Yokohama interesting for a photographer?

Another question comes to mind. When i'm staying in Tokyo i want to see the great Daibutsu in Kamakura. Now i see i have to change trains at Yokohama.

I have Yokohama in my travel guides, and states that chinatown is great to visit. The skyline (i might do some night shots there), and there's a garden to check out. I wonder wether it's an interesting city that has it's own character to a photographer. Imagine i visit Kyoto/Osaka/Kawaguchiko and Tokyo on my trip.

I'd like to know if it's interesting, distinctive and worthy to reserve some time for on my way back to Tokyo or stay longer in Kamakura that day.

Yokohama has a very special, own character, in my opinion. As you pointed out, the evenings along the waterfront are very attractive. And Chinatown is colorful.

I am not sure why you would have to change trains in Yokohama in order to travel to Kamakura, though. There are direct trains from both the Tokyo Station side (Yokosuka Line) and the Shinjuku Station side (Shonan Shinjuku Line) of the Yamanote Line circle.

The Minato-Mirai area has its own unique character, as does the rest of the waterfront down to Motomachi.

Elsewhere in Yokohama, the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (http://whereintokyo.com/venues/25231.html ) is a lot of fun to photograph.

I am not sure why you would have to change trains in Yokohama in order to travel to Kamakura, though. There are direct trains from both the Tokyo Station side (Yokosuka Line) and the Shinjuku Station side (Shonan Shinjuku Line) of the Yamanote Line circle

Check google maps for Hamamastucho Station to Kamakura station on 09/07/2012 @ 9:39.

I will consider the ramen museum. That was also on the recommended list about Yokohama on this website.

Marcus,

I'm not sure how much photography you do or what sort of photography you're interested in, but probably needless to say, touristical spots are always great for taking touristical photos and non-touristical spots will always provide you the pleasure of seeking the most trivial photographs dependin on how the photographer views the place.

I'm sure you've looked into Visitor's Guides, but here is the official one, just to give you a hint.
http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/travel/

Marcus,

I'm not sure how much photography you do or what sort of photography you're interested in, but probably needless to say, touristical spots are always great for taking touristical photos and non-touristical spots will always provide you the pleasure of seeking the most trivial photographs dependin on how the photographer views the place.

I'm sure you've looked into Visitor's Guides, but here is the official one, just to give you a hint.
http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/travel/

Hi,

I know that typical tourist locations will bring typical tourist photo's most of the time. However, i was looking for some distinctive scenes that i might not see in the other cities i visit. A photograph of some detail of a temple, garden, etc. could be taken anywhere, and is not typical to a city. A skyline is, geishas in gion(kyoto) are, Yoyogi in tokyo are, the buddha statue in kamakura is, if you know what i mean.

See my flickr website for some photography i do: www.flickr.com/therealthings

And here's what i did in NYC in 2010:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=34231367

Marcus

If you have time, I suggest the Yokohama Bay Bridge. There is a walkway under the roadway. It goes out to the center of the bridge and has great views of the port, the city and maybe Mt. Fuji if it's clear weather. Also you can see fisherman getting onto and off of boats to some structures in the water below you.
There is a bus from Yokohama station to the bridge.
Here are a few spots from the bridge.
http://dickh.zenfolio.com/p489690312

Hi Dick,

Thanks for your information, looks very interesting. Nice photo's you shot there.

Marcus

You can get some great shots from Osambashi main pier, looking towards Minato Mirai at night.
The main pier itself is interesting, in that it's styled like an undulating ship's deck, with areas of grass!!!!

Hi again, Marcus.

Well, here are a couple of photographers I like who take exciting photos of Yokohama.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sasaking/sets/72157614995897377/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/m.matida

You still do have to know your way in order to travel "off the beaten path" so to speak.

A suggestion, and what I personally do whenever I travel to unfamiliar places, is to hop on local transportation such as commuter trains and buses. Fortunately, most transportion in Yokohama (as well as Tokyo) runs over the ground. So you can look outside the windows to see how interesting the area may be to you. Then just get off and walk around.

As for off-beaten places unique to Yokohama, you can seek late Edo history around the old Kanagawa-juku which is near JR Higashi-kanagawa Station, or early Meiji history which is mainly near JR Kannai Station.

You can also ride the Akai Kutsu Bus which will take you to the narrower spots within the touristical area.
http://www.yokohama-bus.jp/akaikutsu/en/index.html

Personally, though, as a local, I really love riding the Keikyu Line which runs through middle class areas all the way fom Asakusa area through Hanede Airport on to the seas of Miura. And any place along the river of Oo-oka-gawa is amusing in a low-key way.

Hope you have fun.

Well, here are a couple of photographers I like who take exciting photos of Yokohama.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/m.matida

I watched his wall photo's and liked the industrial "urban" shots and the russo-japanese war ship Mikasa with the Admiral Togo statue. I was hoping to find more of these marine 'memorial' places, but it seems that Japan is trying hard to forget those periods (especially wwII). Instead of war museums, they call it peace museums, and most of the military vessels/vehicles/airplanes are no more.


Fortunately, most transportion in Yokohama (as well as Tokyo) runs over the ground. So you can look outside the windows to see how interesting the area may be to you. Then just get off and walk around.

That's good to know. It makes it alot easier to spot things.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

Marcus

Marcus,

First of all, being carried away by your interest in Yokohama, I realized I forgot to mention that you might enjoy the Enoden train in Kamakura. Their poor website tells very little of its charm, but as you ride the short track, you will notice the details and uniqueness of the sights it offers, and you can queue at their terminal stations to ride your next next train in order to get better seats near the windows. You might want to look at their video from the left lower icon to get a slightly better idea.
http://www.enoden.co.jp/flangu/e1top.htm

Secondly, I don't really think that peace memorials are as same as "forgetting." But you have to remember that most war vessels were lost in war (Japan was defeated badly, remember? You can see stuff sunk if you go to Saipan.)

Mikasa is still displayed in Yokosuka City which was once a Japanese Navy city and now famous for having the U.S. military base.
http://www.kinenkan-mikasa.or.jp/

A lot of Mr. Machida's recent photos are from Yokosuka as well.

Needless to say, there are also maritime displays in the Port of Yokohama, not so much of WW2 but of sail ships and cruisers.
http://www.nippon-maru.or.jp/index.php
http://www.nyk.com/rekishi/e/index.htm

JMSDF defence vessels are also often displayed at the MM21 area, but you may have missed this year's exhibition.
http://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/formal/english/index.html

There are also tourist information centers here and there, and in Yokohama the one right in front of Sakuragicho Station is especially foreign-tourist-friendly.

http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/travel/things_to_do/sightseein...

By the way, the walkway under Bay Bridge is no longer in operation. You can enjoy similar night views from Osanbashi port near Yamashita Park or World Porter's mall in MM21.

Note that you get better sunsets on hot days of summer and better views of Mt. Fuji on cold days of winter. You can hardly see Fuji from Kanto Region in summer, although you can still enjoy the sillouette of Fuji at sunset.

If you have time, I suggest the Yokohama Bay Bridge. There is a walkway under the roadway. It goes out to the center of the bridge and has great views of the port, the city and maybe Mt. Fuji if it's clear weather. Also you can see fisherman getting onto and off of boats to some structures in the water below you.
There is a bus from Yokohama station to the bridge.

The Skywalk has been closed since 2010, unfortunately. I wanted to point this out for anyone who finds the post and then tries to go.