When you factor in accessibility and affordability, Yamashita Park in Yokohama just might be the city’s best tourist attraction. The park is open to the public and features lots of interesting views and attractions. I think if you want to familiarize yourself with Yokohama then the park just might be where you want to be.
Yamashita Park: A Good Place to Know Yokohama’s Heritage and Culture
I mean, just look at this view. The sky here is just on another level and you also get to see Yokohama Bay and Yokohama Port in all its busy glory. Anyway, this picture was shot at the park’s Central Entrance.
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Here’s a sign detailing the park’s rules. Compared to the parks and gardens (like the Sankeien Garden) that I’ve been to here in Japan, these rules are actually quite tame. I especially appreciate the fact that they allow dogs here (though you’ll need to keep them on a tight leash).
Opposite the poster that features the rules is this map of Yamashita Park featuring its attractions. As you can see, it’s absolutely huge. If I’m not mistaken, the park is as long and as wide as 5 city blocks.
One of the things that really interested me about this part of the park is these pergolas. Considering this is a Japanese park, I was actually expecting to see pavilions and other similar East Asian architecture. Instead, these pergolas sandwich the central area of the park.
Speaking of the center of the park, there are two attractions you’ll see here. One of those attractions are the replicas of the Mission Bells of El Camino Real and this is the plaque that serves as a dedication for them. According to this plaque, the mission bells were presented to Yokohama by the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society in commemoration for the 25th anniversary of both cities’ sister city relationship.
Another attraction that came from San Diego and that’s currently on display here is the Guardian of Water statue. Sorry, that might have sounded like the statue is just temporarily here. The truth is, the Guardian of Water has become inextricably linked with Yamashita Park and I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.
This is just one of the El Camino Real Mission Bells and this one is the closest to the Kamone no Suihei Song Monument (the monument in the background). In total there are four of these mission bells and they all serve to form a ring or box around…
The Guardian of Water statue. So I tried researching a little more about this statue and I found out that much like the bells, it is also a replica along with the fountain that it’s on. Yes, the original of this fountain and statue was made by American sculptor Donal Hord in the 1930s and you can actually still find it in front of the San Diego County Administration Center.
Also enshrined here in the fountain is this engraving of the Yokohama San Diego Sister City Agreement as well as the song Miishi no San Diego. The text on this engraving basically details how the sister city agreement came to be in 1957 and how this “Friendship Monument” (pertaining to the pictured memorial) was a result of the 25 year celebration of the two cities’ affiliation. As for the song, it’s title translates to “San Diego, the Beautiful”.
After I was done checking out the Guardian of the Water and the Friendship Monument, I decided to walk to the eastern part of the park. This was the view at that time and it looked really lovely.
Anyway, I think I remember mentioning this monument earlier when I talked about that one El Camino Real Mission Bell. Well, this happens to be called the Kamome no Suihei-san Song Monument. Apparently, this is a popular children’s song that was written by Takeuchi Toshiko to commemorate the time in 1933 when her uncle departed for the Philippines for missionary work. The title translates to Seagull Sailor as it was the image of seagulls at the wharf that stood out when she sent off her uncle.
While there weren’t that many seagulls when I was at Yamashita Park, I did come across this large ship that was seemingly just anchored here. I looked into this and found out that this is the NYK Hikawa Maru. Why is this significant you ask? Well, this is actually the only surviving pre-WWII cargo-passenger liner left in the world. As this was made in Yokohama, I think it makes sense that it’s anchored here.
If you want to admire this beauty, you can actually just take a seat here. These benches are just in front of the NYK Hikawa Maru and affords you a great view of the ship’s bow.
Beside those chairs and directly opposite the ship’s bow is this pathway leading to the Future Rose Garden. In the background, you’ll see the Hotel New Grand. This hotel is another of Yokohama’s landmarks and it’s even older than the park by three years.
Anyway, here’s a look at the bow of the NYK Hikawa Maru. The ship was built by the Yokohama Dock Company and it had its maiden voyage the same year Yamashita Park was opened to the public.
This time I decided to head a little to the Western part of the park to get a better view of the ship’s starboard side. As I was walking, I came across this interesting sign. The sign on the left is pretty understandable but the one on the right really threw me for a loop. So basically, it says that you’re not allowed to fish here using a fishing line. So what if I used a net or how about if I brought a wetsuit and a speargun?
