Yokohama's highest observation deck on the 69th floor, reached by one of Japan's fastest elevators, with 360-degree views to Tokyo and Mount Fuji.
Rising 296 metres above the Minato Mirai 21 waterfront, the Yokohama Landmark Tower was for many years Japan's tallest building, and its 69th-floor Sky Garden observation deck remains one of the most rewarding city viewpoints in the Kanto region. A dedicated elevator lifts visitors from the second floor to the top in about 40 seconds at a speed of 750 metres per minute, an experience that was once listed among the fastest passenger elevators in the world; your ears pop, the display ticks upward, and the doors open onto a wraparound gallery of floor-to-ceiling glass.
The reward is a genuine 360-degree panorama. On a clear day the view stretches north across the whole of Yokohama to the Tokyo skyline and the distant Boso and Miura peninsulas, while to the west the snow-capped cone of Mount Fuji floats above the hills. Directly below, the geometry of Minato Mirai unfolds like a model: the looping red-and-white Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel, the sail-shaped InterContinental hotel, the docked training ship Nippon Maru, and the container cranes of the working port beyond.
The tower opened in 1993 as the centrepiece of the Minato Mirai redevelopment, transforming former shipyard and railway land into Yokohama's modern heart. Its lower floors house the Landmark Plaza shopping mall and the historic Yokohama Dockyard No. 1 dry dock, preserved as an open-air event space, while floors 49 to 70 are occupied by the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, whose guests enjoy some of the highest hotel rooms in the country.
Inside the Sky Garden there is a quiet cafe, a small gift shop, and clearly labelled windows pointing out landmarks in every direction. Coin-operated telescopes let you pick out ships entering the bay or planes lining up over Haneda. The deck is at its most magical in the last hour of daylight, when the sunset colours the harbour and the city lights switch on one district at a time; photographers should bring a lens cloth and shoot flush against the glass to avoid reflections.
Getting there is effortless. From Sakuragicho Station a covered elevated skyway carries you directly to the tower, and from Minatomirai Station the underground Queen's Square passages connect without going outdoors, making it an ideal rainy-day or first-evening stop. The whole visit takes about an hour, longer if you pause for coffee. Combine it with the surrounding attractions, all within a flat ten-minute walk: the Cup Noodles Museum, the Red Brick Warehouse, Cosmo World amusement park, and the waterfront promenade to Yamashita Park. For anyone trying to grasp the scale and energy of modern Yokohama in a single sweep, the Sky Garden is the place to start.
A local's tip
Arrive about 45 minutes before sunset so you can watch the harbour turn from gold to a carpet of lights without changing your spot; the quietest corner is the north-east glass by the cafe.
Best time to visit
Late afternoon into blue hour for city lights
Getting there
From Sakuragicho Station take the elevated moving-walkway skyway toward Minato Mirai; the tower entrance and elevator lobby are on the 2nd floor. From Minatomirai Station it is a covered 5-minute walk through Queen's Square.
Good to know
- Cafe
- Wi-Fi
- Gift Shop
- Restrooms
- Wheelchair Access
Plan the whole trip offline
Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden is one of many places in the Real Japan app — with turn-by-turn directions, nearby spots and full offline maps you can use with no signal.
