Uncover the very best of this vibrant metropolis with our Yokohama journey information! Discover the bustling Minato Mirai waterfront, get pleasure from panoramic views from the Landmark Tower, wander by way of the colourful streets of Chinatown, and bask in scrumptious avenue meals.
Yokohama, a dynamic port metropolis in Japan, seamlessly blends trendy sights with wealthy historic attraction. Only a 30-minute journey south of Tokyo, it affords a charming maritime heritage, beautiful waterfront vistas, and a cosmopolitan ambiance. From the futuristic Minato Mirai district to the culinary delights of Japan’s largest Chinatown, Yokohama has one thing for everybody. Come alongside as we uncover the town’s high must-see locations!
First up on our tour is Yokohama Station. It’s only a a 26-minute practice journey from Tokyo Station on the Ueno-Tokyo Line, with trains operating each 10 minutes! Yokohama Station isn’t simply the gateway to the town; it’s additionally a implausible place to buy and eat.
To the southwest is Takashimaya Division Retailer, the place yow will discover a mixture of high-end and informal clothes and items. To the northeast is Yodobashi Digital camera, the place you’ll discover each digital merchandise possible. The East facet opens instantly into the Porta underground shopping center. Scattered all through the station are quite a few eating places, together with common chain shops and distinctive eateries, the place yow will discover scrumptious native Yokohama meals.
Yokohama Station is nice for purchasing and eating, however to see and study Yokohama’s historical past, take the Miratomirai Line to Motomachi-Chūkagai Station (10 min) and take a look at Yamate District.
Yamate District (Yamatecho)
When Japan opened its doorways to the world within the mid-1800s, Yokohama, then a small fishing port, grew to become the primary port to conduct overseas commerce. Town grew and finally grew to become Japan’s second largest.
Yokohama attracted each Western and Chinese language merchants. The previous settled on the hilltop within the Yamate District, whereas the latter established Japan’s largest Chinatown.
The Yamate space is stuffed with distinctive Western structure, making it really feel like a world away from Japan. With its large streets and palm timber, together with charming church buildings and Victorian-style properties, it’s an exquisite place for a stroll.
Sadly, most buildings had been destroyed in the course of the nice Kano Earthquake in 1923. At this time, solely eight residences stay, which have been preserved and reopened as museums. Every constructing is free to enter and depicts the lives of their former house owners.
Tucked between the full of life Chinatown and the elegant Yamate District lies the traditionally important Motomachi space. As soon as a bustling route for employees touring from Yamate to the Kannai district, the outlets alongside Motomachi Road catered to their wants by offering a various array of Western items and meals.
Now, the well-known purchasing avenue has over 200 shops. With a mixture of native outlets and worldwide manufacturers, yow will discover something from clothes and antiques to kitchenware, jewellery, and extra!
One in all Yokohama’s basic bakeries, Pompadour‘s authentic store, is situated on Motomachi, and we extremely suggest their breads!
Yokohama Chinatown (Yokohama Chūkagai)
As talked about above, the Chinese language merchants established a Chinatown that continues to be Japan’s largest to at the present time.
With roughly 500 outlets and eating places, yow will discover something and all the things associated to China. From the crackle of crispy Beijing-style Peking duck to the sizzle of dumplings and the hiss of Shanghai-style juicy steamed pork buns, Yokohama’s Chinatown is a meals lover’s paradise.
Take your time strolling across the space to admire all of the sights, smells, and sounds whereas indulging in some scrumptious Chinese language meals. When you get pleasure from dim sum, that is the right place to deal with your self.
Other than meals, you may also discover Chinese language items and souvenirs, fortune tellers, and therapeutic massage outlets for leisure after all of the strolling (and consuming)! Though a few of these photos had been taken throughout a vacation, it may well get very busy, particularly on weekends!
Whereas within the space, be sure you try Chinatown’s religious landmark, Yokohama Kuan Ti Miao. Adorned with beautiful, intricate particulars, splashes of gold, and fierce dragon statues, the temple encompasses a statue of Guan Yu, a well-known navy normal turned deity immortalized within the historic Chinese language novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Many individuals go to the temple to hunt enterprise and monetary prosperity.
