There is another one 30 km from Tokyo Big City Japan - Yokohama. More than three million people live here, and this does not take into account vacationers who happily come here on excursions. Yokohama is the administrative and commercial center. It is distinguished by a fast pace of life and ultra-modern architecture. Almost throughout the city there are hotels where tourists can stay. Walking through the streets of Yokohama, everyone will be able to look up close at the rows of incredible skyscrapers.
Short story
Several centuries ago, the Japanese metropolis was just two villages of Yokohama and Kanawaga on the shores of Tokyo Bay. Traditionally, the local population was engaged in fishing and agriculture. And they hardly thought that their villages were just a small point on the coast. Significant transformations affected these regions when changes were made in the country's foreign policy.
In the 19th century, Japan succumbed to Western demands by allowing trade on its territory and opening several ports to foreigners. The area of Yokohama and Kanagawa was chosen for the construction of one of them, and in 1858 a decree was issued to unite the two villages into one territory. The first foreign merchant ships entered the harbor within a year. A quarter immediately appeared in the city, where businessmen who arrived from the West settled down. This is how elements began to enter the Japanese way of life Western culture, European goods appeared on sale. The influx of businessmen forced the development of new coastal areas, the creation and improvement of the necessary infrastructure. In 1872, a railway line was built from Tokyo to Yokohama, which helped to sharply increase the export of silk raw materials. In 1887, a water supply system appeared in the port village, and two years later it officially received city status, and a year later Yokohama was electrified. At that time, the city's population was already 122 thousand people.
It turned out that just a few decades were enough for the fishing village to become a major trading port in Japan. However, the 20th century twice turned the city into ruins. The first time this happened in 1923 due to an earthquake, the second time due to bombing American army During the Second World War. Nevertheless, Yokohama was able to revive, increase its greatness, turning into a metropolis.
Modern city
In many places in the world there is unofficial name, which reflects its very essence. Yokohama is “the city that never sleeps.” The city immediately appears as a buzzing “hive”, where streams of people and cars rush both day and night, where you can’t see the stars behind the neon lights of skyscrapers, and the port is busy from heavy ships to light boats.
Today Yokohama is not only administrative center Kanagawa Prefecture, but also a major port and the center of Japan's foreign trade. The city is the second largest in the country, deservedly ahead of the capital Tokyo. The headquarters of many companies are located in Yokohama, including the tire concern Yokohama, the photo and video equipment concern Kodak, and the high-tech engineering concern ITT. It is in this Japanese city that there is an international-class stadium, which served as one of the venues for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In particular, Yokohama is home to the futuristic Minato Mirai or Port of the Future district.
Minato Mirai District
The skyscrapers of a 21st century port city are Yokohama's main argument in competition with Tokyo. This area is a mini-city of residential areas, hotels, offices and cultural institutions that has changed the appearance of Yokohama. Minato Mirai has its own subway line, a modern heating system, and waste disposal. The area is famous for the 296 meter landmark Landmark Tower. She is a symbol of the city. The fastest elevator in the world will take visitors to the top floor of the building in 40 seconds for a wonderful view.
On the dock in front of the Landmark Tower is the sailing ship Nippon Maru, which is an exhibit at the Yokohama Maritime Museum. It was built in 1930 for the Yokohama-Seattle line and was used until 1984. During World War II she was used as a floating hospital. Twice a month white sails are raised on it, and it immediately becomes clear why the Japanese call it “Swan” Pacific Ocean" You can explore the sailboat from the captain's cabin to the engine room. The main exhibition halls of the museum are located underground next to the ship. Along with the history of the city's development, there are many exhibits dedicated to the modern port.
Not far from the Landmark Tower is the sail-shaped Intercontinental Hotel Grand, whose skyline is filled with the stepped towers of Queen's Square. The Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel rotates on Shinko-cho Island. One revolution lasts 15 minutes, and the capacity of the 112-meter Ferris wheel is 480 passengers. Tourists are provided unique opportunity View views of Yokohama from above. Walk past the Yokohama World Portets shopping center and you can see Akarenga - these are red brick warehouse buildings from 1911. Expensive boutiques, entertainment centers, and restaurants have been open there since 2002.
The main Minato Mirai Museum is Art Museum Yokohama. It contains paintings by Japanese and Western masters of the 20th century, which look wonderful in the design by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. Appearance The museum attracts attention no less than its exhibits.
