What to See First at the Former Negishi Racecourse
At the site of the Former Negishi Racecourse (Kyū Negishi Keibajō), a good starting point is to view the broad lawns of Negishi Forest Park (Negishi Shinrin Kōen) together with the First-Class Grandstand of the Former Negishi Racecourse rising at their edge.
The layout of the racetrack is difficult to discern from today’s peaceful park alone, but the elevated terrain and enormous spectator facility offer clues for imagining the extent of the ground where horses once ran.
The Outline Created by 3 Towers
The First-Class Grandstand is distinguished by a facade with 3 towers arranged across its center, leaving a powerful silhouette that makes the building’s location and scale recognizable even from a distance.
Rather than looking only from one point in front, walk along the park paths and observe how the towers overlap. This reveals how their composition gives a vertical rhythm to the long building.
Imagining the Course from the Rolling Lawn
The gentle undulations of Negishi Forest Park create today’s relaxing landscape while also allowing visitors to experience the elevated terrain where a large racecourse once stood.
Instead of determining the course’s position from the present site alone, compare old photographs and guide maps with the lawn today to carefully understand the relationship between the lost facilities and the surviving building.
Historic Architecture Observed from Outside
The First-Class Grandstand is not a facility that visitors may freely enter, so the basic approach is to observe its towers, columns, and openings from outside fences and restricted-area signs without approaching or touching the building.
| What to Observe | What to Notice | What It Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| 3 towers | Height and repetition | The symbolic character of the spectator facility |
| Long exterior wall | Sequence of columns and windows | The scale that accommodated many spectators |
| Lawn and slopes | Elevation changes and sightlines | The terrain where the racecourse stood |
| Old photographs | First- and Second-Class Grandstands | The overall layout that has been lost |
The Beginning of Japan’s First Full-Scale Western-Style Racecourse
Negishi Racecourse is regarded as Japan’s first full-scale Western-style racecourse. It was built in 1866 under the design and supervision of officers from the British garrison, and its first races were held the following year.
Horse Racing in the Open Port of Yokohama
After Yokohama opened as a port, a foreign settlement formed there. Horse racing, a recreation of the foreign community, took root in Negishi as a modern facility with an operating organization and a dedicated course.
The creation of a large racecourse on hilly ground rather than in the settlement near the port also suggests how the city at the time was extending its activities into the suburbs.
Operation by the Yokohama Race Club
The first races were organized by the Yokohama Race Club, whose membership was centered on British residents, and the culture of watching races and the systems for operating a racecourse spread from Yokohama.
More than a place where horses competed for speed, the racecourse included spectator seating, dining facilities, and social spaces, making it a setting for international exchange and social life in the open-port city.
Races Connected to Japan’s Horse-Racing Culture
Negishi hosted the Emperor’s Cup, connected to the predecessor of today’s Tennō Shō, and a race that became a source of the Satsuki Shō, leaving a lasting influence on the history of modern horse racing in Japan.
Rather than treating today’s race names and the systems of the time as identical, it is more appropriate to understand them as a lineage in which racing ideals and prizes were inherited while changing form.
A Timeline of the Racecourse
| Period | Event | Significance Today |
|---|---|---|
| 1866 | Full-scale Western-style racecourse built | Beginning of Negishi Racecourse |
| 1867 | Yokohama Race Club holds races | Development of organized modern horse racing |
| 1929 | Present First-Class Grandstand completed | Survival of a large spectator facility |
| 1942 | Racing ends during wartime | Racecourse ceases to function |
| 1977 | Site opens as a park | Conversion into public green space |
Reading the First-Class Grandstand as Architecture
Designed by J. H. Morgan
The surviving First-Class Grandstand was completed in 1929 and designed by American architect J. H. Morgan, who also worked on Western-style residences and church buildings in Yamate.
Construction was undertaken by Ōkura Doboku, now Taisei Corporation. With 7 stories above ground, 1 basement level, and a 2-story tower structure built with steel framing and steel-reinforced concrete, this immense modern facility accommodated large numbers of spectators and multiple functions.
The 3 towers served both as decorative landmarks and as features emphasizing the center of the long grandstand, conveying the building’s status to visitors arriving at the racecourse.
Social Spaces Behind the Spectator Seating
Old photographs show the First- and Second-Class Grandstands side by side, revealing that multiple facilities corresponding to spectator categories faced the course.