So anyway, I dispelled the thoughts of fishing and fishing gear and just focused on the views here because why wouldn’t I? This view of Yokohama Bay and the skyline of Yokohama was really awe-inspiring.
From here I also had this nice view of the Osanbashi Pier Building and the Yokohama Cruise Terminal. Also you might have noticed that the sun is already setting and at this point the views here actually looked even better.
In fact, I was thoroughly enjoying the views that I almost forgot to take a picture of the NYK Hikawa Maru’s starboard. Thankfully I still ended up remembering and I immediately took this shot of the ship as it was bathed by the setting sun’s light.
Remember the Kamome Suihei-san monument earlier, well these are probably the seagulls that the song was referencing. I didn’t even notice that they were already here or what time they decided to show up. I will say though that there are so many of them here.
So you’ll find this place just a couple of steps from where I was taking pictures of the Hikawa Maru’s starboard. This is called the Yamashita Park Square and it’s a great place for walking around and just watching people passing by.
This is the pergola that’s to the left of the Guardian of the Water Statue (if you’re facing the statue from the Central Entrance). If you remember earlier, I took a picture of this earlier but from another angle. This is probably the better picture though as it looks more aesthetic and it also captures part of the Hotel New Grand in the background.
As the sun was setting I decided to explore this area of the park square a little more. It’s really sparse in terms of its landscaping but at the same time it’s also much more interesting to look at for some reason. Maybe it’s because there aren’t that many attractions here that compete for your attention?
One thing I really liked when I was walking in this area is that while there were many people they largely kept to themselves and they were rarely loud. It felt like I found an enclave of like-minded individuals who shared the same appreciation for great views like I did.
Walking around the park square, I then came across this really weird looking monument with the words Zan Giri Yokohama inscribed on it. For some reason it reminded me of the Moai statue emoji that kids these days seem to regularly post on their social media. Anyway, I was interested so I decided to take a picture of it.
This is the inscription of the Zangiri monument explaining what it is. So basically, the monument is for commemorating the origin of a Western-influenced hairstyle called Zangiri that exploded in popularity during the Meiji period. This hairstyle was said to have originated here in Yokohama with the first barbershop that offered this cut opening here in 1871. Eventually, the government promoted this hairstyle through a decree. As for the monument itself, it’s actually relatively new having been completed in and erected here in 1989.
From the Zangiri monument I followed the path leading back to the bay walk just in time to take one of the most dramatic pictures that I shot that day. As I said earlier, this was in the late afternoon where some areas of the park were already in shadow. There were however some areas where some light from the setting sun was still able to seep in and I was lucky enough to chance upon one of those here. Not trying to toot my own horn but the contrast of the light area in the middle of the image with the shadows in the sides and the NYK Hikawa Maru off in the background just looks so cool.
From the place I took the last picture I decided to head west/to my left and found myself in this area. If I was here in the morning then this is probably where I’d be thanks to the shade these trees afforded. Moreover, this area was also closer to the Osanbashi pier so that meant…
I get to have a closer and better view of the Osanbashi Pier Building. For some reason, this building really reminded me of an air traffic control tower and thanks to that it now seems out of place here. That said, I might say that it seems out of place but that shouldn’t change the fact that the building is a head turner.
Now I know how walking can be tiring so if you do end up looking for a bite to eat then there’s this establishment here called The Wharf House that you might want to check out. It’s at the western-most part of the park and just behind it is an overpass that you can use to get to the Osanbashi Pier. Take note though that it only opens at night (from 5:00PM to 10:00PM).
Here’s the entrance to The Wharf House. I checked online and it actually has decent reviews and a score of 4.0 (as of this writing). You can reserve a table for indoor dining or if you want a view of Yokohama Bay then you can get a seat at its BBQ beer garden.
Opposite the entrance of the restaurant, you’ll find this peculiar looking structure. I initially thought it was Japanese but apparently, this is an Indian style pavilion. Or at least its architecture has Indian influences.
It says on this description that this structure houses the Indian Drinking Fountain or the Indian Water Tower. This was actually a gift to Yokohama by the city’s Indian Merchants Association in return for helping them (and other foreign merchants) in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
Another attraction that I think is kind of disregarded in this area is this small rose garden that’s just a couple of steps away from the Indian Water Tower. According to this sign, the rose variety featured here is called Le Port Romantique and it’s actually climbing rose created by Mr. Goshi for 2017’s City Greenery Yokohama Fair. The rose is characterized by its gentle pink petals and you can actually find it adorning the arches in the Future Rose Garden which is where we saw the NYK Hikawa Maru earlier.