Children will be interested in the Mitsubishi Minato Mirai Technical Museum, which is located next door to the Yokohama Art Museum. Thematic areas show the development of Japanese technology - from modern oil platforms, generators to future space cities. The museum exhibits include various models, attractions, interactive displays and much more.
Sankeien Garden
In the late 19th century, successful silk merchant Hara Sankei settled in a parkland in the southern hills of Yokohama. He brought beautiful structures from Kamakura and Kansai to this place.
Today the park is divided into a smaller inner park and a larger outer park. Inner Sankeien contains many famous buildings. From the entrance to the inner park there is an excellent route where you can see the Rinsyunkaku mansion, built in 1649 by one of the Tokugawa rulers. Another Tokugawa legacy is Choshukaku, which first served as a home for tea ceremonies. At Tenjuin Temple, it's worth checking out the wood carvings that decorate it. It is a 17th century structure that is dedicated to the patron saint of children, Jizo.
In the outer park, thatched peasant houses are tucked into plum groves and bamboo thickets. Among them can be seen a 500-year-old three-tiered pagoda. And the most interesting thing here is the house of old Yanohara - this is the home of a once successful farmer. In it you can examine in detail the roof, which is made using the gassho-zukuri method. Moreover, it was erected without a single nail.
Chinatown area
You can take a break from reinforced concrete structures and skyscrapers in the Chinatown area, which you enter by passing under one of the gates: the eastern (symbol of prosperity), which is painted blue, the western (symbol of peace) - white, the southern (symbol of happiness) - red, northern ones (symbol of continuation of the family) are black. This area developed around the Kanteibyo Temple, which is dedicated to the god of commerce. Perhaps this is why trade is so developed in Chinatown.
Founded in 1863, Chinatown is today the largest in Japan. There are hundreds of restaurants and shops on its streets. Millions of tourists wander around the area, looking at Chinese herbal stalls, grocery stores, and jewelry stalls. Few people leave the area without trying Chinese dishes.
The Chinese community established here in the 1940s is divided between supporters of communism and nationalism. The center of life for the Chinese community is Kanteibyo, a Shinto shrine. It is a little squeezed by neighboring buildings, but still makes an impression with its gates, which are decorated with ornaments. Next to the temple is the Yokohama Daisekai, a Chinese museum in the style of Disneyland.
Other interesting places
The Sea Tower, which is 106 m high, was built in 1961 to commemorate the centenary of the Yokohama seaport. There is an observation deck on one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. In front of the tower is Yamashita-koen Park, organized in memory of the victims of the Great Earthquake. The park has a Doll Museum, where collections of Japanese toys are collected.
Yokohama grew rapidly in the late 19th century, largely due to silk. With the process of its production and different products You can get acquainted with it at the Silk Museum. The exhibition of luxurious kimonos is especially interesting. A little further from it is a windowless building - the Yokohama Historical Archives. The museum details the history of the city's discovery after 1853. It contains large collection photographs, relics, documents of that time.
The Yokohama Customs House attracts attention with its multi-colored paint and copper dome. Moving deeper into the city along Motomachi Street, you can see the beautiful building of the Port Opening Memorial Hall. On Honcho-dori Street there is the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum with local history materials and archaeological excavations.
The Ramen Museum is a well-designed museum-restaurant dedicated to the popular instant food - noodle soup with pieces of fried meat, dried seaweed and bamboo shoots. The first floor of the establishment is dedicated to the history of ramen, tracing its route from China to Japan. The ground floor, which recreates the appearance of the city in the 1950s, shows the square in the evening, through which the light of the shops shines through.
The various exciting activities in Yokohama provide great fun for both children and adults. A trip to this Japanese city reveals to tourists an image modern Country rising sun with developed infrastructure, shopping centers, parks. A trip to Yokohama will be a truly educational and exciting adventure, with something for everyone.
One of the largest cities in Japan, the administrative center of Kanagawa Prefecture.
