Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [157]
Anpanman Children’s Museum
This kids’ mall (227-8855; 4-3-1 Minato Mirai; mall/museum free/¥1000; museum 10am-5pm, mall 10am-8pm Apr-Sep & 10am-6pm Oct-Mar; ; Takashimachō) is a celebration of Anpanman, the anime character made of baked-bean jam and beloved by all Japanese under (and over) 12. There’s an Anpanman hair salon, museum and, natch, a bakery.
Mitsubishi Minato Mirai Industrial Museum
This is one of Japan’s better science and technology museums (224-9031; 3-3-1 Minato Mirai; adult/child/junior & high school student ¥300/100/200; 10am-5.30pm Tue-Sun; Minato Mirai), with robots, a wildly enjoyable helicopter simulator and good hands-on exhibits. See also Yokohama Heli Cruising (right).
Yokohama Maritime Museum
On the harbour in front of Landmark Tower, this fan-shaped museum (221-0280; 2-1-1 Minato Mirai; museum & ship adult/child ¥600/300; 10am-6.30pm Tue-Sun Jul & Aug, to 5pm Tue-Sun Sep-Jun; Minato Mirai) is largely dedicated to the Nippon Maru sailing ship docked adjacent. The four-masted barque (built in 1930) retains many original fittings, including the captain’s and officers’ rooms and the engine room.
Cosmo World
Next to the Maritime Museum, this amusement park (641-6591; 2-8-1 Shinkō; rides ¥300-700; 11am-9pm Mon-Fri, to 10pm Sat & Sun 21 Mar-30 Nov, 11am-8pm Mon-Fri, to 9pm Sat & Sun 1 Dec-20 Mar; Minato Mirai) features one of the world’s tallest – at 112.5m – Ferris wheels, Cosmo Clock 21 (admission ¥700).
Manyō Club
This new hot-spring facility (663-4126; 2-7-1 Shinkō; adult/child ¥2720/1470; 10am-9am) trucks in water daily from Atami and gives you five storeys’ worth of ways to enjoy them: pool to pool, sauna to sauna in your custom yukata. Spa treatments are available (extra charge), and ‘relax rooms’ have hundreds of TVs in front of hundreds of comfy chairs. Check-in is on the 7th floor. There are shuttle buses to Shin-Yokohama Station from here.
Akarenga Sōkō
Akarenga Sōkō refers to red-brick warehouses (211-1515; 1-1-2 Shinkō; admission free; 11am-8pm, some restaurants later), and these century-old structures have been refurbished into chichi speciality shops, restaurants, cafes and event spaces. Worth a look if you’re in the area.
Yokohama Heli Cruising
For a less-simulated airborne adventure, take a helicopter tour of Yokohama. Yokohama Heli Cruising (380-5555; 1-7 Minato Mirai; flight per 5/10min from ¥4000/10,500; Fri-Sun & holidays) offers short but exhilarating flights from its heliport in Rinko Park, a seven-minute walk northeast of Queen’s Sq. Flights depart around sunset.
YAMASHITA-KŌEN AREA
Moored alongside this seaside park (Motomachi-Chūkagai) you’ll find the Hikawa Maru (641-4362; Yamashita-kōen; adult/child & senior ¥200/100; 10am-4.30pm Tue-Sun), a retired 1930 passenger liner (one of the staterooms was used by Charlie Chaplin) that was renovated and reopened in 2008.
Across the street, the Silk Museum (641-0841; 1 Yamashita-kōen-dōri; adult/child/student/senior ¥500/100/200/300; 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun) pays tribute to Yokohama’s history as a silk trading port, with all aspects of silk production and some lovely kimono and obi (sashes). The nearby Yokohama Archives of History (201-2100; 3 Nihon Ō-dōri; adult/child ¥200/100; 9.30am-5pm Tue-Sun; Nihon-ō-dōri) chronicles the city (with displays in English) from the opening of Japan to the mid-20th century; it’s inside the former British consulate. Marine Tower (664-1100; adult ¥750, child ¥200-500; 10am-10pm; Motomachi-Chūkagai) is one of the world’s tallest inland lighthouses (106m).
MOTOMACHI & YAMATE
South of Yamashita-kōen, the areas of Motomachi and Yamate (Motomachi-Chūkagai, Ishikawa-chō) combines the gentle intimacy of Motomachi’s shopping street with early-20th-century Western-style architecture and fantastic views from the brick sidewalks of Yamate-hon-dōri (‘Bluff St’). Private homes and churches here are still in use. Attractions include Harbour View Park and the Foreigners’ Cemetery, final resting place of 4000 foreign residents and visitors – the headstones carry some fascinating inscriptions. A stroll from