Here’s a zoomed out view of the small plot that featured the display earlier. I initially thought that the roses were just arbitrarily chosen as the park’s featured flower. Turns out, Yokohama is actually known worldwide for its roses. In fact, it has a week dedicated to the plant called the “Yokohama Rose Week”.
If you do plan to jog here at Yamashita Park, you can opt to leave your belongings or change of clothes here at this coin locker just outside of the Wharf House. Take note though that these cost JPY300 which is honestly very affordable for their size.
As I walked back to the Central Entrance area of the park from the Wharf House, I came across this statue of what seems like a little girl. Since it piqued my curiosity (and since there was still light), I decided to check it out.
So this sculpture is called “A Little Girl with Red Shoes” and it’s apparently the character from a 1922 children’s poem penned by Ujo Noguchi called Akai Kutsu (or Red Shoes). The statue was erected in 1979 and there’s actually a miniature version of it in Yokohama Station as well as a replica in San Diego, California.
So these are the stanzas of the poem Akai Kutsu and it basically tells the story of a girl who was taken away by a foreigner. The poem tells this story in four stanzas and there was supposed to be a fifth which had gone unreleased and undiscovered until 1978.
I got back to the Hikawa Maru and came across these pigeons on the ship’s bow line. Turns out, sea gulls aren’t the only type of birds frequenting this place.
After seeing the small rose garden near The Wharf House earlier, I decided to check out the Future Rose Garden that was just in front of the Hikawa Maru. This was a good decision as I got to see more of the Le Port Romantique roses. Since this was taken during the winter season, the rose’s canes at these arches have lost their leaves and flowers. Thankfully, the ones that were planted seem to still have their leaves with some even having flowers in bloom.
It’s not just Le Port Romantique that you can expect to find here at the Rose Garden. This display shows the other rose varieties that are grown here. The ones listed here are Alba Meidiland, Alberic Barbier, Iceberg Climbing, Snow Goose, awayuki, and Shinsetsu.
These are the Le Port Romantique that are slowly losing their leaves. If you do want to see these in full bloom then I suggest visiting here during the summer or spring seasons.
After exiting the garden through the baywalk, I came across this establishment called the Starboard Shop. This is a souvenir store targeted mainly at foreign visitors. On its front entrance the shop advertises that they sell duty/tax free items.
Just a couple of steps from the Starboard Shop and I came across this Sea Bass terminal. Sea Bass are essentially water buses/ferries that in some cases might be more convenient to ride on than land based transport.
Here are the routes the Sea Bass takes. From here in Yamashita Park, you can take one to get to the Aka Renga Pier which will get you past the Osanbashi Pier we saw earlier and get you closer to the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. The fare for the Sea Bass depends on which station you’ll want to get to but it typically starts at JPY600 (Pier Aka Renga) but can go up to JPY1000 (Yokohama Station).
I finally reached the east end of Yamashita Park which featured this ice skating rink called Winter Wonder Park. I’m not gonna lie, if I knew this was here beforehand I would have immediately gone here first. There’s still a next time though so no sweat off my back.
I’ve now exited Yamashita Park and while walking on the sidewalk, I came across these murals. These are drawings mostly of ships which have become synonymous with the city thanks to the bay and its ports. On the lower left corner is a drawing of what I assume is a girl wearing a qipao. This likely harkens to the strong Chinese presence here in the city (which is also why ramen and other Chinese dishes like porridge are all over this city).
I’m not entirely sure what this means, but I have seen a lot of this kind of tile with this design in Yokohama. I tried using Google Lens which said that this might mean “tsukosatsu” or pass.
Here’s another set of tile murals that I found while walking just outside the Toda Peace Memorial Museum (which was formerly a British mansion). Again, these mostly feature illustrations of boats and other items/things associated with Yokohama.
And with that, my visit to Yamashita Park is done. While I would hesitate to call this the best park I’ve visited, I will say that it was one of the least harsh on the wallet. The fact that it is free and open to the public makes it an automatic recommendation for me especially if you’re the budget conscious kind of traveler. Probably the only thing I’d change for the next visit is the time. I’m now kind of curious what the park looks like as the sun rises.
