Until the 1980s, there was a shipyard of Mitubishi Heavy Industry and a freight terminal of Japan Railway in the present-day Minato Mirai Area. The area was re-developed and hotels, office buildings, shopping malls, amusement facilities, museums and a convention center were built in the area of 1.86 square meters. The area is located between Yamashita/Kannai and Yokohama station.
The Minato Mirai Line connects between Motomachi-Chukagai(Motomachi-Chinatown) Station in Yamashita Area and Yokohama Station via Minato Mirai. There are two stations, Takashima Station and Minato Mirai Station in the area. Access from Yokohama Station is very good. You can walk to Minato Mirai Station, where Yokohama Landmark Tower is located, from Yokohama Station about 40 minutes.
Nippon Maru
The Nippon Maru was a sailing ship built to train young candidates as sailors. She trained about 11,500 sailors until she was decommissioned in 1984. She has been afloat on a man-made pond in Nippon Maru Memorial Park near the JR Sakuragi-cho Station since 1985.
You can tour inside of the ship following the designated tour route. Explanations for each facility are given on a plate both in English and Japanese along the route. So if you are interested in the history of marine transportation or ships, it’s a good place to visit.
Kamon-yama Park
Kamon-yama Park is one of the popular places in Yokohama people visit to view cherry blossoms in the early April. It is located on the hill of Noge, about 15 minutes walk from JR Sakuragi-cho Station.
The park was built in 1884 in memory of Ii Naosuke, master chief of the Tokugawa Shogunate, who contributed to conclude the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States, which ended the nation’s closed door policy. Following the treaty, trading seaport was open here in Yokohama. The park was built on the hill of Noge where the port is observed.
