Eating Out in Yokohama
Tokyo’s reputation for world-class dining extends to Yokohama, where you can eat fine French cuisine and formal, multi-course Japanese kaiseki meals in Michelin-starred restaurants. You’ll also find low-cost, high-quality favourites in tempura and sushi bars lining the city’s abundant malls and food courts.
Minato Mirai 21 draws hungry locals and visitors to the waterfront. Options range from yakitori chicken skewers in small grill restaurants to upscale establishments with spectacular views on the 68th floor of Yokohama Landmark Tower. A little further inland, Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum has a whole floor recreating a street in 1950s Tokyo, with working ramen noodle shops. Nearby Chinatown is filled with hawkers selling Cantonese-style street food and family restaurants specialising in spicy Szechuan cooking.
The chef recommends...
Gyunabe: Hearty local hot pot inspired by the beef-heavy diet of former foreign visitors to the port.
Sanma-men: Yokohama variation on classic ramen noodles, with hot soy sauce and stir-fried vegetables.
Nikuman: Beloved meat-filled steamed buns attracting locals to Chinatown.
Shopping in Yokohama
A historic port city, Yokohama has been a major hub of commerce for centuries. The modern city has vast waterfront malls and bayside outlet parks, highrise department stores and fashionable shopping streets. Chinatown is a retail destination in itself.
Much of Minato Mirai 21 is given over to shopping, with high-end malls like Queens East and Collet Mare. Waterfront Yokohama Landmark Tower and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse also have whole floors of clothing and electronics stores. Motomachi Shopping Street, in the Yamate district, is home to international boutiques and local businesses stocking Hama Tra – official products of Yokohama Traditional Fashion. Chinatown shops are popular for gifts and souvenirs, from herbal teas to cheongsam dresses.
Yokohama markets
Yokohama Marine Tower Sunday Market: Upscale flea market held in a modern, highrise lighthouse overlooking Yamashita Park.
Minato Mirai 21 Flea Market: Browse for Japanese crafts and clothes at a bayside run of stalls, between the main waterfront shopping area and Nippon-Maru ship museum.
Yokohama City Central Wholesale Market: This bustling space for local merchants and vendors is a good place to shop for fresh seafood. It also features some restaurants offering fresh food with ingredients from the market.
Culture & Nightlife in Yokohama
Yokohama culture draws on its rich maritime history. Many attractions are clustered around the port, from old sailing vessels to waterfront museums. It’s an arty city too, with Japanese and international masterpieces at world-class galleries. After dark, try the atmospheric drinking dens of Chinatown or dress up for a night out in one of Minato Mirai’s highrise bayside cocktail bars.
By day, the waterfront attracts crowds of visitors to the famous Yokohama Museum of Art and Yokohama Port Museum</a> aboard the decommissioned 1930s ship, <b>Nippon Maru. By night, well-dressed customers fill stylish bars and clubs overlooking the port. Yamashitacho, behind Yamashita Park, is packed with popular spots for live jazz and signature cocktails, including themed bars resembling old American speakeasies and frontier saloons. Yamate has western-style pubs and traditional Japanese izakaya taverns.
Alternative museums in Yokohama
Cup Noodles Museum: High-tech waterfront space dedicated to the famous instant ramen cup noodles. Invent your own recipe, and design your own cup.
Tattoo Museum: Learn about the Japanese approach to body art and see fine-detailed examples with Japanese tattoo artist Horiyoshi III.
NYK Maritime Museum: The 1930s-vintage ocean liner Hikawa Maru now serves as a floating museum, with most of its original features restored.
Leisure in Yokohama
Yokohama is best known for its iconic waterfront skyline. Minato Mirai 21 offers both historic maritime attractions and futuristic entertainments, from floating ship museums to the gaming and amusement floor of the World Porters complex. This is also a city of parks, gardens and green spaces amid the neon sprawl.
The bayside is ringed with popular spots for strolls and picnics. Aka-Renga Park and Yamashita Park are especially comfortable places to sit on the grass at sunset. Yamate’s Harbour View Park looks out over Yokohama Bay Bridge. Nearby Sankeien is a large Japanese garden with flowers, cherry blossoms and traditional teahouses.
Family-friendly attractions in Yokohama
Yokohama Cosmoworld: Waterfront theme park with log rides, rollercoasters and the famous ferris wheel, Cosmo Clock 21.
Yokohama Anpanman Children’s Museum and Mall: Videos, games and play areas based around a popular Japanese cartoon character.
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise: Bayside marine centre and amusement park with an aquarium and sea-themed rides.
