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Yokohama gained importance with the opening of the seaport in the middle of the 19th century. Due to its convenient location on the bay and its proximity to the capital, Yokohama quickly became an important transshipment point in international maritime transport, and of course it still is today.
Many international industrial and commercial companies settled in the city, whose buildings still shape the cityscape today.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Yokohama gained the status of a major city.
After the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, the city was severely destroyed. Immediately after reconstruction, Yokohama reached the million mark in 1942.
Today, Yokohama is one of the most important industrial and commercial cities in Japan. It is the administrative center of Kanagawa Prefecture.
With over 3.7 million inhabitants, Yokohama, located south of Tōkyō, not only contributes to the incredibly large size of the metropolitan area of the Japanese capital and the Kantō region, it is also Kanagawa’s prefectural seat and Japan’s second largest city. Due to its convenient location on the Bay of Tōkyō, the port of Yokohama was and still is an extremely important transshipment point for trade and (inter)national shipping, as well as a popular day trip destination from Tōkyō: a train trip with one of the numerous direct connections takes about 30 minutes.
In the past, however, before Japan started trading with other countries after the forced opening by the Americans at the end of the 1850s, Yokohama was a small fishing village whose origins date back to the 12th century. With the establishment of the port of Yokohama and due to its convenient location on the bay, the city grew into an important place of commercial trade (especially for the import and export of silk and tea), where a great many foreign merchants and diplomats settled. The influence of these people is reflected to this day in various quarters of the city: Yokohama was one of the few gates of Japan to the world.
Where in Japan is Yokohama?
Why is Yokohama famous?
Is Tokyo and Yokohama same?
Is Yokohama a suburb of Tokyo?
