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Yokohama

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Japan's port city with Chinatown and skyline

Yokohama is Japan's second-largest city and became a treaty port in 1859, which is why it has a large Chinatown and hillside districts of Western-style houses. Visitors can ride the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel, walk the Yamashita Park waterfront or go up the Landmark Tower, which is 950 ft tall, to the Sky Garden. Most central sights are within a few kilometers of each other near the Minato Mirai and Kannai areas, so one full day on foot and by train covers the highlights. It works as a day trip from Tokyo or as a base for a longer stay.

City in Japan
Climate zone: Humid subtropical

Humid subtropical: Warm temperate climates with hot, humid summers, mild winters and evenly distributed rainfall, common on eastern continental margins.

See climate table
Price level: $$$
$Cheap
$$Medium
$$$Expensive, upscale
$$$+Very expensive, luxury
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Safety: 9.0
General Safety:9
Health & medical:9
Accessibility:8
Tap water:10
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Tourist English: 3/5
English is moderately available in Yokohama, especially at major tourist attractions, hotels, and restaurants. Signage in popular areas often includes English translations, but communication might be limited in smaller establishments and residential areas
Last update: Oct 19, 2026
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Yokohama Summary

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Excellent for waterfront attractions and food districts. Walk harbor promenades, visit museums and observation decks, explore Chinatown restaurants and enjoy shopping and nightlife.
Place score
7.5
Best at:
Large cities
9
Spotless
9
Museums
8
Aquariums
8
Walkable
7
Personal score
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Suited for
👶 8
Families
🧓 8
Seniors
🛡️ 9
Travel Beginners
👩 8
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Japan – Quick facts
Power Grid: 100 V, 50 Hz
Plug: Type A
Type A:
Diagram of a Type A power plug

Read about power adapters
Currency: Japanese Yen (JPY)
$1 ≈ ¥158
Cashless info: Rating 4/5
Cashless payments are becoming more common, especially in cities, with some shops still preferring cash. Be prepared for occasional cash-only situations in rural areas.

Save with a travel credit card
eSIM providers: Best value: Saily
Flexibility: Airalo
Read our in-depth comparison
Tipping: Tipping is not customary in Japan and can be considered rude. Excellent service is the norm, and tipping is unnecessary in most places.
Public drinking: Public drinking is legal and commonly accepted, particularly during festivals and events.
Public smoking: Smoking is prohibited in indoor public places but allowed in designated outdoor areas. Some restaurants may have smoking sections.
New Year
(January)
One of the most important holidays, expect crowded temples and high prices. Plan ahead.
Golden Week
(April-May)
The busiest travel time, expect high demand for accommodation and transportation.
Obon
(August)
A time to honor ancestors, many businesses close, and transportation can be crowded.
Emergency contact: Emergency Number: 110 (Police), 119 (Fire & Ambulance)
Taxi apps: Uber, JapanTaxi, DiDi
Other: Japan is a country of respect, so understanding local customs and etiquette is important. Public transportation is efficient, but can be crowded during peak hours.
Best times to travel

The best times to travel section shows how the months compare for a visit, so you can find the time of year that fits what you want to do.

Background colors of the months:
The color shows the typical temperature: yellow (hot), green (mild) and blue (cold). How strong the color is shows the travel season: full color means high season, soft color means shoulder season and soft-striped means off season.

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Each month has one symbol showing what the weather is typically like, such as hot and sunny, freezing or a rainy or snowy season. Use them to quickly spot months that match the weather you want, or to avoid the ones that don't.

Crowdedness:
The people icon shows how busy the place usually is. The more people, the more crowded it gets.