The proximity to Tokyo has made this large city with a population of 3.3 million inhabitants and occupying a fifth of the prefecture's territory, on the one hand, it is a residential area of the capital, and on the other, a huge reservoir of labor for the entire adjacent Kanto region. The headquarters and largest branches of famous industrial, financial and trading companies. There is a fairly large layer of foreigners here. This trend began in June 1859, when, after 250 years of voluntary isolation from the outside world, the Japanese government allowed foreign merchant ships to enter Yokohama. A similar decision was facilitated by the appearance of a US military flotilla under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry in the Uraga Strait several years earlier. The arguments of the American naval commander, or rather, the deck artillery of his “black ships,” were very convincing, and in March 1854, in Kanagawa, as Yokohama was then called, an American-Japanese treaty was concluded, which gave enormous advantages to US traders. The American consul settled in this fishing town with a population of 28 thousand people, followed by representatives of trading companies. Local residents have stopped shying away from foreigners, for communication with whom in the recent past any Japanese was threatened with the death penalty. Soon, similar agreements were concluded with European powers, including Russia.
Gradually, a foreign settlement of several residential neighborhoods formed in the town. The city was then divided into two parts - Kannai (inside the barrier) and Kangai (beyond the barrier). This meant the fencing of the settlement. Yokohama was losing its narrow fishing specialization and turning into a trading port for the export of silk, tea and the import of cotton and woolen products.
It was here, in Yokohama, in 1864 that the country's first Japanese-language newspaper was published - “ Kaigai Shimbun" Therefore, Yokohama is often called the Mecca of Japanese journalism.
Residents of Yokohama were the first in the country to try out and adopt such Western urban infrastructures as electric lighting, railway connections, telephone communications and a modern water supply system. The first hairdressing salons and photo studios, which were a discovery for a country that had just emerged from feudal isolation, also appeared in Yokohama.
Therefore, with with good reason we can say that Yokohama became the cradle of modern Japan.
The city, which was growing rapidly, was severely damaged on September 1, 1923 by a powerful earthquake. At that time, 60 thousand houses were destroyed in Yokohama and more than 20 thousand residents died. Only six years later it was possible to restore the city’s former appearance. By 1943, its population reached 1.2 million people. Once again Yokohama suffered a devastating blow. In the May days of 1945, American bombers destroyed 42% of urban buildings. The city again lay in smoking ruins. But Yokohama's military problems did not end there. After the surrender of Japan, this city became the main base of the American occupiers. 90% of port facilities and 27% of preserved houses, including more or less large buildings, were requisitioned by the US military. This delayed the process to a large extent post-war reconstruction city, its port and industry.
It was not until 1952, after the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, that the city was freed from the tight grip of American military administration. The main US naval base was located in the nearby port town of Yokosuka. And Yokohama became at an accelerated pace restore its infrastructure, expand roads, modernize port facilities. In six years - from 1962 to 1968 - the city's population grew from 1.5 to 2 million people, and after another 10 years it exceeded the 2.7 million mark.
An increasing number of foreign firms are moving their Japanese headquarters from Tokyo to Yokohama. Among them are such giants as ITT, KODAK, UNION CARBIDE. In Japanese government circles there is now more and more talk about the end of the “Tokyo era”, about the need to move the capital to another place. And it is quite natural that the attractiveness of Yokohama in this regard increases every year.
Minato mirai area (Port of the future)
But no less, and perhaps a much greater impression on tourists is made not by ancient monuments, but by new buildings of the city. These include, for example, the Minato Mirai (Port of the Future) district, which is being built on land reclaimed from the sea. Many of the buildings are still under construction, but it is increasingly clear that the area will become a favorite place for recreation and entertainment for city residents. The top of the country's tallest skyscraper, the Landmark Tower, rises almost 300 meters above the city, with luxurious rooms at the Royal Park Hotel on its upper floors. This tower is the symbol of the city. Here you can enjoy a magnificent view, shops with delicious food. Most interesting part of this Sky Garden building. The complex consists of 69 floors. Here is the fastest elevator in the world (listed in the Guinness Book of Records), which will take you upstairs in 40 seconds. A huge semicircular sail catches the sea breeze " Yokohama Grand Intercontinental Hotel» with 6 hundred guest rooms. In addition to administrative buildings and hotels built in an ultra-modern style, here, for example, a Ferris wheel is already spinning, raising cabins with vacationers to a height of 112.5 meters. A great opportunity to admire the port and the panorama of the city! From the top there is a beautiful view of the Yokohama Bay Bridge, built in 1989. This openwork suspension bridge, 860 meters long, quickly turned into one of the landmarks of Japan, allows cars moving along it in three rows in both directions.
Silk Center
You can start exploring the city's attractions by visiting the Silk Center, located at the South Pier (Daisanbashi). On the ground floor of the building you can get any tourist information about the city, and on the second and third floors there is the Silk Museum, where you can get acquainted with all stages of silk production and processing - from breeding silkworms to hand-dying fabrics for expensive kimonos. There are also many shops selling Japanese silk and products made from it.
