Yokohama, Japan

In 2004, I went to Yokohama for the day. It was the first time I had visited there. I stayed at the Pan Pacific Yokohama hotel. The hotel is located at the relatively new Minato Mirai development which includes a new train station and the tallest office building in Japan, the Landmark Tower. One mistake I made was traveling to Yokohama from Tokyo during evening rush hour. Everything you may have heard about passengers being packed like sardines on the trains and subways during rush hour in Japan is true.

The Minato Mirai area is really amazing. It surrounds the inner harbor of Yokohama. Here is a picture of me in front of a historic ship in the inner harbor right next to the Landmark Tower.









Here is a picture I took of the Landmark Tower. The tower has an observation deck but I did not have time to visit it.






Above the train station in the new Minato Mirai development is a shopping center which includes many good restaurants, coffee shops and other shops. It also links directly with the Pan Pacific Hotel. The hotel was amazing and the service was great. I felt bad when the petite female hotel employee carried our heavy bags to the room. I wanted to give her a tip but of course tipping is not done in Japan.

Here are some links for Minato Mirai and Yokohama.

http://www.minatomirai21.com/english/index.html
http://www.city.yokohama.jp/en/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2156.html
http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/tourism/spot/spot1050.html