, often known as simply Minato Mirai and abbreviated as MM, is the central business district of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Initially developed in the 1980s, Minato Mirai 21 was designed as a large master-planned development and new urban center planned to connect Yokohama's traditionally important areas and commercial centers of

Kannai is a district in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan, bounded by the Ōoka River, JR Negishi Line, Nakamura River, and Yokohama waterfront. "Kannai" is not an official name of the area, but the common term of reference has been in use for over a century ...

and the

Yokohama Station is a major interchange railway station in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It is the busiest station in Kanagawa Prefecture and the fifth-busiest in the world as of 2013, serving 760 million passengers a year. Lines Yokohama Station is served by the ...

area.

Today, Minato Mirai is a major center for business, shopping, and tourism, attracting visitors and businesspersons throughout the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

. The business district is host to several major hotels, office towers including the Yokohama Landmark Tower, the

Pacifico Yokohama Pacifico Yokohama (パシフィコ横浜, ''Pashifiko Yokohama''), officially known as , is a convention and exhibition center in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The center located in the western tip of waterfront Minato Mirai 21 district ...

convention center, art museums, and numerous cafés and shops in shopping centers and along its central pedestrian mall. The area continues to be developed as originally envisioned in the 1980s.

Overview

Minato Mirai 21 was originally proposed as one of Yokohama's six major development plans by the mayor of Yokohama,

Ichio Asukata was a Japanese politician who served as chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, and as mayor of Yokohama from 1963 to 1978. Early life and education Asukata was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa. He was born in the house of a physician who was a memb ...

, in 1965. After several assessments and review sessions, actual construction started in 1983. The area where it is located was once known as

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi ...

Yokohama shipyard and the

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

classification yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...

, Takashima wharf and Shinko wharf of

Port of Yokohama The is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the north ...

. Conducted as an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

and reclaimed land project, the port and industrial areas once divided the two city centers of Kannai and the Yokohama Station area. With the development of Minato Mirai 21, the two city centers were linked and now form part of the business and central 'core' of Yokohama. The name "Minato Mirai 21" was selected by a public opinion poll. Translated literally as "Port Future 21", it means "Port of the Future in the 21st century". The area is now flourishing as one of the newest urban business districts in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area, symbolized by Landmark Tower, Japan's third tallest skyscraper, the three Queens Square Towers, which contain a large shopping mall, the

convention center, the

Intercontinental Hotel Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG ...

, the

Cosmo Clock 21 Cosmo Clock 21 is a 112.5 metre tall ferris wheel at the Cosmo World amusement park in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama, Japan. When it first opened, it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel, until the completion of the Igosu 108 in Sh ...

Ferris wheel, and more. Next to Landmark Tower is the

Yokohama Museum of Art , founded in 1989, is located in the futuristic Minato Mirai 21 district of the Japanese city Yokohama, next to the Yokohama Landmark Tower. The collections The museum has works by many influential and well-known modern artists including Consta ...

. The area is an important business center, with

Nissan Motors , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bran ...

JGC Corporation JGC Holdings Corporation, formerly , and before that , is a global engineering company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. The company was founded on 25 October 1928. In 1976, it changed its original name from Japan Gasoline Co. to JGC Corp. In ...

, Chiyoda Corporation and other major corporations locating their headquarters and branches in the Minato Mirai area. Today, about 79,000 people work in Minato Mirai 21. Minato Mirai 21 also attracts numerous tourists along with the nearby Yokohama Chinatown. In 2010, it received approximately 58 million visitors. Due to the beautiful view, bay proximity, cruise ships docked at Ōsanbashi Pier, skyscrapers, and the graceful Yokohama Bay Bridge, Minato Mirai 21 has become a symbol of Yokohama and its skyline, and is frequently featured in images of the city.

Attractions

Major attractions in the area include: * Yokohama Landmark Tower - the second-tallest building and fourth-tallest structure in Japan, with sweeping views of Tokyo and Mount Fuji * Cosmo World amusement park — includes the tall

, formerly the

world's tallest Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

* Kishamichi Promenade - a pedestrian walkway that follows the original harbor railroad tracks, linking Sakuragichō Station with Yokohama World Porters and the Cosmo Clock, and offering expansive views of the Minato Mirai skyline * Minato Mirai Hall - concert hall home to the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra *

* Nippon Maru - a four masted sailing ship, permanently docked on the harbor at Minato Mirai as a museum *

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse The is a historical building that is used as a complex that includes a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues. The complex, officially known as the , was originally used as customs buildings, and has two sections: Warehouse No.1 and No.2. ...

* Queen's Square Yokohama () * YOKOHAMA AIR CABIN

Major hotels

Major hotels in the area with over 300 guestrooms include: * Yokohama Bay Grand

InterContinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group (I ...

Hotel * Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu * Yokohama Royal Park Hotel * Yokohama Sakuragicho Washington Hotel * Yokohama Bay

Sheraton Hotel Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Cen ...

and towers

Railway stations

* Minatomirai Station * Sakuragichō Station * Shin-Takashima Station

Education

The operates public elementary and junior high schools. Minato Mirai 1-6

chome The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. When written in Japanese characters, addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. When written in Latin characters, ad ...

are zoned to Minatomiraihoncho Elementary School ( 横浜市立みなとみらい本町小学校), which feeds into Yokohama Yoshida Junior High School ( 横浜市立横浜吉田中学校).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Tokyo Bay Neighborhoods of Yokohama Planned cities in Japan Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Japan Tourist attractions in Yokohama