Yamashita Park (Yamashita koen)
To the southeast of the center building, Yamashita Park (Yamashita koen) stretches 1 km along the embankment in a narrow strip. At its far pier stands passenger ship"Hikawa Maru", which made regular flights across the ocean to America in the first half of the twentieth century. There is a small museum on board, but local residents prefer to visit Hikawa Maru because of its restaurants.
Marine tower
A few tens of meters away is another city landmark - the Marine tower. This 106-meter structure serves as a lighthouse - the tallest in the world, and you can climb to the top observation deck, which offers views of the harbor. The tower was built using rubble and other materials collected from the rubble left by the 1923 earthquake. On the lower floors of the tower there is a maritime museum (Kayo Kagaku Hakubutsukan).
Doll Museum (Ningyo-no Ie)
At the foot of the Sea Tower, there is a very interesting Doll Museum (Ningyo-no Ie), which contains more than a thousand toys from all over the world. There are also dolls brought from various republics of the former USSR. Entrance fee is 300 yen. Children get the greatest pleasure from visiting the museum, because in addition to viewing the exhibition, you can also attend a performance of a real puppet theater.
Chinatown
The “city fathers” made a lot of efforts to ensure that the old and beloved Yokohama did not get lost in the concrete canyons of skyscrapers growing like mushrooms. You can't ignore Japan's only Chinatown, sandwiched between Yamashita Park and Ishikawacho Street. This neighborhood grew up around the Chinese temple of Kanteibyo, dedicated to the god of commerce. Accordingly, the surrounding houses can rightfully be attributed to the same cult, since they are all, to one degree or another, tied to trade. Chinatown is home to more than 500 restaurants and shops, surrounded by a swarm of barkers, giving tourists wandering its streets a sense of never-ending all year round carnival To get into the quarter, you must pass through one of four multi-colored gates - eastern (painted blue, symbol of prosperity), western (white, symbol of peace), southern (red, symbol of happiness) or northern (black, symbol of procreation).
Sankeien Park
Sankeien Park, opened in the city in 1906 with money from a local entrepreneur, is also a historical and cultural monument. It is famous not only for its unique selection of flowers that decorate the park at any time of the year, but also architectural structures, transferred here from other parts of the country. Here you can see a three-tiered pagoda built five centuries ago, the Rinsyunkaku Villa, built in 1649 by order of the Tokugawa shogun on the Kii Peninsula, and the Chosyukaku tea house, which also once belonged to the Tokugawa family. Nearby is a typical medieval peasant house, transported to Yokohama from Gifu Prefecture.
The Prefectural Museum of Cultural History, the city's Museum of Fine Arts, the Noodle Museum, and the Yokohama Historical Archives are all attractive in their own way and worth the time and money spent exploring them.
Amusement parks
Attract tourists, especially young age, amusement parks. Located at the foot of the hill at the confluence of the Nakamura River, Joypolis looks much more modest than Disneyland, but in terms of the technological quality of the attractions it is not much inferior to its famous competitor on the other side of Tokyo Bay. Joypolis offers a rich selection of computer interactive games and virtual attractions, which are still few in the world. Equally popular are Yokohama Dreamland on the southern outskirts of the city and the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise marine entertainment center with the largest aquarium in Japan, located on an artificial island in the bay.
Zoo
Here you can see very rare animals such as okapi kanmuri-shiromuku.
open from 09:30-16:30. Closed on Tuesdays.
Kirin Yokohama Beer Village
Here you can not only watch the beer making process, but also taste fresh beer in cozy bars and restaurants.
open from 10:00-17:00. Closed on Mondays.
TOURISTS' ANSWERS:
Yokohama is located close to Tokyo (only 30 kilometers) and is the second largest city in Japan. The city combines seemingly incompatible things - high technology and latest achievements techniques coexist with ancient parks, museums and buildings that remind us of ancient Japan.
Yokohama has a sufficient number of different museums in which you can both get acquainted with the history of Japan (for example, in the silk museum, toy museum, maritime museum), and exhibitions where you can appreciate technical innovations created in Japan (for example, in the center Mitsubishi industry or Yokohama science center).
Maritime Museum
Yokohama is a port city, so it is not surprising that there is a Maritime Museum there - after all, the sea has played and continues to play a big role in the life of Yokohama.
