Japan has many bridges and pillars, quite a few in the Art Deco style. And there is one place where a bunch of these Art Deco artifacts are gathered close together, the Ooka River in Yokohama.

From a Yokohama architectural journal, 1920s.

Judged on beauty alone, Yokohama might not make the top of a tourist’s list (except during cherry blossom season). But for an urban explorer, Yokohama’s a fascinating place. Peel back the layers, head away from the city center and it’s astonishing how quickly things become quiet and almost rural. And you’re just a 30 minute train trip from Tokyo. Or take the Shinkansen and the trip is so short, you’ll barely have time to sit down.

On this visit, I went for a walk along the Ooka River. The river is not a tourist attraction, nor is it busy unless the cherry trees are blooming. But for my purposes, November’s lack of foliage was a good thing.

I walked from the inland end of the Ooka to downtown. It’s an easy walk; level, and a bit over an hour unless you stop for photos. At the beginning, you’re a mile or two from downtown, but you hear birds and see joggers, amazingly fit elderly people and of course, adorable children. You might even run into someone who doesn’t speak fluent English(!)

Inland, the river is barely a stream but closer to downtown it’s, well, a river. As the river widens, the activity around it increases. I guess I’m meandering here, so let’s see the bridges.

Inland, just a trickle, although the vegetation suggests the river rises quite a bit.

Gradually, the river widens.

…But it’s still peaceful.

Heading downtown

Repurposed as a traffic light.

Almost squeezed out by skyscrapers.

A rare bit of Streamline Moderne.

A closer look at this great lamp.

There are Art Deco bridges and markers in Tokyo too, but not conveniently gathered in one place.

Bridge light near Tsujiki, Tokyo.

Meguro, Tokyo

There is also a nice assortment of these in Osaka’s city center, which I’ll cover in another post.