Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi) - The capital
of Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the Kantō region of the
main island of Honshū and is a major commercial hub of the
Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama's population of 3.6 million makes it Japan's
largest incorporated city and second most populous urban
area after Tokyo (during nighttime - Yokohama ranks 3rd in
daytime population).
Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city
following the end of Japan's isolation in the late 19th
century, and is today one of its major ports along Kobe,
Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.
Places of interest
The places of interest are mainly around the historic port
area of Kannai. Next to the waterfront Yamashita Park is
Yokohama Marine Tower, the tallest lighthouse in the world.
Further inland lies Yokohama Chinatown, the largest
Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Also
in the vicinity is the Yokohama Stadium, the Silk Center,
the Yokohama Doll Museum. There is also a large immigration
office, near Yamashita Park. Nearby Isezakicho and Noge
areas offer many colorful shops and bars and, with their
restaurants and stores catering to residents from China,
Thailand, South Korea, and other countries, have an
increasingly international flavor.
The small but fashionable Motomachi shopping area (where
there are various shops starting with Cyrillus, Godiva, and
so on) leads up to Yamate, or "The Bluff" as it used to be
known, a 19th/early 20th century Westerners' settlement
overlooking the harbor, scattered with foreigners' mansions.
A foreigners' cemetery and the Harbor View Park is in the
area. The Rose Garden can be found in the park.
There are various points of interest in the futuristic
Minato Mirai 21 harborside redevelopment. The highlights are
the Landmark Tower which is the tallest building in Japan,
Queen's Square Yokohama (a shopping mall) and the Cosmo
Clock 21, which was the largest ferris wheel in the world
when it was built in 1989 and which also doubles as "the
world's biggest clock".
The Shin-Yokohama district, where the Shinkansen station is
located, is some distance away from the harbor area, and
features the 17,000 capacity Yokohama Arena, the
Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, and Nissan Stadium, once known
as the International Stadium Yokohama when it was the
setting for the final for the 2002 FIFA World Cup held on
June 30, 2002.
The city is also home to the Central League baseball team,
the Yokohama BayStars, and the soccer teams, Yokohama F
Marinos and Yokohama FC.
Information source: “Yokohama.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 4 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Yokohama>. |
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