The museum is quite unusual; it is located not in any building, but on board a ship that was built in the twentieth century. The ship was built as a training ship, which was used to train students studying shipping.
The museum has both permanent exhibitions and temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibition consists of five parts - the history of the port of Yokohama, the ship Nippon Maru (the same one in which the museum itself is located), the history of the development of ships, images of the port of Yokohama and ports of the world.
If you are interested in navigation, ships, ports or maritime trade, you will probably be interested in visiting such a museum.
Silk Museum
In this museum you can learn how silk is made, what types of silk are produced in Japan, and admire silk products made in Japan.
On the ground floor there is an exhibition telling about the production of silk - there you can see silkworms with your own eyes (not a very appetizing, but at least an interesting sight), see how thread is created from cocoons and examine the vegetable dyes with which silk is dyed almost all possible colors. Then you will find various spinning wheels - from the most ancient to the most modern. The second floor displays silk products - mainly, of course, kimonos. All of them are behind glass, you cannot take photographs, although some curious tourists manage to do this without catching the eye of the employees. Signatures under the stands are presented as in Japanese, and in English, so if you speak it, you can easily read all the explanations in the silk museum.
Of course, there is also a souvenir shop there - as you might guess, they sell a variety of products made from... of course, silk :) Among them are T-shirts, kimonos, scarves, ties, handbags, wallets and much more.
It seems to me that the museum will be most interesting to women and girls, especially those who are attracted to unusual and colorful outfits. Men can be a little bored in this museum, although they may well be interested in the technology of silk production.
And finally, I will provide practical information that tourists who decide to visit this museum may need.
Visiting hours are from 9 am to 4 pm on all days except Monday.
Admission costs 500 yen for adults, 200 yen for children.
Toy Museum
If you come to Yokohama with a child or you yourself are interested in toys, we can recommend the Toy Museum, whose collection includes about ten thousand toys from more than a hundred countries around the world! The toys are made from the most different materials- made of wood, wax, plastic, porcelain, fabric, etc. Special place The museum's exposition is devoted to dolls - among them there are also large dolls, and their clothes can, without exaggeration, be looked at for hours - because the smallest details are worked out in them. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum often hosts exhibitions dedicated to some separate period or country. The museum also houses a puppet theater. If you want to attend a show, you should check the schedule and show times in advance.
The museum is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The exception is every third Monday of the month. Admission costs 300 yen for an adult and 150 yen for a child.
Museum of Art
Unlike art museums in other countries, the Yokohama Art Museum was founded relatively recently (at the end of the 20th century). The museum displays about 9 thousand art objects. Among the famous artists whose paintings are presented in the museum are Cezanne, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. A special place is occupied by Japanese artists who lived and worked in Yokohama.
Polytechnic Museum or Mitsubishi Industrial Museum
This museum is one of the most interesting museums cities. If you are interested in technology and technical innovations, then you will certainly like it.
The exhibition is divided into several parts - the transport zone, which talks about the development of different types of transport, the energy zone, the ocean zone (here we will talk about the role that the ocean played in the development various types industry), aerospace zone, and quest zone. There you can try to control different types of mechanisms. Keep in mind that much of the exhibits are interactive, such as the helicopter simulator.
As a rule, such museums are popular with children (of course, not all exhibits will be understandable to them), as well as adults who are interested in technology.
Landmark Tower
One of the tallest buildings in Japan is located in Yokohama. The height of the tower is almost 300 meters (295 to be precise). The tower offers a magnificent panorama of the city, which can be admired by everyone who climbs the tower. By the way, one of the fastest elevators in the world will take you there - you will be at an altitude of 300 meters in less than a minute!
Chinatown
Chinatown in Yokohama is one of the largest Chinatowns in the world. You can enter it through the gates (there are four in total).
There you can visit a Chinese temple - it is incredibly bright and attracts the attention of anyone who sees it.
Chinatown (or Chinatown) also hosts various events, such as Chinese New Year.
Is the answer helpful?
Ramen Museum. The museum is entirely dedicated to one of the most consumed Japanese products - noodles. This is also a hypermall and a theme park, where you can see the most common types of noodles, as well as get acquainted with some of the details of its preparation.
