Yamashita Park stretches along the harbour south of Chinatown and is the most popular waterfront promenade in the city. Laid out in 1930 on landfill created from rubble after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the park has a relaxed, slightly nostalgic character — rose gardens, a fountain, and benches looking out over the bay. The retired ocean liner Hikawa Maru is moored alongside and can be visited: she served the Yokohama–Seattle route from 1930 to 1960 and is now a museum ship in excellent condition.
The Marine Tower, a distinctive lighthouse and observation deck just behind the park, gives panoramic views of the bay, the Yokohama Bay Bridge, and on clear days Mount Fuji. The walk from Yamashita Park west along the waterfront to the Red Brick Warehouse and Minato Mirai takes about 30 minutes and passes through the best of Yokohama's harbour scenery.
The area is particularly lovely at dusk, when the lights of the modern skyline reflect on the water and the temperature drops enough to make walking comfortable. Harbour cruise boats depart from the pier at the eastern end of the park.