Yokohama

Overview

Yokohama has been Japan's principal gateway to the outside world since 1859, when the Tokugawa shogunate designated its fishing village as one of the first ports opened to foreign trade after two centuries of near-total isolation. That history — foreign settlements, silk exports, and the country's first taste of Western goods and ideas — still shapes the city: it holds Japan's largest Chinatown, a cluster of preserved Meiji and Taisho-era Western buildings, and a modern Minato Mirai waterfront built where shipyards once stood. Now Japan's second-largest city by population at nearly 3.8 million, it sits just 30 minutes from central Tokyo by train but feels distinctly its own place — more spacious, more waterfront, and considerably less crowded at its major sights.

Best Time to Visit

March to May brings cherry blossoms, especially concentrated at Sankeien Garden, along with comfortable temperatures for the waterfront walks that define a Yokohama visit.

October to November offers clear autumn skies and cooler, pleasant conditions — Sankeien's maples turn in mid-to-late November, generally a couple of weeks behind Kyoto.

Summer (June–August) is hot and humid, though Yokohama's coastal position gives it a slight edge over inland Tokyo; the Yokohama Port Opening Festival (Kaiko-sai) fireworks in early June are a major summer draw.

Winter (December–February) is cold but dry, and the Minato Mirai illuminations plus a large ferris wheel lit for the season make for an atmospheric off-peak visit.

Top Things to Do

Minato Mirai 21

Yokohama's redeveloped waterfront business and entertainment district, built on former shipyard land, dominated by the Landmark Tower (once Japan's tallest building) and the Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel, one of the world's largest clock-faced ferris wheels, lit up nightly over the bay. The Yokohama Museum of Art, Nissan Global Headquarters gallery, and Pacifico Yokohama convention centre are all within the district.

Yokohama Chinatown (Yokohama Chukagai)

Japan's largest Chinatown, established by Chinese merchants who arrived alongside the port's opening in 1859, now a dense grid of some 500 restaurants and shops behind ornate painted gates marking each entrance. It's genuinely excellent for Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Sichuan food rather than a diluted tourist version, and busy year-round, especially around Chinese New Year celebrations.

Yamashita Park & the Waterfront Promenade

A long seaside park opened in 1930, built partly on rubble from the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, running along the bay between Minato Mirai and the harbour. The retired ocean liner Hikawa Maru is permanently docked here as a museum ship. The full promenade connecting Minato Mirai, Yamashita Park, and Chinatown is flat, scenic, and walkable in under an hour.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse (Akarenga Soko)

Two early-20th-century customs warehouses restored as a shopping, dining, and event space, with an open plaza between them that hosts seasonal markets, an ice rink in winter, and beer gardens in summer. The architecture itself — dark red brick against the modern glass towers of Minato Mirai behind it — is the main draw.

Cup Noodles Museum

An unexpectedly engaging museum dedicated to instant ramen's invention by Momofuku Ando in 1958, with a hands-on workshop where visitors design and package their own cup of noodles from scratch, choosing the broth, toppings, and packaging design. Reserve the workshop slot online in advance, as it fills up on weekends.

Sankeien Garden

A large traditional Japanese garden completed in 1906 by a silk trade magnate, who relocated historic buildings — including a three-storey pagoda over 500 years old — from Kyoto and elsewhere onto the grounds. It's a genuine escape from the modern waterfront, especially during cherry blossom and autumn foliage seasons, and receives far fewer visitors than equivalent gardens in Kyoto.

Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden

The observation deck on the 69th floor of the Landmark Tower gives a sweeping view over the bay, Minato Mirai, and on clear days Mount Fuji to the west. The tower's elevator was, at opening in 1993, one of the fastest in the world.

Motomachi & the Foreigners' Cemetery

A pedestrian shopping street below the Yamate bluff, historically catering to the foreign residents who once lived on the hill above; Yamate itself holds a cluster of preserved Western-style houses from the Meiji and Taisho eras and the Yokohama Foreigners' Cemetery, the resting place of many of the port's earliest international residents, with views over the harbour.

Districts Guide

Minato Mirai — The modern waterfront core: skyscrapers, the ferris wheel, museums, and the highest concentration of hotels with harbour views.

Chinatown (Chukagai) — Dense grid of restaurants and shops just south of Yamashita Park, best visited hungry.

Yamashita/Motomachi — Seafront park and boutique shopping street below the Yamate bluff, walkable between Chinatown and the hillside foreign settlement district.

Yamate — Hillside above Motomachi, preserved Western-era houses and cemetery, quieter and residential.

Yokohama Station — The transit hub, less scenic but practical for rail connections onward.

Food & Drink

• Chinatown Cantonese cuisine — Roast goose, dim sum, and shark fin soup restaurants line the main streets; quality varies, so look for restaurants busy with local Chinese-Japanese families rather than pure tour-group traffic.
• Sapporo ramen and instant noodle history — the Cup Noodles Museum aside, Yokohama also lays some claim to shoyu ramen's development given its early 20th-century Chinese immigrant community.
• Nikuman — Steamed pork buns sold from Chinatown storefront windows, a classic walking snack best bought fresh and eaten immediately.
• Yokohama curry — The city claims an early role in introducing Western-style curry rice to Japan via the port; several old-school curry houses near Yamashita Park serve a thick, Japanese-style curry distinct from Indian versions.
• Sky-view dining — Restaurants in the Landmark Tower and Minato Mirai's harbourside towers offer some of the best sunset dining views in the Tokyo area, generally more accessible and less booked-out than Tokyo's equivalents.

Getting Around

Yokohama is highly walkable within the Minato Mirai–Yamashita–Chinatown corridor, with the full route coverable on foot in under an hour. The Minato Mirai Line and JR lines connect the waterfront to Yokohama Station efficiently, and the Akaikutsu (Red Shoe) tourist bus loop covers the main sights for visitors who prefer not to walk. Sankeien Garden requires a short bus ride from JR Negishi Station.

From Tokyo: 25–35 minutes from Shibuya, Shinjuku, or Tokyo Station via JR or private rail lines — easily done as a day trip.

Budget Guide

Day Trips

• Kamakura — Japan's medieval capital, home to the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) and dozens of temples, plus a laid-back beach town atmosphere. About 30 minutes by train.
• Enoshima — A small tidal island with a shrine complex, sea caves, and coastal views, reachable by a scenic seaside rail line from Kamakura. About 50 minutes from Yokohama.
• Hakone — Hot springs, Lake Ashi cruises, and Mount Fuji views (weather permitting) via the Hakone Ropeway. About 1h15 by train.
• Central Tokyo — Given the short commute, many visitors treat Tokyo itself as an easy add-on from a Yokohama base. About 30 minutes by train.

Practical Info

• Currency: Japanese Yen (JPY). IC cards (Suica/Pasmo) work seamlessly across Yokohama's rail and bus network.
• Language: Japanese, with strong English signage in Minato Mirai and Chinatown given the volume of domestic and international tourism.
• Tipping: Not customary; do not tip.
• Safety: Very safe, on par with the rest of greater Tokyo.
• Port city note: Yokohama's identity is built on its history as Japan's first international port — look for the preserved Meiji and Taisho-era Western buildings scattered through Yamate and near Kannai Station for a sense of that history beyond Chinatown.