Visit gallery
The iconic Yokohama skyline with the dominant Yokohama Landmark Tower and the Grand InterContinental Hotel buildings are very impressive from the Osanbashi Pier – the International Passenger Terminal, which is located across the harbor from the Yamashita-koen park (map). The boardwalk on the pier provides an unusual foreground. Mt. Fuji was unfortunately not visible due to high humidity (we visited the place in August). Otherwise, the view must be truly spectacular.
At night, the sidewalk along the amusement park with the rollercoaster rides and the Ferris wheel was lined with photographers, who were trying to capture the colorful light trails of the rides with long exposures.
From the observation floor on top of the Landmark Tower, the millions of lights of the city below offered many attractive possibilities for photography. One needed to be careful to avoid reflections in the glass and occasional bumps from the many tourists, who were crowded into the observation floor.
An interesting incident occurred during our visit to Yokohama that once again demonstrated the power of the all-penetrating technology. Our friend lost the parking receipt from the parkade. Since the receipt contained a time stamp, he was quite concerned that we would have to pay the maximum charge. However, as we were exiting the parkade, it turned out that the license plate of the car was recorded on video when we first entered, and that video could be used to determine the time of our entry. As much as we were relieved at that time, one has to wonder about the implications on privacy of the widespread use of video surveillance on Japanese highways and elsewhere in the cities.