Yokohama travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Yokohama, planned over three days
Best time to visit Yokohama
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Plum blossom then cherry build up, cool and changeable with good Fuji visibility on clear mornings.
A sweet spot, cherry peak in early April, roses in May, festivals and mild weather, with Golden Week price spikes.
Rainy season, hydrangea at Sankeien and Kamakura, steamy rain, fewer crowds and lower rates.
Hot and humid summer, harbour fireworks, Pikachu events in Minato Mirai, beach season and BayStars night games.
Typhoon risk peaks, hot early then easing, with the Chinatown Mid Autumn Festival.
The other sweet spot, comfortable walking, autumn maples from mid November and clear mild days.
Cold dry and clear, the Fuji view season, with winter illuminations, Christmas market and Chinese New Year crowds.
What's on
- Frühlingsfest at Red Brick Warehouse late April to early May
German beer, sausages and oompah music in the Red Brick Warehouse plaza through Golden Week.
- International Costume Parade 3 May
Floats, bands and costumed groups march from Yamashita Park through Motomachi and Chinatown.
- Yokohama Port Opening Festival 2 June
The city's birthday, marking the 1859 port opening, with stalls and evening fireworks over the harbour.
- Sparkling Twilight fireworks July, dates vary
Summer fireworks over the bay.
- Kanagawa Shimbun fireworks early August
One of the region's biggest displays, over Minato Mirai.
- Pokémon / Pikachu Outbreak August
Mass Pikachu parades and shows in Minato Mirai in its running years, format varies by year.
- Yokohama Jazz Promenade early to mid October
Street jazz fills Kannai and Bashamichi.
- Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival September
Mid Autumn celebrations in Chinatown.
- Chinatown Double Ten 10 October
Lion dances in Chinatown for Double Ten.
- Yokohama Marathon late October
Late October marathon bringing road closures and hotel pressure.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Yokohama
Sankeien Garden
A large landscaped garden with relocated historic buildings around a pond, seasonal in every month.
Yokohama Chinatown
Japan's largest Chinatown, best grazed stall to stall with one proper sit down meal in the middle.
Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama
Instant ramen history plus making your own cup, the top indoor and family pick in the city.
Osanbashi Pier
A cruise terminal roof deck open to all, the best free sunset and night skyline viewpoint in the city.
Yamashita Park
The waterfront park locals stroll, running from Osanbashi along the bay to the Hikawa Maru.
NYK Hikawa Maru
A moored 1930 ocean liner turned museum ship, the historic heart of the Yamashita Park walk.
Landmark Tower Sky Garden
The 69th floor observatory for the clear day panorama, with Mt Fuji joining the bay on winter mornings.
Cosmo Clock 21
The Ferris wheel that is the Minato Mirai skyline, best ridden at sunset into the night lights.
Where to stay in Yokohama
Minato Mirai 21 / Sakuragicho
first trip, all-round base
The waterfront spine, museums and Noge are all in reach, with wide modern well lit streets at night.
Kannai / Bashamichi / Nihon-Odori
best value and food-focused trips
Historic streets and fair priced business hotels, a short walk to Noge, Chinatown and Yamashita Park.
Yamashita Park / Motomachi-Chukagai edge
most romantic, classic base
Chinatown lunches, park mornings and Yamate walks on the doorstep, anchored by the grand old hotel.
Yokohama Station
transport maximalists
Huge terminal, department store food floors and the fastest Tokyo access, at the cost of atmosphere.
Shin-Yokohama
an event or early Shinkansen only
Low priced business hotels and nothing else for leisure, a 15 to 20 minute commute to the bay.
Think twice about
- Kotobukicho
Historic day labourer lodging district between Kannai and Ishikawacho stations, with rough sleeping and old welfare hotels. Cheap listings near Kannai station's east side may be here; check the address.
- Isezakicho / Fukutomicho late at night
Adult entertainment and tout fringe with solicitation and opaque drink prices. Never follow a tout into an upstairs bar.
Best restaurants in Yokohama
Yoshimuraya
The original iekei ramen from 1974, tonkotsu shoyu with thick noodles, spinach, nori and rice.
Sugitaya
The first Yoshimuraya disciple on the original site, iekei many regulars find a touch more balanced.
Araiya
Gyunabe since the 19th century, premium beef simmered tableside and dipped in beaten egg in tatami rooms.
The Café, Hotel New Grand
Doria, Napolitan and pudding a la mode served where all three dishes were invented.
Heichinrou
Among Japan's oldest Chinese restaurants, classic Cantonese banquet cooking rated highly by locals.
