbor beyond. Another alternative is
to visit Symbol Tower at the end of Honmoku-futo
Pier, No. D, approximately 20 minutes on foot south of
the Silk Center. This 45 meter tower, free admission,
is off the beaten track and offers an unobstructed view
of the harbor area.
Chinatown, sandwiched
between Yamashita Koen and Ishikawa-cho Street, is full
of life, charm, and local color. Two enormous red gates
are at either end of Chuka-gai Odori, China Street, where
over 100 restaurants and innumerable shops beckon to the
hungry and the curio seekers. The area is like an array
of dim sum, bite-sized, light but satisfying. An hour
or two at a leisurely stroll will do it.Yokohama Koen,
the first Western park in the country, is just outside
of Kannai Eki. Greatly reduced in size since Yokohama
Stadium was built, the park still contains an impressive
Japanese garden. The stadium is home to the Yokohama BayStars,
a professional baseball team, and is even used to host
musical concerts and an occasional American football squad.
A five-minute walk east of the park toward the harbor
takes you to Yokohama Kaiko Shiryokan, the Yokohama
Archives of History, open daily except Monday 0930-1630,
admission ¥200. Inside the building, which stands
on the very spot where the first American and Japanese
Peace Treaty was signed in 1854, are documents and articles
relating to Japan's renewed contact with the West.
The Kanagawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, the prefectural
museum, located equidistant between Kannai and Sakuragicho
Eki, is open daily except Monday 0930-1730, admission
¥300. The building, erected in 1904 in German Renaissance
style, contains archaeological artifacts, local folk products,
and a complete display of the flora and fauna of Kanagawa.
The premier attraction in Yokohama is the Sankei-en
Garden, open daily 0900-1630, admission ¥300 outer
garden, ¥300 inner garden, and ¥300 for Yanohara
House. To arrive, take bus no. 8 from Sakuragicho Eki
for 20 minutes to Honmoku Sankei-en-mae, and then walk
five minutes. The garden, located near Honmoku Beach,
was built by self-made businessman Tomitaro Hara, who
named it Sankei, meaning "three glens." The
garden has been open to the public since 1906, even when
it was still an active residence of Hara-san, and is resplendent
in various seasons with the blazing flowers of plum trees,
azaleas, water lilies, cherry trees, wisteria, and lotus
blossoms. The 19 hectares contain not only magnificent
flowers and trees but various buildings brought from throughout
Japan that are registered as Important Cultural Properties.
While walking the grounds, look high atop a hill to see
a 500-year-old Three-Storied Pagoda brought from
Kyoto. You will also encounter Rinshunkaku, a Tokugawa
villa built in 1649 and brought from the Kii Hanto peninsula;
and the Choshukakau, a 16th-century tea ceremony
house owned by the Tokugawa family. A separate admission
is charged for the Yanohara House, a late-18th-century
farmhouse brought from Gifu. The glorious old building
is huge and stout, covered by a gassho zukuri, a roof
of stacked logs. |
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