The town's coastline runs for almost a Ii (about a third of a mile) along the curving, irregular northern shore of the bay. The main commercial area, known as the Dockside, has dozens of piers extending into the water. The wharves are always crowded; there are ten to fifteen ships in the harbor at any given time, mostly the standard kobune but also a few merchant variants of the larger atakebune. There is also at least one vessel of distinctly foreign appearance, with a low-raking deck and a trio of masts with triangular sails; the locals behave as though this is nothing strange or exceptional.
The buildings near the docks are a mixture of warehouses and businesses. All cater to the needs of visiting sailors: cheap inns, sake houses, gambling dens, and a number of semi-covert brothels and opium parlors.