Yokohama was just a small place, when Captain Barry's black ships sailed into Tokyo Bay to persuade Japan to open up to the outside world. Yokohama became one of the treaty ports, and one of the places where foreign merchants were permitted to settle. More precisely they could settle in an area of Yokohama known as Kannai, and this is where the shopping street Motomachi is located. This has given Motomachi and its side streets a European flavour, although today there are only a few buildings of a European character and for the most part Motomachi looks like other Japanese shopping streets.