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Yokohama War Cemetery was constructed by the Australian War Graves Group after the Second World War and contains the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who died in Japan as prisoners of war or with the occupying forces after the war. It comprises of four main parts; the United Kingdom section, the Australian section, the Canadian and New Zealand section and the Indian Forces 1939-1945 section.
The cemetery contains 1,555 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the Second World War, including 53 unidentified burials and a small number of special memorials to casualties known to be buried in the cemetery, whose graves could not be precisely located. There is also one First World War burial and a Dutch war grave. The POST WAR PLOT contains 171 non-war service and civilian burials.
The cemetery also contains the YOKOHAMA MEMORIAL which commemorates 20 members of the Army of Undivided India and the Royal Indian Air Force who died while serving with the occupation forces in Japan, for whom no burial or cremation information exists.
The YOKOHAMA CREMATION MEMORIAL, a shrine which houses an urn containing the ashes of 335 soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Commonwealth, the United States of America and the Netherlands who died as prisoners of war in Japan also stands within the cemetery. Their names (save for 51 who were not identified) are inscribed on the walls of the shrine.
Yokohama War Cemetery is 9 kilometres west of the city on Yuenchi-Dori, Hodogaya Ward, which branches left off the old Tokaido highway. The nearest railway station is Hodogaya, 5 kilometres to the north on the JNR line, but the cemetery is easily reached by bus from Yokohama station. To get to the cemetery by bus, the route is No.77 from Stand 14 of the bus station (Stop 16 on the route). The stop required is better known for the Yokohama Botanical Garden, which is in the same park area. The bus stops about 50 yards short of the entrance and signpost to the gardens and cemetery.
There is an information desk inside Yokohama Station and the staff are very helpful (they can write out the destination to show to the bus driver). The Post War Plot is reached by going up through the United Kingdom Section, up the steps to the Indian Section and then following a sloping path.
The opening times of the cemetery are 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., including Saturdays, Sundays and all public holidays, all the year round. Wheelchair access possible via main entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.
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