Yokohama Minato Mirai

Minato Mirai - harbour of the future - was planned in the 1980s on the site of Mitsubishi's shipyards and the rail freight yards behind them, and it is one of the more successful large redevelopments in Japan because it kept things rather than clearing them: the 1896 stone dry dock survives as a sunken plaza in front of the Landmark Tower, the 1911 red brick customs warehouses were restored as shops and a hall, and the sail training ship Nippon Maru of 1930 is moored in another preserved dock. Cosmo Clock 21, the Ferris wheel, is 112.5 metres and displays the time in its hub. The Landmark Tower at 296 metres has an observation floor on the 69th reached by one of the fastest lifts in the world. The waterfront promenade links all of it, and the view back across the water at night is the standard image of the city.

What you actually see

• A preserved dry dock - the 1896 stone dock kept as a sunken plaza.
• The red brick warehouses - 1911 customs buildings restored as shops and a hall.
• Cosmo Clock 21 - a 112.5-metre Ferris wheel that displays the time.
• The Landmark Tower - 296 metres, with an observation floor on the 69th.

When to go

All year; after dark for the waterfront view. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a shopping and leisure district first - the historic fragments are set among malls. Weekend crowds are heavy. Each attraction charges separately and the total adds up. Wind off the bay in winter is cold on the promenade.

Nearby

Yokohama Chinatown is south-east; Sankeien is further south.