On the ground floor of the museum there is a souvenir shop, and, directly, the exhibits of the museum collections themselves. But the remaining two floors are a small historical park, which, by the way, is very impressive, since tourists can plunge into the ancient atmosphere of 1958, when the working-class Japanese neighborhoods were full of people, small noodle shops and restaurants. People were working, selling cotton candy, cakes and, of course, sake. This museum part of the exhibition will allow you to see all this.
But greatest feature represent restaurants, of which there are eight on the territory. Moreover, each of them has its own specialization in separate form noodles, or more precisely, their own variety. But you pay separately for visiting restaurants.
Museum visiting hours are from 11:00 to 23:00. Cost - from 100 to 300 yen, depending on age.
Sankeien Gardens. Address: 58-1 Honmoku-Sannotani, Naka-ku, Yokohama.
It's really interesting place, and because I really love natural beauty and parks, not only in Japan, but also in other countries, and have seen quite a large number of them, I can safely say that I was amazed by this beauty. Of course, the park is not in the center, but a little away from the main city attractions, but it’s worth it. Peace, beauty, a wonderful combination of oriental features and traditions - this is what you will see here. The park is so unusual that everything here seems perfect. And don’t think that you will spend an hour or two here, this is not so. Prepare to be here for about half a day, because time flies.
In winter, plum trees bloom here, in spring you can watch the blooming of azaleas and the magnificent, more traditional sakura, but in summer, gorgeous irises attract attention. Even in autumn there is something to see here, because the leaves are painted in bright autumn colors, from bright yellow to brown, rich red.
In addition, the park's structures are considered national cultural parks of the country.
Entrance fee: outer garden - 300 yen, for children - 60, inner garden - 300 yen, for children - 120.
Minato Mirai 21. The port of the future, which they decided to build back in the early 60s. But construction began only in the 80s and ended in 1993. Today it is a huge shopping center that offers visitors a lot of entertainment, including for children.
Hundreds of shops, boutiques, offices, entertainment - everything for a great time.
By the way, many tourists prefer to combine walks around the center with Chinatown, which is very close. Here you can buy a lot of inexpensive souvenirs, visit cafes or restaurants, and just stroll around its surroundings, which are very bright and colorful. In addition, visitors can enjoy the amazing view that opens from the pier. The bay, the ships, the splash of water, all this is even a little relaxing.
Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden observation deck. Address: 2-4-1 Minato Mirai, Yokohama.
The height of the building is almost three hundred meters, which makes the view of the city very impressive and breathtaking, and the wide windows allow you to a large number of gorgeous photos, so much so that the joints do not fall into the frame.
There is a cafe here, small sofas, if you suddenly get tired of admiring such beauty, in general, it’s cool. It is from here that you can see the real Japanese spirit, as well as a real giant port city, where the city of Yokohama itself appears before you as a small Japanese garden, with many bridges, ships, and piers. It would seem that they are very close. By the way, this is where the fastest high-speed elevators in the world take you up. The city is especially beautiful at night, when thousands of lights paint it in a special way.
Nogeyama Zoo. Address: 63-10 Oimatsucho, Yokohama.
A very pleasant place, especially for visitors with children. There are giraffes, pandas, peacocks, penguins, tigers and other representatives of the animal world. The choice is quite large, there is something to see, and there is also a corner with a petting zoo for children. In it, children can get acquainted with guinea pigs, chickens, and other harmless animals. And throughout the entire territory of the zoo there are always enough mothers with babies, but there is not much crowding, so I really enjoyed the walks.
But what surprised me was that there is very little space for animals here, which is very sad. Entrance to the zoo is free, but it is clear that this is reflected in the placement of animals.
Yokohama Zoo ""Zoorasia"". But this is a whole park-zoo, which is located at 1175-1 Kami-Shirane-cho, Yokohama.
There is a lot of space for animals here; on the territory there are several souvenir shops, a restaurant, cozy cafes, slot machines, a drinks truck, etc. There are also many visitors with children here, and on weekdays it is not very crowded.
I really liked the snowy arctic owl here, who even smiled and frowned at us. By the way, in addition to animals, there are also beautiful views plants and flowers, as well as green, bright lawns on which you can relax. There are signs everywhere, and visitors are even given maps of the area with pictures of everything they need in the park.
Entrance to the zoo is 600 yen.
Passenger liner Hikawa-maru / NYK Hikawamaru Exhibits. Address: Yamashita Park, Yokohama.
The liner is moored near the popular Yamashita Park, so there are quite a lot of visitors here. It is also called the Queen of the Pacific, since the liner plied the ocean for thirty years.
