Nishi Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, near the geographic center of the city of Yokohama.

The Minato Mirai complex is built on reclaimed land, as was the Yokohama Station area.. Part of the domains of the Miura clan during and after the Kamakura period, the area of present-day Nishi Ward was part of the tenryō territory in Musashi Province controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto or direct retainers of the shōgun.

[1] Other major companies headquartered in the ward include: Japan Airlines at one time operated a domestic flights only ticketing facility in the Sky Building of the Yokohama City Air Terminal (YCAT) in Nishi-ku.

The Yokohama Municipal Board of Education [ja] operates public elementary and junior high schools.

[10] Each June, Nishi Ward hosts the Yokohama Kaikō Festival to commemorate the opening of the city's port.