Yokohama Marine Tower
After sampling scrumptious meals in Chinatown, head over to Yokohama Marine Tower. Town is blessed with unimaginable bayside views, making it a soothing spot to observe the boats come out and in of the harbor. Overlooking the bay is the Yokohama Marine Tower, in-built 1961 to commemorate the a hundredth anniversary of Yokohama’s port opening. It stands at 106 meters tall, with an remark deck on the thirtieth stage at 94 meters.
The doorway price is between 1,000 and 1,200 yen for adults and 500 to 800 yen for kids, relying on the time and day of entry. You should buy tickets on the door or on-line for a reduced value of 100 yen off on their official web site.
On the high, you may get pleasure from panoramic views over Yokohama’s skyline, the Minato Mirai seafront, and the Yokohama Bay Bridge. When you’re fortunate, on a transparent day, you’ll have the ability to see Mt. Fuji!
The views come alive throughout sundown and night as the town lights dazzle within the night time sky. On the thirtieth ground, the media artwork gallery opens at 6:00 pm, combining digital artwork shows with stunning metropolis views. On the 2nd ground, you may decide up souvenirs from the Marine Tower Store or dine at “The Terrace” on the 4th ground.
Yamashita Park
Slightly below the Marine Tower is Yamashita Park, a public park that stretches roughly 750 meters throughout Yokohama’s waterfront. The inexperienced oasis is stuffed with seasonal flowers, fountains, and monuments. It’s often busy with locals having fun with the bay’s surroundings and the ships passing by.
When passing by way of the park, you’ll discover the docked Hikawa Maru, which had its maiden voyage in 1930 from Kobe to Seattle. Over the subsequent 30 years, it crossed the Pacific 254 occasions. Now a museum ship, it means that you can expertise what the passenger quarters, decor, and lounge areas had been like. You can too be taught concerning the ship’s historical past from the varied shows on board.
The Hikawa Maru Ship is the one surviving cargo-passenger liner in-built Japan earlier than World Struggle II and is now a nationally designated Necessary Cultural Property.
Yokohama Purple Brick Warehouse (Aka Renga Sōko)
From Yamashita Park, head over to considered one of Yokohama’s most iconic spots: the pink brick warehouses alongside the shore of Yokohama Port. Within the early Twenties, these warehouses served because the Customs Inspection Home for Yokohama Bay’s transport actions, however they now perform as an leisure space.
The out of doors occasion house hosts seasonal festivities, reminiscent of summer time live shows and a winter ice skating rink. You can too stroll to the sting of the port for implausible views of the bay and components of the Yokohama skyline.
The primary warehouse, the smaller of the 2, is especially used for occasions. The third ground has a 300-seat corridor for theater performances and live shows. The second ground homes gallery areas, whereas the primary ground affords a number of outlets promoting Yokohama glass and brick items.
The second warehouse affords an excellent mixture of cafés, eating places, and outlets promoting jewellery, inside decor, and miscellaneous items.
Whether or not you’re seeking to eat, store, or just get pleasure from Yokohama’s environment and surroundings, the pink brick warehouses are price a go to.
Cup Noodles Museum
Who doesn’t love a cup of noodles every now and then? What higher place to study their historical past and founder, Momofuku Ando, than on the Cup Noodles Museum? It’s the second Cup Noodles Museum to open in Japan, with the primary situated in Ikeda, north of Osaka. Admission is 500 yen for adults, whereas entry for kids is free.
You’ll be able to be taught concerning the humble cup noodles and their rise to fame by way of varied interactive reveals. First, there’s a brief introductory movie and a reproduction of the shed the place immediate noodles had been invented, adopted by many show boards exhibiting the evolution of cup noodles, together with house ramen for astronauts!
On the My Cupnoodles Manufacturing facility workshop, for 500 yen, you may customise your personal cup noodle packaging and select from 5,640 broth and topping combos. This workshop is the most well-liked spot within the museum and sometimes sells out, so be sure you arrive early!
