Where the name Shin-Takashima comes from, what stood here before the station, and what you can still spot on a walk today. Then the events near the station that we have checked on the official pages.
Shin-Takashima takes its name from Takashima Kaemon, a businessman who helped make Japan's first railway possible. A successful timber merchant and construction contractor, Takashima secured a major land-reclamation contract in 1870. He filled part of an inlet stretching from Tobe toward Hiranuma, creating a curved strip of land for the railway connecting Yokohama and Shimbashi.
The reclamation was completed in 1871. The following year, the new land was named Takashima-cho in recognition of his work. Walk southwest from Shin-Takashima Station toward Takashima-cho and you cross a landscape that once contained water and tidal flats. The modern streets disguise how much engineering was required before tracks, roads, and buildings could occupy this ground.
When the Minatomirai Line opened in 2004, its new station received the name Shin-Takashima, or New Takashima. The prefix distinguished it from the nearby Takashimacho subway station while acknowledging the area's railway history. The name links a modern underground railway with the nineteenth-century businessman who helped create the land for Japan's first railway.
→ Walk southwest from Shin-Takashima Station toward Takashima-cho, then look toward the Katabira River near Yokohama Station. The flat blocks and modern buildings occupy a waterfront landscape transformed through successive reclamation projects. The station name preserves the memory of the man who helped bring railways to Yokohama.
Sources (in Japanese): 横浜高速鉄道「新高島駅・駅名の由来」, 横浜市西区「知ってる？西区のむかし・高島嘉右衛門」
Shin-Takashima's modern office towers stand near land that was once dominated by rail freight and port operations. In the 1980s, the surrounding waterfront contained Takashima Freight Station, its extensive railway yard, Takashima Pier, and Higashi-Yokohama Station. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Yokohama Shipyard occupied another large section farther south. Goods moved between ships and freight trains, while industrial workers built and repaired vessels. This was working waterfront land, not a district designed for leisure walks.
Yokohama faced a major urban-planning problem. The industrial corridor separated the busy area around Yokohama Station from the older commercial center around Kannai and Kangai. The shipyard completed its relocation in March 1983, and construction of the Minato Mirai 21 redevelopment project began that November. Former industrial and freight areas were gradually reorganized into streets, parks, and commercial blocks.
Shin-Takashima Station opened in 2004. Today, walking east from the station takes you past corporate headquarters and exhibition facilities, while heading south leads toward Grand Mall Park. The district once occupied by freight operations now helps connect Yokohama Station with the rest of Minato Mirai on foot.
→ Walk from Shin-Takashima Station past the Keikyu Group headquarters toward Grand Mall Park. The broad sidewalks and planned blocks replaced former industrial and railway land. Return toward Yokohama Station via Hama Mirai Walk to experience the pedestrian connection created by the waterfront redevelopment.
Sources (in Japanese): 横浜市西区「温故知新！西区てくてくスケッチ・新高島駅周辺」, 横浜市西区「西区まちづくり方針・みなとみらい21事業の歴史」
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We list events we could confirm on the official page or official Instagram of the venue or organiser. Details can change, tickets sell out and venues close, so check the official page before you go. Distances are straight-line and travel times are rough estimates. Photos show the venue or its surroundings, not the event itself. Titles and descriptions are our own translations from Japanese. This site contains affiliate links (ads).