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Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district (lit. Port Future) is an ongoing waterfront mega-development project, and the aptly named Landmark Tower is its central structure. At 70 storeys, it is the tallest building in Japan, and features modern business space and infrastructure, such as optical fibers for communications and Internet. The first few floors are a shopping mall, interconnected with neighboring Landmark Plaza, Queens Tower and the Dockyard Garden. The rest of the floors, up to the 48th, are offices and businesses, with one floor devoted to medical clinics. The 49th floor and above are occupied by the 600-room Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. There is an observation deck called the Sky Garden on the 69th floor, which is open to the public and can be reached using the world's fastest elevator?750 meters per minute. Visitors to the Sky Garden can walk all the way around for a 360 degree view, and on a clear day one can see the Izu Peninsula and Mount Fuji. The complex has parking for 1,400 vehicles and is easily accessed by JR, Yokohama City Subway or the new Minato Mirai Line.

These warehouses, built by the federal government between 1911 and 1913, have withstood the ravages of a major earthquake and the Second World War. Over the years, as shipping operations dispersed to other ports, these warehouses were slowly forgotten. They were bought by Yokohama City in 1992, and were refurbished using the latest in renovation technology and earthquake-proof reinforcements while preserving the historically important physical structures. It took a while, but the Red Brick Warehouse Park was reopened in 2002. The smaller Building #1 is mainly for special events: it contains a large theater on the third floor and several smaller exhibit spaces on the second floor, and a few shops on the first floor. The larger Building #2 has three floors of specialty shops, cafes and restaurants. The open space between the two warehouses is maintained as a park, and in the evening, the two buildings are beautifully illuminated.

Pacifico Yokohama is a large, international convention facility on the Yokohama waterfront. The Conference Center has over sixty conference rooms of various sizes, all equipped with modern audiovisual and simultaneous interpretation equipment. It is connected to the 5000-seat National Convention Hall of Yokohama and a humongous Exhibition Hall and Annex. There is also an adjoining hotel, the InterContinental Grand Yokohama, shaped like a wedge of cheese. Outdoor events are often held in the large open circle made of stone just outside.

The Yokohama Museum of Art actually opened in spring of 1989 as one of the pavilions of the Yokohama Exotic Showcase?or YES'89. The permanent collections are displayed in thematic exhibits which are changed three times a year: about 200 pieces chosen from a collection of approximately 9,500 Japanese and Western paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs from the late 19th century and on. Some of the artists of note are Japanese painters Kanzan Shimomura and Shiko Imamura who have connections to Yokohama, as well as Dadaists and Surrealists such as Ernst, Dali and Magritte.

Yokohama World Porters is a unique commercial and distribution facility, the first of its kind in the Metropolitan area that was built to take advantage of the FAZ, or Foreign Access Zone, law that was passed in 1994. The purpose of the FAZ law was to create accessible zones for foreign businesses near major ports, thereby increasing international trade and revitalizing the local economy. The World Business Support Center, which provides office space for foreign companies and also acts as a liaison between foreign and Yokohama businesses, has its offices here, but of greater interest to the tourist are the 6 floors of unique shops and services featuring merchandise imported from all over the globe. There are approximately 170 shops as well as an 8-theater cinema complex, complete with a movie goods store.

Built in 1930 as a training ship for the Ministry of Transport, the tall ship Nippon Maru sailed 1,830,000 kilometers and trained over 10,000 sailors until it was decommissioned in 1984. Today the "Swan of the Pacific" is moored in its own Memorial Park, and is open to visitors for viewing. About ten times a year, specially trained volunteers unfurl its 29 sails in a magnificent display. Beside the Nippon Maru is the Yokohama Maritime Museum, which was opened in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the Port of Yokohama. Exhibits show the contribution of Yokohama to the modernization of Japan, and include historical material ranging from Commodore Perry's Black Ships to those of the present. There is also an interactive corner where visitors can try "steering a ship.

Just to the east of the Landmark Tower in Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district, Queen's Square is another mega complex with office and commercial space, galleries, a concert hall and the Pan Pacific Hotel Yokohama. There are three office towers, A, B and C, which get progressively taller as if leading up to the Landmark Tower. There is a vast atrium between basement level 3 and the 5th floor, called the Station Core, which connects the shopping space with the Minato Mirai Station via escalators and a translucent elevator. Street entertainers often perform in the plazas in and around the Square on weekends.

Opened in 1999, Yokohama Cosmo World is an urban amusement park designed to fit into and to enhance the Minato Mirai 21 skyline. There is something for everyone in its three zones ? "Wonder Amuse Zone," the "Burano Street Zone," and the "Kids' Carnival Zone." The first has all of the rides; the world's largest ferris wheel, the world's first coaster that dives into water, the world's longest log flume ride… plus a building full of interactive arcade games. The second zone, which is modeled after the streets of Burano Island in Italy, has simulation theaters and interactive shows, and the last has fun, relatively tame rides for families with small children. At night, the rides are illuminated to produce a harmonious effect with nearby Queen's Square and the Nippon Maru Memorial Park, making the entire area look like a futuristic city floating on the water. Needless to say, it is a popular destination for a date.

