Now and Then 21

Yamashita Park: End 1920's - Today



"Yamashita Park and Kaigan–dori, or Water Street, was the main entranceway to Japan. What a joy it must have been to first set foot onto Japanese soil in a park. Even Yokohama oldtimers constantly feel drawn back to Yamashita Park, and if one spot has to be named the spiritual heart of Yokohama, this is it
(...)
The Park itself is a legacy of the great earthquake, designed as a dumping ground for the huge amount of rubble clogging the city. What a practical idea: build a grassy park to celebrate life on the desolate site of death and destruction!"

(John Carroll, 'Trail of Two Cities', ed. Kodansha, Tokyo, 1994, p. 40-41)

See also:
Now and Then 5
Now and Then 10