Subsequent, the Rooster Ramen Manufacturing facility teaches you learn how to make immediate ramen by kneading, spreading, and steaming wheat flour, then drying it utilizing the flash-frying methodology. You’ll be able to even take your noodles residence! The workshop lasts 90 minutes and prices 600 yen for kids and 1,000 yen for adults.
There’s additionally Cupnoodles Park, which prices an extra 500 yen. Kids can have enjoyable whereas studying concerning the noodle-making and transport course of.
Lastly, there’s Noodle Bazaar, an Asian Evening Market-style meals court docket that options eight kinds of noodles that Momofuku Ando encountered throughout his travels seeking their origins.
Yokohama Cosmo World
Proper throughout from the Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama, within the coronary heart of the town and the Minato Mirai district, is Yokohama Cosmo World. This amusement park is free to enter however you should buy tickets for the rides you want to go on. When you’re a curler coaster fanatic, discounted costs can be found while you purchase a number of tickets directly.
The park is split into three areas:
- Youngsters Carnival Zone – With small rides and recreation machines, this space is ideal for kids.
- Burano Road Zone – This colourful space options bigger rides, together with the Household Banana Coaster and the spinning Tremendous Planet. Different sights embrace the Corridor of Mirrors and recreation machines the place you may win prizes.
- Surprise Amuse Zone – The principle space is residence to the biggest curler coaster, ‘Diving Coaster – Vanish!’, which plunges by way of and beneath a pool of water, creating a large splash. Along with different bigger rides, this space affords a digital actuality journey, a 360° 3D theater, an arcade, fairground stalls, and a meals court docket.
Looming over the amusement park is a big Ferris wheel generally known as Cosmo Clock 21, the world’s largest Ferris wheel with a clock. Standing 112.5 meters excessive and 100 meters large, it options 60 gondolas, every carrying as much as eight passengers. The 15-minute journey enables you to soak up views of Yokohama’s skyline, with touchscreen shows that will help you determine the town’s well-known landmarks.
Nippon Maru Memorial Park
The enjoyable doesn’t finish at Cosmo World. The Nippon Maru Memorial Park was the primary park developed within the Minato Mirai space. Situated proper by the bay, this inexperienced house is usually used for occasions and festivals. It additionally homes the Yokohama Port Museum, which brings the port’s historical past and broader marine matters to life with interactive reveals, partaking guests in a hands-on studying expertise.
Nevertheless, the park’s principal attraction, typically thought of the image of Yokohama, is the Nippon Maru. Inbuilt 1930, this famed ship served as a coaching vessel for cadets, accommodating 11,500 cadets over 54 years till its retirement in 1984. Throughout its tenure, it sailed a formidable 45.4 occasions across the Earth, overlaying 1,830,000 kilometers. At this time, guests can stroll alongside the decks, examine its historical past intimately, and expertise what life on a ship was like.
The Nippon Maru is really spectacular. Its polished picket decks and complicated development permit you to recognize its magnificence. Now completely docked at Yokohama Port, it’s magically illuminated within the night, changing into much more spectacular.
Yokohama Landmark Tower
Only a one-minute stroll away, on the alternative facet of the highway, is Yokohama Landmark Tower, which homes a five-star lodge, restaurant, outlets, workplaces, and the town’s highest remark deck, generally known as the Sky Backyard Observatory. The elevator takes solely 40 seconds to succeed in the 69th ground, the place you’ll see the very best view over the town.
The views from the pink brick warehouses and Cosmo Clock 21 are completely spectacular, showcasing the bay actions and stretching all the best way to Tokyo and, on clear days, even Mt. Fuji!
To sum up, Yokohama is simple to like. This metropolis, steeped in wealthy historical past and brimming with sights, can also be Nami’s hometown! When you’ve got the time, we suggest spending two days to completely get pleasure from all that it has to supply.
Whilst you’re within the space, why not try the close by coastal city of Kamakura with our journey information?
