China Town, Yokohama

This Sunday we took a day trip to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan, just one hour south of Tokyo. We wanted to catch the last glimpses of the Chinese New Year celebration that took place last weekend. China Town in Yokohama was beautifully decorated with red lanterns. Our new friend Massa showed us around the area, made reservations ahead of time so that we could enjoy a traditional Chinese new year’s menu for dinner, and also planned for us to see an acrobatic performance during the afternoon.

Yokohama China Town is the largest China town not only of Japan, but all of Asia. It has a history of over 150 years, and became the home of many Chinese in the mid 19th-century, at the end of Japan’s isolation period when five great ports were opened for international visitors. Yokohama is largely influenced not only by the Chinese, but also by the French, Dutch, American and English. Massa also showed us many foreign buildings in the near area with both European and American architecture. A city influenced by many cultures, right in the hear of Tokyo bay.