Each day, real hot spring water from Atami and Yugawara are brought by tankers to the Yokohama Minato Mirai Manyo Club, an artificial hot spring "resort" in the middle of Minato Mirai 21. There are seven different kinds of baths, such as the traditional tub made of hinoki (Japanese cypress) or the open-air foot bath on the roof of the 9-storey building, from which you can get a 360-degree view of the port city. Relaxation rooms, two restaurants, spa and massage services with everything from reflexology and shiatsu to Thai massages and Korean body scrubs, this resort has it all?right in the heart of the city. There are even private rooms for families or groups, and hotel rooms for out-of-town guests.

Hikawa Maru, nicknamed the "Queen of the Pacific" for her luxurious service and excellent food, was built in 1930 as a transpacific passenger liner, transporting passengers between Kobe and Seattle. When WWII broke out, she was requisitioned by the Japanese Imperial Navy and converted into a hospital ship. After the war, she was seized by the Unites States government and used in the Allied repatriation service. After a brief stint as a freighter to the East Coast of the United States, she once again served as a transpacific passenger ship until her retirement in 1960. She has been moored by Yamashita Park ever since, and although she was used as a floating youth hostel and later a restaurant, today she is simply a museum and monument to the luxury oceanliner era. Visitors can walk through her passages and see the guest room used by Charlie Chaplin, and admire the art deco style interior. The name Hikawa came from the Hikawa Shrine in Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, and the crest from this shrine can be seen on the ship's banisters.

The tallest of the "Three Towers of Yokohama," the tower of the Yokohama Customs House with its far-eastern influences and softly rounded design is reminiscent of the queen on a chessboard. Completed in 1934, it ended up a little taller than originally planned as the builders decided that the federal customs house should be taller than the existing prefectural government house. There is a small museum room that is open to the public.

The art deco building with the heavy, square tower is known as "The King" of the "Three Towers of Yokohama." Built in 1928 as a landmark for ships sailing into port, the tower is built in the teikan style, a combination of western infrastructure with a Japanese exterior design, which was a popular architectural style in the 1920s and 30s. This enduring symbol of Yokohama is beautiful in daylight, or illuminated at night.

At 106 meters, the Marine Tower in Yokohama is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. It was built in 1961, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the opening of Yokohama Port. Visitors may ascend the tower to a two-storey observation deck 100 meters above the ground, and take in a breathtaking view of the Park, the entire Minato Mirai 21 District, the Yokohama Bay Bridge, and weather permitting, beyond to Mount Fuji.

The very first Yamashita Park was a small western style park built by foreigners living in the area in 1870. After the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed much of the area, the city rebuilt the Park as a revitalization project. Rubble from the quake was used as landfill, and the urban seaside park was reopened in 1930. Today visitors can enjoy a relaxing walk among the flower gardens, and watch the ships as they come and go. There are several monuments to children's songs, a Water Guardian Statue that was presented to Yokohama by the City of San Diego, and an Indian Water Fountain presented by an association of East Indians living in Japan. The Park was also involved in the exposition YES'89, and this is evident on the east side of the park where there is an open area with 6 paths pointing out radially to the six continents of the world. The Park is also home to the Hikawa Maru, a luxury ocean liner that was retired in 1960.

The design for the oldest of the "Three Towers" was chosen out of many submitted by the public, and built in 1917 using public donations, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Yokohama Port. The roof and dome were damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and were not fully restored until the 100th anniversary of the Yokohama City Government in 1989. Today it is considered an Important Cultural Property, and is still used for public meetings and special events.

The temple in Yokohama's Chinatown is dedicated to Kuan Yu, one of the heroes in the 14th Century Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is revered as the god of war, and of business. The brightly colored temple is lit up at night.

The first and most extravagant gate to be built in Yokohama's Chinatown, the name literally means Friendship with Neighbors Gate.

As a visit to this museum will show, Kanagawa Prefecture has been an important part of the history of Japan. The exhibits are organized into 5 eras, beginning with the stone age and progressing through the first military government in Kamakura in 1192 to the opening of the port in 1859, and on to the modern era. The German-Renaissance style building is an Important Cultural Property, originally built in 1904 as the main branch of the Yokohama Shokin Bank.

The largest Chinatown in Japan and possibly the world, Yokohama's Chinatown began when the port was opened to foreign trade in 1859. People arrived from all over the world, but it was the Chinese who became indispensable, because they spoke English and were also able to communicate with the Japanese using written Chinese characters. Back then the area was known as "Nanking Town," and although it survived catastrophes like major earthquakes and wars, it did not really begin to expand until after WWII. In 1955, the Zenrin-mon (lit. friendly-neighbor-gate) was built on the Ishikawa-cho side, and the area was renamed "Chinatown." More gates were built in the 1970s, following the philosophy of Feng Shui. There are ten gates, or "Pairo," in all, including the Zenrin-mon. There is also a temple, the Kantei-byo, which enshrines the deity of commerce and is illuminated beautifully at night. Today there are more than 500 shops and restaurants in Yokohama's Chinatown, and the streets are filled with visitors from all over Japan and the world.

Built in 1989 in order to alleviate increasing traffic congestion in the Yokohama area, the Yokohama Bay Bridge is now a prominent feature of the Yokohama waterfront. It is a cable-stayed bridge with two levels, the top being the Metropolitan Expressway Wangan Line, and the bottom being Highway 357. It connects Daikoku Pier to Honmoku Pier, and on the Daikoku side, there is a glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway called the "Skywalk." The bridge, like everything else in the area, is lit up at night. Although there is no parking on the bridge except for emergencies, many people drove to the bridge and stopped midway to take in the breathtaking view when it first opened.