Arriving a day before our meeting at the University of Tokyo, I chose to stay for a night in Yokohama. I’ve been here many times but this is just the second time that I did strolling around this city.

A city by the bay, Yokohama is located just south of Tokyo. It is Japan’s second biggest city and was one of the first port to be opened for foreign trade towards the end of the Edo Period in 1859. From just a small fishing village, Yokohama quickly grew into a major city in Japan.

When I went down from the Sakuragicho station, I immediately saw the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris Wheel. It is one of the largest in the world located at the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama. With a height of 369 feet, it has 60 passenger cars with each capable of carrying a maximum of eight people.

As I walked into the small island of Shinko-cho. I saw the sailing ship Nippon Maru. Built in Kobe in 1930, it was designed as a training ship for the Japanese merchant marine cadets. Since 1984 though, It now serves a Japanese museum ship permanently docked at the Yokohama harbor.

After crossing the bridge, I went to Akarenga shopping and entertainment center. These are two restored historic red brick warehouses turned into a cultural and commercial facility. The two buildings were constructed in 1911 and 1913 respectively to be used as custom houses which played an inportant role in the development of the country. It was however stopped being used as a warehouse in 1989 and was reopened in 2002 into what it is now.

Dominating the Yokohama skyline is the 972 feet Yokohama Landmark Tower. It is Japan’s second largest building constructed from 1990 to 1993. Because of its height, it became the centerpiece of the Minato Mirai 21 area.

I was already hungry so I decided to go to Yokohama’s Chinatown. Founded in 1863, it is the largest Chinatown in Japan and Asia, and one of the largest in the world. There are about 250 Chinese shops throughout the district. I chose to eat in Heichinrou, the oldest operating Chinese restaurant in Japan. It was founded in 1884 by the Zhang family on the current site in Yokohama. There are now several branches in Tokyo and HongKong. After eating the HongKong style fried noodles and Chinese pepper steak, I went to my hotel and call it a night.