The Big Downtown Shopping Mall

In addition to the traditional shopping streets, or SHOTEN-GAI (商店街), there are many other stores and retailers in Yokosuka City.  

The largest shopping mall in the area is conveniently located only a few-minutes-walk from the front gate of the Navy Base, and is named: "Coaska Bayside Stores", but often is just called: Coaska.  

The mall was built back in 1991, on a waterfront site which had been used by the Japanese Imperial Navy from 1908 to 1945.  Originally, located on the site was a huge gantry crane facility for ship construction and launching, which was a well-known landmark in Yokosuka.  The crane was dismantled in 1975, and by the late-1980s, a plan was approved to build a six-story shopping center, which would be run by Daiei corporation (a national retailer.)  The company currently managing Coaska did a major renovation to the mall from 2019~2020, but the main structure has basically remained unchanged.  

Coaska is filled with all kinds of stores, including a large supermarket and other businesses selling fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables.  It has a multiplex movie theater, clothing and furniture stores, a large food court, Starbucks and Tully's coffee shops, a section filled with Japanese and Western-style sit-down restaurants, and much more.  Coaska also has lots of parking, both on the ground level and up above on the 5th and 6th floors.  

The parking lot has an ingenious control system where, as you enter, a camera takes a photo of your car's license plate, and when you leave, you type your license plate number into a validation & payment machine.  

Coaska is a very user-friendly and well-designed mall, filled with all kinds of local goods and products which you may have never seen before, and therefore it would be a great place for your first Japanese shopping and foodie adventures. 

Artillery Fort Transformed...

 Yokosuka City straddles the Miura Peninsula, with its less-populated west coast facing Sagami Bay with views of Mount Fuji, while the east coast is urbanized and faces the busy shipping lanes going into Tokyo Bay.  

There is a hill which overlooks the downtown and harbor area of Yokosuka, and it is the site of 平和中央公園 ("Heiwa Chuo Koen" or Central Peace Park, in English.)  

Back during Japan's Meiji era (1868~1912), due to its unobstructed view of Tokyo Bay, the hill was fortified, and a Japanese Imperial Army coastal artillery facility was built there -- called: "Yonegahama Battery."  The site was demilitarized after World War II, and then in 1970, it was converted into a public park.  

Central Peace Park is a nice green & breezy place to go for a jog, walk, or picnic, and it provides spectacular views of the city below and out over Tokyo Bay and its surroundings.  There are several interesting monuments, including a statue of one of the first commanders of Yokosuka Navy Base, Captain Benny Decker, and during early spring weeks many blooming cherry blossom trees can be seen.  Recently, a small playground area for children has been added.  

Located adjacent to the park are Yokosuka Cultural Hall and Yokosuka Museum of Nature and Human Culture, and there is a large surrounding parking lot, so access by car is possible.  

In summary, this scenic hilltop park, located close to the Yokosuka downtown area and the navy base, is a great place to "get away from it all" for a while and just to enjoy and relax.