Walk down into Japan's oldest surviving commercial stone dry dock
Stand in the dock, look straight up
Dockyard Garden, the former Yokohama Dock No. 2, built in 1896 to a design by the naval engineer Tsunekawa Ryusaku and decommissioned in 1973. It was dismantled and rebuilt as an open public space in 1993 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1997.
Why it's unique
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the oldest surviving stone dry dock in private or commercial ownership in Japan. Older stone docks exist at naval yards, so the qualifier matters: this is the oldest commercial one.
It is about 107 m long and 10 m deep, and you walk down into it. The walls are hand-laid Hon-Komatsu stone in 40 to 60 cm blocks. Because it is a sunken stone box it doubles as a performance space, and it hosted the country's first 180-degree immersive projection mapping, using the boat-shaped walls as the screen.
Before you go
Stand at the bottom of the dock and look straight up. Landmark Tower rises directly out of the dock head, and that is the one photograph you cannot take anywhere else.
Check the event calendar before you go, because a private booking closes the floor. Winter brings illuminations.