Today, it is a beautiful museum, which is very elegantly decorated and beautiful inside. You will be able to visit the ship on which Charlie Chaplin himself traveled, because the years of his service were from 1930 to 1960. The appearance of the liner is also quite impressive, so walking along its board will be very interesting and educational. But the entrance ticket costs 800 yen, which is not very cheap.
Taking the train on the Keihin - Tohoku Line, you will arrive in about 40 minutes at Sakuragi-to Station, located on the beautiful waterfront of Yokohama. The faster Tokaido Line will take you to the city's central station. A short walk from Sakuragi-to takes you to the sprawling shopping and entertainment district of Minato Mirai 21, as well as Yamashita Park, where you can cruise around the harbor on one of the pleasure boats moored next to the retired ship Hikawa-maru. Across the street from the park stands the nine-story Silk Center Building. Located on its third floor, the Silk Museum (Tue-Sun 9.00-16.30; www.silkmuseum.or.jp) with a collection of kimonos and silk-spinning paraphernalia, takes visitors back to the days when Yokohama was the center of the industry. Next door you will find the Yokohama Tourism and Convention Bureau. For a bird's eye view of the harbor, climb to the observation deck of the 106-meter Marine Tower lighthouse, the tallest in the world.
The Minato Mirai 21 project was launched in the mid-1980s. with the goal of transforming a large, neglected area of coastal land north and east of Sakuragi-to into a model “city of the future” with integrated elements of recreational, exhibition and business infrastructure. Central location here occupies the 70-story Land Mark Tower skyscraper, the most high building cities. Its observation deck (daily 10.00-21.00, Sat 10.00-22.00; www. yokohama-landmark.jp) will give you an unforgettable panorama of the city and the Bay Bridge, especially in the evening.
Nearby Yokohama Art Museum (Fri-Wed 10.00-18.00; www.yaf.or.jp/yma), designed by Tange Kenzo, features works by both Japanese and Western masters, including Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, Kishida Ryusei and Yoko-yama Taikan. The Nippon Maru Memorial Park stretches along the water's edge. NYK Maritime Museum (Tue-Sun 10.00-17.00), the pride of which is the three-masted ship, commonly referred to as the “Swan of the Pacific Ocean,” can be viewed on a guided tour. The Kisa-Miti promenade will lead to artificial island Cincoto with Akarenga Park and the red brick warehouse - a row of red brick buildings of the old customs house, now occupied by shops, restaurants and boutiques.
The country's largest Chinatown, Yokohama, is a short walk from the Kannai train station in the city center. The narrow streets are filled with shops selling food, spices, medicinal herbs, kitchen utensils - in fact, everything that China exports. The restaurants are naturally incomparable.
The city has two fashion and entertainment zones. First - Basamiti (“Horse Carriage Street”), stretching from Kannai Station to the embankment. The street got its name in the 19th century, when it was built for carriages of Europeans and Americans living in the city. In memory of those times, the sidewalks here are lined with red brick, and replicas of gas lamps are installed. The second zone connects Ishikawa-to Station with Motomachi and the International Cemetery. Motomachi became the first shopping district for foreigners to emerge during the Meiji period and has been in line with global fashion trends ever since.
The Foreigners' Cemetery, established in 1854, became the final resting place for approximately 4,000 representatives of 40 nationalities who lived and died in Yokohama. Behind the cemetery there is Yamate Shiryokan - a small museum. (Tue-Sun 10.00-17.00), dedicated to the European colony of the 19th century. Up the hill in this part of Motomachi there is a park overlooking the harbor, especially nice here in the evening when Yamashita Park and the harbor itself are illuminated with a myriad of lights.
The elevated area below the cemetery is known as Yama-te and was once a desirable residence for diplomats and other foreigners who built colonial-style homes there. Some houses have survived. The exhibition at the Yamate Museum next to the English Church introduces the history of the area.
Another thing you should definitely see in Yokohama is Sankeien (daily 9.00-17.00; www.sankeien.or.jp)- originally the estate of the wealthy silk merchant and art connoisseur Hara Sankei, who opened his park to the public in 1906.
big wheel
The 112.5 m high Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris Wheel is one of the largest in the world. From its height there is a stunning view of the Minato Mirai complex. Full turn the wheel completes in 15 minutes.
