Yokohama lighthouse has guided ships for 130 years

Yokohama: For over a century, a lighthouse standing near the tip of a breakwater has offered safety as a beacon for incoming and outgoing vessels to a...

Yokohama: For over a century, a lighthouse standing near the tip of a breakwater has offered safety as a beacon for incoming and outgoing vessels 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 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 lovely form with a wide base that gently tapers off as the structure rises.

On May 16, 1896, it was lit up and became the nation's first lighthouse built on a breakwater. Many lighthouses were built in Tokyo Bay around the same time, but most of them collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The red lighthouse remained intact and is the oldest existing one in the bay.

The steel lighthouse is sturdier than ones made of stone, according to Masaya Nakazato, chief of the traffic division at the Yokohama Coast Guard Office. The division oversees the lighthouse's maintenance. "Even after the 1923 earthquake, the light remained on for about two weeks until the gas ran out," Nakazato said.