Manchinro
The other Cantonese grand house, famed for refined courses and pork buns to take away.
Jukeihanten
The Sichuan leaning Chinatown favourite whose mapo tofu is a local legend.
Edosei
Large steamed pork buns that make the Chinatown grazing queue worth joining.
Best bars in Yokohama
Jazz Bar Chigusa
Among Japan's oldest jazz bars, the atmospheric way to finish a night in Noge.
Bar Noble
A 1971 Noge bar for a proper final drink after the izakaya crawl.
Outdoor things to do in Yokohama
Kamakura
Temples, the Great Buddha and a bamboo grove 25 minutes away, the highest value day trip from Yokohama.
Enoshima
A steep island of shrine, caves and seafood, with sunset and Fuji views from the rocky shore.
Hakone
Mountain railway, ropeway, lake boat and hot springs, a full early start day with Fuji on clear mornings.
Lake Kawaguchi
Lakeshore Fuji views and lakeside walking or cycling, worth it only on a clear weather forecast.
Yokohama Country Club
The prize round in the city, a 36 hole club whose West course has hosted Japan Opens.
Hodogaya Country Club
The other prestige course, a classic 18 holes kept meticulously with glimpses of Fuji.
Sugita Golf Course
The cheaper practice alternative in the city, fine for a hit rather than a destination round.
Sea Bass
The harbour water bus linking the station, Red Brick and Yamashita Park, best ridden after dark.
Best hotels in Yokohama
THE KAHALA Hotel & Resort Yokohama
Hawaiian born luxury by Pacifico Yokohama, large rooms and high service in bay side calm.
InterContinental Yokohama Pier 8
A low rise pier hotel in the Hammerhead complex that feels like a ship, with water on several sides.
Yokohama Royal Park Hotel
Every room sits above 210 metres in Landmark Tower, so the view itself is the hotel.
The Westin Yokohama
Wellness leaning luxury slightly inland in Minato Mirai, quieter and strong on breakfast.
Hotel New Grand
The 1927 grand dame facing the park and harbour, booked for history and atmosphere over size.
InterContinental Yokohama Grand
The sail shaped original waterfront InterContinental, often much cheaper than its Pier 8 sibling.
Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu
Reliable full service rooms by Queen's Square station, with bay view categories.
Hotel New Otani Inn Yokohama Premium
Station front Sakuragicho workhorse with harbour view rooms, a Minato Mirai base without luxury pricing.
Is Yokohama expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ¥12,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ¥23,000 a person |
| Splurge | ¥55,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama: a few days ahead
- Yokohama Stadium: weeks ahead
- Hakone: a few days ahead
- Lake Kawaguchi: a few days ahead
- Yokohama Country Club: months ahead
- Hodogaya Country Club: months ahead
- Marine Rouge: a few days ahead
- Daikoku Parking Area: a few days ahead
- Reserve the Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen Factory online days ahead, it sells out on weekends and holidays.
- Buy BayStars tickets through official channels early for weekend and rival games.
- Reserve Chinatown grand houses, Araiya, sushi omakase and Marine Rouge dinner cruises.
- Keep Hakone and Fuji days swappable and check the weather and Fuji visibility the morning before.
Is Yokohama safe?
- Yokohama is exceptionally safe, realistic risks are heatstroke, promenade bicycle collisions and tout bar price disputes.
- Trains stop around midnight to 00:30, so a late Noge night means a taxi.
- Be quiet on trains, do not walk while eating in Chinatown posted zones, and take shoes off for tatami interiors.
- Some onsen and pools restrict tattoos, including hotel pools, so confirm any specific bath in advance.
Yokohama travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Air Cabin gondola is a short ride, not transport, and the walk waterside takes about 12 minutes.
- Chinatown all you can eat tout restaurants on the main drag, where the tout rather than the queue does the work.
- Paying for three observatories that overlap, pick Sky Garden by day or Cosmo Clock by night.
- Taking the Shinkansen to Shin-Yokohama for sightseeing, slower door to door and dearer than JR or Tokyu to the bay.
Getting around Yokohama: public transport and more
- JR and Tokyu lines reach Yokohama from Tokyo in about 30 minutes, and Keikyu runs direct from Haneda in about 30 minutes.
- The Minatomirai Line is the tourist spine and a Suica or Pasmo card covers local hops, with the Minato Burari day pass for 3 or more rides.
- Walking wins in the centre: Sakuragicho to Yamashita Park is a flat scenic 30 minute walk.
- Taxis are plentiful and the GO app works, useful for Zoorasia, the Nogeyama hill and late Noge exits.
Who Yokohama suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Yokohama your trip
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