Travel Japan : Yokohama

Yokohama

Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It is Japan's largest incorporated city by population, Japan's largest seaport, and a commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.

Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the Edo period, a time when Japan conducted very little trade with foreign countries. In 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, and forced Japan to open several ports for commerce.
The Port of Yokohama was opened in 1859 and quickly became the base of most foreign trade in Japan.

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading silk. Japan's first railway was constructed in 1872 to connect Yokohama to Tokyo, allowing zaibatsu firms to use the port for importing raw materials bound for factories in the growing Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there. Until more commerce was carried out directly in Tokyo, Yokohama was known as the most international city in Japan.

Yokohama is located on a peninsula facing the western side of Tokyo Bay, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Tokyo, to which it is connected by a half-dozen railway lines as well as expressways and surface streets. Although the city is largely a bedroom community for people commuting to Tokyo, it also has a strong local economic base, especially in the shipping, biotechnology, and semiconductor industries. Nissan will move its headquarters to Yokohama from Chuo-ku, Tokyo, by 2010.

Sightseeing spots in Yokohama include the port area: Yamashita Park, Minato Mirai 21 (a shopping district built entirely on reclaimed land), Chinatown, Yokohama Stadium, the Silk Center, the Doll Museum, the Yamate area (foreigners' cemetery and harbour view park), the Rose Garden (also in the harbour view park), Motomachi (where there are various shops) and Sankeien, a garden. The Isezakicho and Noge areas offer many colourful shops and bars and, with their restaurants and stores catering to residents from China, Thailand, South Korea, and other countries, have an increasingly international flavour. The ramen museum (near Shin-Yokohama Station), and the curry museum are other interesting spots that recently opened. There is also a large immigration office, near Yamashita Park.

Yokohama is the home of the Yokohama BayStars (Formerly Taiyo Whales), a Central League baseball team, and the Yokohama F Marinos, a J. League soccer team. The final game of the 2002 World Cup was played in Yokohama International Sports Stadium.

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Travel Japan - Yokohama