A thatched-roof covered bridge crosses a rock-lined pond among pine and maple trees at Sankeien Garden, its reflection visible in the still water.
Photo: Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons / CC0

Yokohama tends to be remembered for its harbor and its crowds, yet the city keeps its calmest corners a short way south of the waterfront. A collector's garden, a hillside of western houses, and a park laid over a vanished racetrack make up a day that moves at walking pace.

A garden built from rescued buildings

Sankei-en is the garden that Hara Sankei, remembered as a benefactor of Yokohama, first shared with the public in the Honmoku Sannotani district. The grounds are a designated place of scenic beauty, and among the historic buildings gathered here from around the country, a number hold the rank of important cultural property. Seasonal plantings keep the scenery shifting through the year, so no two visits read quite the same.

  • The three-storied pagoda of the former Tomyoji temple is the oldest building in the garden.
  • Rinshunkaku is thought to have been a villa of the Kishu Tokugawa family.
  • Kakushokaku served as a cultural salon where painters of the day gathered.
  • The former Yanohara family residence is the only building whose interior can be viewed at any time.
  • The Sankei Memorial changes its exhibitions every month and a half or so.

What it costs and when it opens

  • Admission for adults, meaning high school age and above, is 900 yen.
  • Admission for children, meaning elementary and junior high school students, is 200 yen.
  • Yokohama residents aged 65 and over pay 700 yen.
  • Sankei-en is open from 9:00 to 17:00.
  • The last admission is at 16:30.

Riding toward the Bluff

  • A one-way ticket on the Minatomirai Line from Yokohama Station to Motomachi-Chukagai Station is 230 yen.
  • With an IC card, the same ride on the Minatomirai Line from Yokohama Station to Motomachi-Chukagai Station is 224 yen.
A fountain and clipped hedges lead across a lawn plaza toward a two-storey brick building with a fan-shaped window, in the Yamate district of Yokohama.
© Fumihiko Ueno / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0

Western houses on the Yamate hillside

Up on the Bluff, the pleasure is unhurried: strolling from one western house to the next is the classic way to take in Yamate.

  • The Diplomat's House was designed by J.M. Gardiner, and its rooms re-create the furnishings of its era.
  • A cafe now operates inside the Ehrisman residence.
  • Yamate Jubankan stands along the same stroll.

The racetrack that became a lawn

The weathered, ivy-covered tower of the former Negishi Racetrack grandstand, its round windows and overgrown facade rising above a fence at Negishi Forest Park.
© FoxyStranger Kawasaki / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Negishi Forest Park spreads over the site of the former Negishi racetrack, and its heart is a broad lawn. It has a reputation as a place where the night view toward Minato Mirai can be enjoyed quietly, with little of the crowding found at the famous lookouts. Down the hill, Honmoku carries the memory of the postwar years, when the district was requisitioned and locals spoke of the America beyond the fence.

If you would rather be guided

A guided walk can stitch these neighborhoods together without any timetable work on your part. You can browse guided tours of Yokohama and pick one that leaves the late afternoon free for the garden.

None of these places asks you to hurry. Come with a loose plan, let the garden set the tempo, and keep the lawn at Negishi for the hour when the light goes soft.