Originally built in the early 20th century as a customs warehouse, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse is now the most fashionable shopping complex in the waterfront Yokohama. Inside the building you will find the variety of boutiques, restaurants, and bars. Outside the building is great harbor view of Yokohama. most suitable for sightseeing and dating.
Dédié aux esprits divinisés de l’empereur Meiji et de l’impératrice Shoken, ce sanctuaire shinto fut initialement construit en 1920 sur le site d’un jardin d’iris qui était apprécié par le couple royal. L’empereur Meiji monta sur le trône en 1867, à l’apogée de la restauration de Meiji, faisant sortir le Japon des voiles du féodalisme pour entrer dans l’ère moderne. La sanctuaire nagare-zukuri traditionnel est bâti au milieu d’une forêt foisonnante et toujours verte de plus de 10 000 arbres de tout le Japon, témoignage de gratitude de la part du peuple. À la fois simple et élégant, le Meiji-jingū est isolé de l’effervescence de la ville, son linceul verdoyant adoucissant les sons de la métropole animée qu’est Tokyo. Non loin de là se trouve l’envoûtant jardin intérieur, un champ d’iris en fleurs en juin. L’Imperial Treasure House expose également le chariot de couronnement et plusieurs autres souvenirs intrigants de l’empereur Meiji et de l’impératrice Shoken. Le sanctuaire qui s’élève aujourd’hui est une reconstruction de l’original, qui remonte à 1958 après la destruction de son prédécesseur pendant la Seconde guerre mondiale.
Le musée national de Tokyo expose une multitude de sculptures, peintures, pièces calligraphiques et objets archéologiques ainsi que des œuvres d'art décoratif. Divisées en sections japonaise, chinoise et coréenne, les collections du musée représentent une véritable conservation artistique de l'histoire et de la culture asiatique. Des expositions, conférences et discussions y ont lieu régulièrement, permettant aux visiteurs d’avoir accès à des informations précieuses à propos du plus grand continent de la planète. Le musée abrite aussi des documents historiques datant des Xe et XIe siècles.
Ce magnifique temple bouddhiste est l’un des plus anciens de Tokyo, initialement établi en 645 en hommage à la déesse Kannon. D’après la légende, en 628, deux frères trouvèrent une petite statue de la déesse dans le fleuve Sumida qui revenaient à eux à chaque fois qu’ils la submergeaient. Le majestueux Kaminarimon (porte du Tonnerre) protège l’entrée de Kinryū-Zan Sensō-Ji, orné d’une immense lanterne en papier avec des nuances de rouge et de noir qui la font ressembler à un nuage orageux. La rue Nakamise se trouve derrière, bordée de stands colorés vendant des objets artisanaux traditionnels et des collations. Le temple est un magnifique spectacle en soi-même, avec une salle principale ornée de détails complexes et de grandes lanternes en papier suspendues au plafond soutenu par d’imposantes colonnes. Situé le long d’une pagode de 5 niveaux, ce sanctuaire est un lieu de culte animé qui est également l’un des plus célèbres de la ville. Le temple original fut gravement endommagé pendant la Seconde guerre mondiale, et les structures existantes sont des ajouts plus récents.
La légende affirme qu'il y a un millénaire, les frères Hirokuma ont trouvé la statue de Kannon (le Bodhisattva de la clémence - la divinité qui aurait les grands pouvoirs de purifier les gens et de leur accorder le véritable bonheur) dans leurs filets de pêche et le chef du village l'a enchâssée consciencieusement. Le sanctuaire Asakusa a ainsi été fondé en 1649 et les trois personnes de la légende ont été consacrées en tant que dieux du sanctuaire, ce qui explique le surnom Sanja-sama (le sanctuaire de trois dieux). Indubitablement le sanctuaire le plus célèbre de Tokyo, il accueille aussi le Festival Sanja en mai.
Nestled in the recesses of Nagatachō, the iconic Hei Shrine upholds the spirit of the Shinto school. The temple enshrines Oyamakui-no-kami, its architecture comprising traditional elements like pointed roofs and scarlet, lacquered furnishings. Dating back to 1478, this revered shrine was originally built inside the Edo Castle to serve as protection from enemies. It was moved to its present site in 1659, with its role as guardian of the palace unfazed and unchanged. Although the facade is insignificant concrete, the torii gate bears inscriptions and glorious images of monkeys, which are believed to be messengers of the shrine's deity. A fine collection of Tokugawa swords and other relics are also on display in the shrine museum. An iconic sanctum in the midst of Tokyo's cosmopolitan din, the shrine does not just reverberate with an ardor which has shaped the religious course of the country, but also carries within itself legendary traces of the Kamakura eon.
On the corner of a street very close to the BayStars monument, you'll find an engraved stone monument with a metal etching of an Edison-type generator. This monument commemorates the coal-fired power plant that used to be on this site. The plant was built by the Yokohama Kyodo Electric Light Company. It began supplying electricity to 700 houses in the city in 1890. -AH
The stone monument in Yokohama Park is a reminder that Yokohama Park was the first such park opened in Japan for the use of both foreigners and Japanese. It was designed by Richard Henry Brunton, a Scottish engineer (his statue also stands in the park), after fire destroyed the area in 1866. The park was opened in 1871 and included a cricket ground. In 1923, the park provided a refuge to people after the Great Kanto Earthquake and in 1929 a baseball stadium was built. The current stadium was opened in 1978.
This large copper etching on the wall shows a cheering BayStars team. It is surrounded by the hand prints of the team and commemorates 1998, the year the Yokohama BayStars won the Japanese Baseball Grand Championships. This part of the street is nicknamed BayStars Street. -AH
Standing side by side on the Kannai side of Yoshidabashi Bridge are two iron monuments. One has a map of the early settlement of Yokohama on it and the other has a picture of the first iron bridge that stood here. The bridge was built in 1869 by Henry Brunton, a Scottish engineer, who was also responsible for many lighthouses in the region, the design of Yokohama Park and the layout of Nihon Odori. It was built at the request of the Kanagawa governor, and at a time when bridges were traditionally made of wood and replaced regularly, such a strong and durable construct would have been quite amazing. Across the road, standing on the now concrete bridge, is a pillar. It marks the checkpoint on Yoshida Bridge that was established soon after the opening of the port in 1859 to protect foreigners living in the settlement. -AH
Outside the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office on the Nihon Odori crossing is a stone monument with an electric wave pattern etched on it. This stone commemorates the first instance of successful telegraphing in Japan, which was over a distance of 2200 feet (670 meters) between the present Kanagawa District Court and the Yokohama Coast Guard Headquarters in 1869. The following year, telegraph lines were completed between Yokohama and Tokyo and a telegraph service was started. However, the lines were often cut or poles pulled down as the process was not understood and was called "black magic." This monument was erected in 1963 by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, along with another in Tokyo. -AH
This metallic monument resembling an early camera outside Gold's Gym on Bashamichi is a tribute to Renjo Shimo-oka, who set up a photography studio here after learning the skills of photography from Henry Heusken, a Dutchman and interpreter for the first US Ambassador to Japan. Shimo-oka photographed the SS America, which caught fire while berthed in Yokohama and experimented with night photography. Shimo-oka's first studio was in Noge. He moved to this site in 1868. -AH