Additional notes:
The gray info boxes point out special things worth knowing, like recurring weather issues or seasonal events.

for Yokohama, Japan
☀️
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
🔥
Jul
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Nov
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Dec
High season: April - May, Oct. - Nov.
Shoulder season: March, July - Sep., Dec.
Crowdedness: 7 (Many tourists)
Tap on a month for more info Hover over a month for more info
Rainy season early June to mid July; typhoons can disrupt travel August to October
Golden Week (April 29 to May 5) and New Year (December 29 to January 3) are very busy and many shops close

Why travel to Yokohama?

The harbor area has most of Yokohama's sights, all close together. Minato Mirai has the Landmark Tower with an observatory on the 69th floor, the Cosmo World amusement park with its Ferris wheel 370 ft high and a string of waterfront shopping complexes. Yamashita Park is about 2,300 ft long, runs along the water and opened in 1930 as Japan's first seaside park. The two Red Brick Warehouses are restored early-1900s customs buildings with shops and restaurants and entry to the buildings is free. The city also has history that Tokyo doesn't show off as much. The port opened to foreign trade in 1859 and Chinese merchants settled nearby. Today Chinatown is the largest in Japan with around 600 shops and restaurants behind ten ornate gates. The hillside districts of Yamate and Motomachi have Western-style houses and are an easy walk from Yamashita Park. Sankeien Garden is a large traditional garden with historic buildings brought from other parts of Japan, including a three-story pagoda moved from Kyoto Prefecture. The Cup Noodles Museum is a good stop for families, with workshops where visitors can make their own Chicken Ramen or design a custom cup. A half day covers the harbor and Chinatown while adding Sankeien and the museum fills a full day. Yokohama pairs easily with Tokyo or with Kamakura, which is a short train ride away.

