Photo: Justin Taylor, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yokohama Travel Guide

About Yokohama

Yokohama is Japan's second-largest city, with 3.77 million residents, and the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture — yet it sits only about 30 minutes by train south of Tokyo, which makes it feel less like a suburb and more like Tokyo's cooler, breezier sibling. The city grew up around one of the first ports opened to foreign trade in 1859, and that international DNA is still everywhere: in the Western-style houses of Yamate, the churches and bakeries of Motomachi, and the great sweep of the modern waterfront.

The waterfront is where most visitors spend their time. Minato Mirai 21, the 'harbor of the future' district reclaimed from old shipyards, lines the bay with the 296-metre Landmark Tower, the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel, and long promenades made for evening strolls. Just along the water sit the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouses, two handsome brick customs houses from 1911 and 1913 that now hold shops, restaurants and event halls. A short walk inland, Yokohama Chinatown — the largest in Japan — spills hundreds of Chinese restaurants and food stalls across streets guarded by ornate ceremonial gates.

Beyond the bay, the city rewards wandering. Sankeien Garden, opened in 1906 by the silk trader Hara Sankei, is a 175,000-square-metre landscape garden dotted with historic buildings relocated from Kyoto and Kamakura, including a three-story pagoda. Yokohama works well as a day trip from Tokyo, but an overnight stay buys you the illuminated harbor at night, when the Bay Bridge and the Ferris wheel light up the water.

Population: 3,772,726 (2024).

Interesting facts about Yokohama

Treaty port

Yokohama was one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade in 1859, and the international settlement that grew around it shaped the city's cosmopolitan character.

Second city

With 3,772,726 residents as of June 2024, Yokohama is Japan's second-most populated city after Tokyo's 23 special wards, and the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture.

18 wards

The city is divided into 18 wards, stretching from the waterfront districts of Naka and Nishi to large inland residential areas.

Landmark Tower

The 296-metre Yokohama Landmark Tower in Minato Mirai was Japan's tallest building when completed in 1993; its Sky Garden observatory sits on the 69th floor.

Biggest Chinatown

Yokohama Chinatown (Chukagai) is the largest Chinatown in Japan, with hundreds of Chinese restaurants and shops behind its colorful paifang gates.

Main attractions in Yokohama

Yokohama Chinatown

Photo: Syced, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Yamashitacho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0023

Japan's largest Chinatown, founded in the treaty-port era, packs hundreds of Chinese restaurants, grocers and souvenir shops into a few colorful blocks. Four ornate gates mark the entrances, and the Kanteibyo temple sits at its heart. Come hungry — and come for Chinese New Year if you can, when lion dances fill the streets.

Category: Culture

Minato Mirai 21

Photo: Fukumoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa

The futuristic waterfront district built on former shipyards, anchored by the 296-metre Landmark Tower and the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel. Wide promenades, shopping complexes and harbor views make it the city's showcase — best experienced on foot at dusk, when the bay lights come on.

Category: Landmark

Sankeien Garden

Photo: 雷太, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

58-1 Honmoku Sannotani, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0824

A 175,000-square-metre traditional landscape garden opened in 1906 by silk merchant Hara Sankei. Historic buildings relocated from Kyoto and Kamakura — including a three-story pagoda — are set among ponds, streams and seasonal plantings. Cherry blossoms in spring and maples in autumn are the highlights.

Category: Garden

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

Photo: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

1-1-1 Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0001

Two red-brick warehouses built in 1911 and 1913 as customs inspection houses for the port, now converted into shops, restaurants and event spaces. The surrounding plaza hosts seasonal markets and festivals, and the waterfront terrace looks straight across the harbor.

Category: Landmark

What to eat in Yokohama

Getting to Yokohama

• By air: Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) is about 17 km away — Keikyu trains reach Yokohama in roughly 25 minutes, and limousine buses take about 30. From Narita Airport, the limousine bus takes around 90 minutes.
• By train: Shin-Yokohama is on the Tokaido Shinkansen, under 20 minutes from Tokyo. The JR Tokaido Line links Tokyo Station and Yokohama in about 27 minutes, and the Minatomirai Line runs from Yokohama Station through Minato Mirai to Motomachi-Chukagai.

Getting around Yokohama

The Minatomirai Line connects Yokohama Station with Minato Mirai 21 and Motomachi-Chukagai (Chinatown), and the waterfront core is flat and walkable. Harbor-view loop buses link the bay sights, and the municipal subway covers the inland wards.

Travel tips for Yokohama

• IC cards (Suica, Pasmo, Icoca) work across trains, subways and buses nationwide — one card covers the whole trip.
• Chinatown's restaurants are busiest on weekends; weekday lunches mean shorter queues.
• The Osanbashi Pier rooftop plaza is free and open to the public, with sweeping views across the harbor.
• Many museums close on Mondays, so check before building a Monday itinerary around one.

Nearby cities

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