The flash of the red lighthouse can reach the area beyond the Yokohama Bay Bridge.
6:00 JST, October 15, 2024
YOKOHAMA – For more than a century, a lighthouse at the tip of a breakwater has provided safety as a beacon for incoming and outgoing ships to and from the port of Yokohama, which has a long history as a gateway to the seas of Japan.
The Yokohama Kita Suitei Lighthouse stands out against the city skyline.
The Yokohama Kita Suitei Lighthouse can be seen in the distance from Yamashita Park and the Osanbashi Terminal.
The lighthouse is commonly known as Akatodai, or red lighthouse, because of its bright red color. It has a beautiful shape with a wide base that gradually narrows as the structure rises.
On May 16, 1896, it was illuminated, becoming the country’s first lighthouse to be built on a breakwater. Many lighthouses were built in Tokyo Bay around the same time, but most collapsed during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The Red Lighthouse remained intact and is the oldest surviving one in the Bay.
The steel lighthouse is sturdier than the stone one, said Masaya Nakazato, chief of the traffic department at the Yokohama Coast Guard office. The division oversees the maintenance of the lighthouse. “Even after the 1923 earthquake, the light stayed on for about two weeks until the gas ran out,” Nakazato said.
Officials from the Yokohama Coast Guard Office inspect the Yokohama Kita Suitei Lighthouse in Yokohama on July 11.
The base of the red lighthouse has been recreated with concrete, but the structure itself remains the same as when it was built. The 15-meter-high, four-story structure looks small and cute from a distance, but is surprisingly large up close.
I was allowed to view the lighthouse with permission from the relevant authorities. Equipment on the first through third floors includes a wireless device that monitors the light and is regularly checked by the Coast Guard office for any problems, such as a lack of charge.
From the fourth floor balcony you can see the city of Yokohama.
The white lighthouse now serves as a tourist spot.
The Yokohama Higashi Suitei Lighthouse, also known as Shirotodai (White Lighthouse), was also visible in the past. Originally located about 800 feet away, Shirotodai moved after service ended in 1963. It now stands at the pier of the Nippon Yusen KK’s NYK Hikawamaru, a retired ship, in the harbour.
The red lighthouse is equipped with a lighting sensor that allows an LED lamp to send light in two-second intervals over a distance of approximately 7.4 kilometers when it gets dark.
In recent years, the importance of lighthouses has diminished with the development of navigation instruments, but Nakazato said it’s ultimately more reassuring to confirm things with human eyes than with radar.
It is expected that the role of lighthouses will remain the same in the future.
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Yokohama Kita Suitei Lighthouse
Location: The port of Yokohama
Memo: You can see the red lighthouse from several areas along the coast, including Yamashita Park. The white lighthouse is located near NYK Hikawamaru, about a five-minute walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Station on the Minatomirai Line.