Yokohama Japan - city view
Yokohama is one of the largest cities in Japan, also serving as the capital of the Kanagawa region and the second largest port in the state. However, the settlement gained a leading position relatively recently and until 1854, on the site of today’s metropolis there was a small, unremarkable fishing village. The armed American flotilla that appeared in the Uraga Strait, led by Commander Matthew Perry, contributed to the “voluntary” refusal of the Japanese authorities from the external isolation in which the country had remained for about 250 years.
As a result, a treaty was concluded between America and Japan, under which US merchant ships were allowed to enter the port of Yokohama. A few years later, similar agreements were signed with England, Russia and other European powers. To prevent the spread of Western customs and ideas, all arriving foreign diplomats, traders and missionaries were resettled to the plain adjacent to the village, citing “security rules”.
The Japanese government's ploy worked well, but the territory occupied by foreigners began to develop at a very rapid pace as Western ideas of modernization began to be applied here. Fishing and agricultural specialization settlement faded into the background and Yokohama began to turn into a major trading port for the export of tea and silk, and the import of wool and cotton products. Quantity foreign citizens grew and residential areas were built for them with all the infrastructure characteristic of the West - hairdressers, photo studios, electric lighting, telephone communication And modern systems water supply In 1864, the country's first newspaper, “Kaigai Shimbun”, was published in Yokohama; in 1872, the first newspaper in Japan was laid in a populated area. Railway, which connected him with Tokyo, gas lamps appeared during the same period. 
Major earthquake 1923 caused enormous damage to the developing city and the next two decades were spent on restoration. But American bombings during World War II again almost completely razed half of the settlement to the ground. A long and painful revival has made modern Yokohama the most cosmopolitan city in the country - today it houses the offices and headquarters of major financial companies with a large percentage of foreign residents. The modern metropolis is inhabited by about 3.5 million people, and its infrastructure includes recreational parks, museums, shopping centers and huge skyscrapers. 
Climatic features
The city is located in the coastal part and its territory is dominated by an oceanic subtropical climate with mild weather in winter time and hot summer. In August the air warms up to +27...+30°C, and in January the air temperature drops to +6...+8°C. Maximum rainfall occurs in June and September. Winter is considered the driest period.
Transport accessibility
The city does not have its own airport, and the nearest ones - Haneda and Narita - are located in, at a distance of 20 and 90 kilometers, respectively. Both airports serve both international and domestic flights. You can get to Yokohama from any airport by train or bus, which regularly run between settlements.
What to see
Since the city was subjected to severe destruction several times, most of Its attractions are modern buildings. The symbol of Yokohama is its very tall skyscraper Landmark Tower, built in 1993. On the 69th floor of this structure there is a large observation deck, the Sky Garden, equipped with panoramic windows. From a height of almost 300 meters there are beautiful views of Tokyo Bay and the city. The building combines a fashionable five-star hotel, several restaurants and large megamarkets. In addition, the skyscraper is equipped with the world's fastest elevators, listed in the Guinness Book of Records and allowing you to rise from the 1st to the 70th floor in just 40 seconds. 
In the second half of the last century, construction began on the Minato Mirai area, which means “Port of the Future.” He is business center a city that houses the offices of major international and Japanese corporations, hotels, as well as entertainment, exhibition and shopping complexes. You should definitely visit the port-side Yamashita Park, the Art and Maritime Museums located in Minato Mirai, drive across Yokohama Bay on an openwork suspension bridge built in 1989, ride a 112-meter-high Ferris wheel in the Cosmo world amusement park and take stunningly beautiful photos of the city panorama from a transparent cabin attraction. 
Port - museum
Yokohama is home to one of the world's largest Chinatowns, in the center of which is the Kantei-be Temple, built in 1887. According to reviews of the Chinese living here, the quarter completely imitates narrow Chinese streets with big amount small restaurants, pavilions and souvenir shops with a characteristic red and yellow color. 
You can admire the city's surroundings and superb views of Mount Fuji from the observation decks of the world's tallest lighthouse. Erected in 1961, the tower was built from the ruins of buildings damaged by the 1923 earthquake. Today, this large-scale building still functions as a beacon, sending signals every 20 seconds. Green and red flashes are visible at a distance of 40 kilometers on each side. Of the 20 floors of the tower, 6 are open to visitors. The last two floors are occupied by an observation deck, and the first four house a cafe, restaurant, souvenir shops, tower museum, presentation and ceremony halls.