Inside the First-Class Grandstand were a dining room and open, multi-story passageways, incorporating spaces not only for watching races but also for spending time and socializing.
Because interior details cannot be confirmed from outside, photographs, three-dimensional models, and virtual tours offer a safe way to relate the interior to the exterior.
Traces of the Racecourse in Negishi Forest Park
The Track Transformed into an Open Lawn
After the site ceased to be used as a racecourse, part of it was requisitioned in the postwar period. Development proceeded on the returned area, transforming it into today’s Negishi Forest Park.
The broad lawn does not preserve the track exactly as it was, but the open space visible from the building conveys the scale of the place where horses and spectators once gathered.
Using Old Photographs to Reconstruct the Two Grandstands
While the First-Class Grandstand remains at the site, the Second-Class Grandstand was demolished after deterioration, making the complete spectator complex of the past difficult to imagine without old photographs.
Comparing the towers, seating, and length of the buildings in those photographs with the surviving structure helps explain why the 1 remaining building now carries the memory of the entire racecourse.
Using the View from the Heights as a Clue
The hills of Negishi overlook the port and urban area, and their topography helps us imagine a racecourse where spectators could enjoy not only the track but also the surrounding scenery from the grandstand.
Trees and nearby buildings have changed the view today, so rather than seeking the same vista as in the past, use the elevation of the hill and the breadth of the sky as clues to the historic landscape.
What the Change from Racecourse to Park Means
Land Shaped by War and Requisition
Races continued until 1942, as World War II intensified. The grounds later experienced military use and postwar requisition, losing their continuity as a recreational facility.
The process of developing the returned land as a park shows how different periods—modern horse racing, war, occupation, and public use—overlap in the same place.
Today’s scenes of people spending time on the lawn did not erase the past; they can be seen as the result of preserving the place as a public space while changing its purpose.
Preserving It as a Historic Building
The First-Class Grandstand has been designated a Yokohama City Certified Historic Building. As seismic reinforcement and future use are considered, it is at a stage where structural safety and historical value must be balanced.
The interior is closed not because the building lacks value, but because safety conditions are necessary to preserve it for the future, making it worthwhile to combine exterior observation with digital resources.
How to Walk Safely and Supplement Your Visit with Digital Resources
Respect Restricted Areas
Around the First-Class Grandstand, follow fences, construction signs, and instructions from site managers. Do not slip through gaps or touch the building; observe it from park paths.
Even when you want a closer look at the towers, it is more appropriate to change angles from a safe position and use a zoom lens or binoculars to inspect details rather than reducing your distance.
View the Digital Archive First
The digital archive contains interior footage, three-dimensional models, and a 360-degree virtual tour that reveal the dining room and open passageways not visible at the site.
The digital archive is made available through collaboration between the City of Yokohama and the nonprofit organization J-heritage.
Learning the interior layout before visiting makes it easier to imagine which spaces correspond to the exterior windows and towers, deepening your understanding even when the tour is limited to the outside.
Move Back and Forth Between the Park and the Sources
At the site, observe the relationship among the lawn, hill, and building. Comparing them with old photographs and models after returning home allows you to organize the information more reliably than trying to reconstruct the entire racecourse at once.
The operating status of horse-culture-related facilities in the park may change because of renovations or closures, so check official guidance immediately before visiting and plan around what is available.
| Stage | Action | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Before the visit | Review official information and old photographs | Public access, building layout, and history |
| Park entrance | Understand the hill’s elevation changes | Positions of the lawn and First-Class Grandstand |
| Exterior | Change angles from safe paths | Repetition of 3 towers, columns, and windows |
| Lawn | Walk to experience its extent | Scale of the former racecourse site |
| Review | Compare with digital resources | Interior spaces and lost facilities |
Summary of the Former Negishi Racecourse
The Former Negishi Racecourse began as Japan’s first full-scale Western-style racecourse and later accumulated several layers of history: the First-Class Grandstand designed by J. H. Morgan, the end of racing and postwar requisition, and the conversion into Negishi Forest Park. By combining the exterior of its 3 towers and the broad lawn with old photographs and digital resources, visitors can safely read the history of modern horse racing and the urban history of Yokohama.
Reviews (0)