Yokohama's best-known tourist sights up for sale Yomiuri/ Aug 26 - - - The Marine Tower and the former passenger ship Hikawa Maru in Yamashita Park in Naka Ward, Yokohama, are up for sale after their operator incurred huge losses. The two sights are known as landmarks in Yokohama, and were first opened to sightseers in 1961 to commemorate the centenary of the opening of Yokohama Port.
The 106-meter-high Marine Tower has an observation deck and its own aviary, and is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the tallest lighthouse. Until World War II, the Hikawa Maru was a luxury liner plying routes to North America for NYK....Hikawamaru Marine Tower Co. closed the restaurant in the Hikawa Maru in 2002 after it accumulated debts of 1.5 billion yen. Major shareholder NYK Line and Yokohama city government have already agreed to more drastic restructuring, to include sale of the facilities.
