Yokohama

Yokohama (Japanese: 横浜, Hepburn: Yokohama, pronounced [jokohama] (audio speaker iconlisten)) is a Japanese city in Kanagawa Prefecture on the island of Honshū.[1]

Yokohama
横浜市
Designated city
City of Yokohama
Minato Mirai 21
Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Yokohama Chinatown
Motomachi Shopping Street
Yamashita Park and Yokohama Marine Tower
Ōsanbashi Pier
Clockwise from top: Minato Mirai 21, Nippon Maru Memorial Park, Yokohama Chinatown, Motomachi Shopping Street, Yokohama Marine Tower viewed from Yamashita Park, and Ōsanbashi Pier
Flag of Yokohama
Flag
Official seal of Yokohama
Seal
Map of Kanagawa Prefecture with Yokohama highlighted in purple
Map of Kanagawa Prefecture with Yokohama highlighted in purple
Yokohama is located in Japan
Yokohama
Yokohama
 
Yokohama is located in Asia
Yokohama
Yokohama
Yokohama (Asia)
Coordinates: 35°26′39″N 139°38′17″E
Country Japan
RegionKantō
PrefectureKanagawa Prefecture
Government
 • MayorFumiko Hayashi
Area
 • Total437.38 km2 (168.87 sq mi)
Population
 (October 1, 2016)
 • Total3,732,616
 • Density8,534.03/km2 (22,103.0/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
– TreeCamellia, Chinquapin, Sangoju
Sasanqua, Ginkgo, Zelkova
– FlowerRose
Address1-1 Minato-chō, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken
231-0017
Websitewww.city.yokohama.lg.jp
Yokohama
"Yokohama" in new-style (shinjitai) kanji
Japanese name
Hiraganaよこはま
Katakanaヨコハマ
Kyūjitai橫濱
Shinjitai横浜

Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture in the Kantō region. Yokohama is a neighbor city of Tokyo. It has been the second largest city of Japan since the 1980s.

Yokohama has an international trade seaport. It is the largest port in Japan. Many cars and machinery are exported from the port. The downtown area is around the port. Today, the area of Yokohama city includes its former suburb areas like Hodogaya or Totsuka.

In Minato Mirai, there are a lot of places for sightseeing. For example, there are amusement parks and shopping malls.

Yokohama was an entrance for foreign cultures for a long time. Still today Yokohama has the largest Chinatown in Japan.

The airports nearest to Yokohama are Tokyo International Airport and Narita International Airport.

Many educational institutes are located in Yokohama, including Yokohama National University and Yokohama City University.

History

The Yokohama port was created in the middle of the 19th century for foreigners. It was five ports opened to foreign countries who demanded that Japan open its ports. And Yokohama was the nearest port to Tokyo, which was then called Edo.

Hodogaya — ukiyo-e woodblock print by Hiroshige, circa 1832

In the Edo period, Hodogaya-juku was one of the fifty-three shogunate-maintained waystations (shuku-eki) along the Tōkaidō road which connected Edo and Kyoto. Two other Tōkaidō rest stops are within the boundaries of modern Yokohama—in Kanagawa ward and Totsuka ward.[2]

Wards of Yokohama
  • Aoba-ku, Yokohama
  • Asahi-ku, Yokohama
  • Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama[2]
  • Isogo-ku, Yokohama
  • Izumi-ku, Yokohama
Kanagawa — ukiyo-e woodblock print by Hiroshige, circa 1832
  • Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama[2]
  • Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama
  • Kouhoku-ku, Yokohama
  • Kounan-ku, Yokohama
  • Midori-ku, Yokohama
  • Minami-ku, Yokohama
  • Naka-ku, Yokohama
  • Nishi-ku, Yokohama
  • Sakae-ku, Yokohama
  • Seya-ku, Yokohama
Totsuka — ukiyo-e woodblock print by Hiroshige, circa 1832
  • Totsuka-ku, Yokohama[2]
  • Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama
  • Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama

References
  1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Yokohama" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 1054-1055.
  2. Nussbaum, "Tōkaidō" at p. 973.

Other websites
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yokohama.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Yokohama
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