Yokohama is Japan's second city - 3.8 million people on Tokyo Bay, 25 minutes from Shinjuku, and completely different in character from the capital. The Minato Mirai waterfront (the regenerated harbour district with the Landmark Tower and the Cosmo World Ferris wheel), Yamashita Park along the bay, and the largest Chinatown in Japan are all flat and within 20 minutes walk of each other. Exit via Haneda Airport, 25 minutes by Keikyu Line.
Getting There
Shonan-Shinjuku Line (JR) from Shinjuku to Yokohama: 25-30 minutes direct. Keikyu Line from Shimbashi (near the marathon finish at Odaiba) to Yokohama: approximately 30 minutes. On race day, the Keikyu option from Shimbashi makes the transition from marathon finish to Yokohama straightforward.
IC card (Suica or Pasmo): load up before the race and tap on/off everywhere in the Tokyo/Yokohama area.
Minato Mirai
Minato Mirai 21 (the future harbour district, actually from the 1980s-2000s) is the waterfront regeneration zone: the Landmark Tower (296 metres, the highest building in Yokohama, with an observation deck on the 69th floor), the Yokohama Cosmo World amusement park with the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel, and the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse (Aka Renga, two Victorian brick warehouses converted to shops and event space).
The waterfront promenade from Minato Mirai to Yamashita Park is flat, 2 km, and has the bay views that Yokohama's position provides. Post-marathon: this is the correct decompression walk.
Landmark Tower Observatory (entry approximately ¥1,000/€6): the fastest elevators in Japan at the time of installation (750 metres per minute). The view from 273 metres encompasses Tokyo Bay, Mt. Fuji (on clear days in March - the air is clearest before the summer haze), and the Tokyo skyline north. March mornings have the best visibility.
Yamashita Park
Yamashita Koen (free): the flat waterfront park on the bay east of Minato Mirai. The Hikawa Maru (the 1930 passenger liner that crossed the Pacific 254 times between 1930 and 1960) is moored at the park as a museum (entry approximately ¥300/€2). The park's rose garden is not in bloom in March, but the bay view and the container ship traffic through the channel are.
The Hikawa Maru interior is intact: first-class dining room, ballrooms, patient hospital rooms. Charlie Chaplin and the Emperor of Japan were both passengers.
Chinatown
Yokohama Chukagai (Chinatown): the largest Chinatown in Japan, established in the 1860s when Yokohama was a treaty port open to foreign trade. Approximately 600 restaurants and shops in 0.2 square kilometres. The Kanteibyo Temple (dedicated to Guan Yu, the god of business and brotherhood) is the community anchor at the centre of the district.
Post-marathon eating: the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) at Heichinrou, the dim sum at Manchinro, or the roast pork at any of the window-display restaurants. The Chinatown restaurants open from 11:00 and are at their best at 12:00-13:00.
Where to Stay
Hotel New Grand on Yamashita Park (opened 1927): the historic bay hotel where MacArthur stayed during the occupation. Maintained as a classic. Yokohama Royal Park Hotel in the Landmark Tower (floors 52-67): the tower hotel experience with the bay views. Navios Yokohama on the harbour, adjacent to the Red Brick Warehouse: mid-range with harbour view rooms.
Getting to Haneda Airport
Keikyu Line from Yokohama (Yokohama station) to Keikyu Kamata, then Keikyu Airport Line to Haneda Airport Terminal 1/2: approximately 25 minutes. One of the fastest airport connections in the Tokyo area. The Keikyu Line also connects directly from Shimbashi (for anyone finishing the race and heading straight to the airport).
Practical Notes
- Yokohama is 28 km south of central Tokyo.
- March in Yokohama: 6-13°C. The bay wind can feel cold in the morning.
- The IC card (Suica/Pasmo) works throughout Yokohama.
- The Yokohama Museum of Art in Minato Mirai (entry approximately ¥500/€3) has a good collection of modern Western and Japanese art - flat, climate controlled, appropriate for post-marathon sitting.