Yokohama Walks 2011: Nissan Gallery and Global Headquarters

On Sept. 23, 2011, I walked from Yokohama station to the Motomachi area of Yokohama because I wanted to see what kinds of interesting things I could bump into. Previously, whenever I went to Yokohama, I had always gotten off at Sakuragicho station and had no impression of how the rest of the waterfront area looked like.

My walking route. Once again thanks to Google Maps on my iPhone I did not get lost. I actually walked straight back to Yokohama station from the Motomachi area at the end of the day because I didn't feel like paying the rip-off fare on the Minato-Mirai line. (I did not show the return walking route on this map)


View Yokohama in a larger map



Because I woke up late, I arrived at Yokohama station at 1 pm. Using the "Taberog 食べログ" app on my iPhone I found this ramen shop that was "highly rated" near Yokohama station. Actually it took me a while to find it.





The taste was quite good and the price was right!

Price: 680 yen

From: 鶴一家 (Tsuru Ikka) near Yokohama Station

After eating the ramen I started out from Yokohama station. I actually found out that most of the shops and commercial activity in Yokohama are centred around this station and not in the Sakuragicho area. That would explain why the area between Yokohama station and the Motomachi/Chinatown area feels so run down...



The station is surrounded by expressways.







Following the connecting overhead pedestrian bridges lead me to Nissan's headquarters and gallery.



The headquarters of Nissan and Fuji Xerox's labs.



Nissan Gallery.









The evolution of the Nissan logo.







Lots of scaled models.



Short history of Nissan.





There is a stylish cafe inside the gallery.



The first GT-R.









The latest GT-R.



The rest of the gallery.



Outside terrace.







Looking across the canal to the SOGO department store in the direction of Yokohama station.



The Nissan Leaf electric car.



Walking to the Minato Mirai area.



Fake church (for the purposes of fake church weddings?)





The Minato Mirai area.



The interesting (weird) architecture of the Yokohama Art Gallery.



The Landmark Tower (the tallest building in Japan, soon to be eclipsed by the Tokyo Sky Tree)



The Yokohama ferris wheel.



After leaving the new developments in the Minato Mirai area, I walked through some old sections of the city between Sakuragicho and the Motomachi/Chinatown area. This area was quite seedy even during the daytime.



First adult movie theatre I have seen in Japan. Are they even allowed to show the posters like that?



As I reached the Motomachi/Chinatown area, it was getting dark and I didn't take any pictures because I thought I had enough pictures already from previous visits.

Next I walked up the hilly area to the old foreign settlements area where I found this park with a nice view of the harbour and the Yokohama Bay Bridge.