🏯Places worth seeing
  • 1 Yokohama Landmark Tower
  • 2 CUPNOODLES MUSEUM
  • 3 Yokohama Marine Tower
  • 4 Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History
  • 5 Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
  • 6 Nippon Maru Memorial Park
  • 7 Yokohama Minatomirai 21 Line
🎡Places for activities
  • 1 NISSAN Stadium
  • 2 Yokohama Arena
  • 3 Yokohama Cosmo World
  • 4 Osanbashi Pier
  • 5 Sea Paradise
  • 6 Kaikō Promenade
  • 7 Manyo Club YOKOHAMA
  • 8 Yokohama Stadium
  • 9 Yokohama Air Cabin
🏞️Natural landmarks
  • 1 Yokohama Zoological Gardens
  • 2 Sankei Garden
  • 3 Yamashita Park
  • 4 Kishine park
  • 5 Negishi Forest Park
  • 6 Kanazawa Nature Park
  • 7 三ツ池公園
  • 8 Yokohama English Garden
  • 9 &.Bay
  • 10 Harbor View Park
  • 11 Kodomo No Kuni Dental
🛍️Shopping
  • 1 Yokohama Chinatown
  • 2 Yokohama World Porters
  • 3 Mitsui Outlet Park Yokohama Bayside
  • 4 Landmark Plaza
  • 5 Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
  • 6 Marine & Walk Yokohama
  • 7 Motomachi Shopping Street
🍽️Eat & Drink
  • 1 Yoshimuraya
    Yoshimuraya is the originator of Yokohama iekei ramen, with thick straight noodles in a pork-bone-and-soy broth, topped with chicken oil, spinach, nori and chashu. It is about a 10-minute walk from Yokohama Station’s west exit.
  • 2 Kiyoken Main Store
    Kiyoken is Yokohama’s classic shumai specialist, known for scallop-accented pork dumplings and its takeaway shumai bento. The main store is beside Yokohama Station’s east exit, near the Sogo department store and Portside district.
  • 3 The Cafe, Hotel New Grand
    The Cafe serves the original Yokohama-style Napolitan pasta and doria, both dishes associated with Hotel New Grand’s postwar culinary history. It is on the ground floor of Hotel New Grand facing Yamashita Park, near Motomachi-Chukagai Station.
  • 4 Center Grill
    Center Grill is a retro Western-style diner known for ketchup-based Napolitan spaghetti, served with its signature sauce. It is in Noge, near Sakuragicho Station and the compact alleyways filled with izakaya and small bars.
  • 5 Manchinro Honten
    Manchinro Honten serves formal Cantonese cuisine, dim sum and banquet-style Chinese dishes in one of Yokohama Chinatown’s historic restaurants. It is on Yamashita-cho’s main Chinatown streets, near Motomachi-Chukagai Station.
  • 6 Kaseiro
    Kaseiro serves Cantonese cuisine, including dim sum, Peking duck and its well-known pork buns. It is in Yokohama Chinatown on Yamashita-cho, close to the district’s main gates and a short walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Station.
  • 7 Edosei Honten
    Edosei is a Chinatown institution known for oversized steamed pork buns and takeaway Chinese snacks. Its main store is on Chukagai Odori, the central pedestrian street of Yokohama Chinatown.
  • 8 Saikoushinkan
    Saikoushinkan serves Cantonese dim sum and seafood dishes, with an extensive daytime yum cha menu. It is at 192 Yamashita-cho in Yokohama Chinatown, close to Chukagai Odori and Motomachi-Chukagai Station.
  • 9 Jokyoen
    Jokyoen offers Shanghainese and Cantonese-style Chinese cuisine, including xiaolongbao and multicourse banquet meals. It is on Yamashita-cho in Yokohama Chinatown, near the Chukagai Odori shopping street.
  • 10 Janomeya
    Founded in 1868, Janomeya serves gyunabe, Yokohama’s historic beef hot pot that predates modern sukiyaki. It is in Isezakicho, south of Kannai Station, near the Isezakicho shopping district and the city’s old downtown area.
🎈Events
  • Yokohama Cherry Blossom Festival (Spring)
  • Yokohama Sparkling Twilight (Summer Fireworks)
  • Pikachu Outbreak
  • Yokohama Chinatown Spring Festival
  • Yokohama Bayside Illumination
  • Sankeien Garden Chrysanthemum Exhibition
  • Yokohama Marathon
  • Yokohama Port Opening Festival (May)
  • Minato Mirai Smart Fireworks Festival (Summer)
  • Yokohama Night Flowers (Various dates)
  • Yokohama Dragon Boat Race (Summer)
  • Yokohama Oktoberfest (October)
  • Christmas Market at Red Brick Warehouse (December)
  • Chinatown Spring Festival (February)
  • Yokohama International Food Fair (Various dates)

Knowledge before you go

  • Hikawa Maru is closed Mondays and the Cup Noodles Museum Tuesdays.
  • The Minato Burari day ticket covers the Blue Line subway, Akai Kutsu buses and routes to Sankeien.
  • Sankeien Garden usually closes at 5:00 PM with last entry half an hour earlier, so arrive by mid-afternoon.
  • Take the Sea Bass boat from Yokohama Bay Quarter to Yamashita Park and pay with an IC card.

How to travel to Yokohama

Rail is the usual way in with the trip from central Tokyo taking about half an hour. The JR Tokaido Line takes around 28 minutes from Tokyo Station to Yokohama Station. The JR Shonan-Shinjuku Line takes around 27 minutes from Shibuya and 32 from Shinjuku. The Tokyu Toyoko Line from Shibuya takes about 30 minutes and continues on the Minatomirai Line into the harbor area. Tokaido Shinkansen trains stop at Shin-Yokohama, which is 10 to 15 minutes from the center. From Haneda Airport (HND) the Keikyu Line reaches Yokohama Station in about 23 to 30 minutes and a direct bus runs to Yokohama Station and Minato Mirai in about 30 minutes or a little longer. Narita Airport (NRT) is farther with the Narita Express taking about 1 hour 40 minutes. Cruise ships dock at Osanbashi and other harbor terminals. By car the Metropolitan Expressway goes from Tokyo but a car is rarely worth it for a central visit.

Access summary

  • From Haneda (HND): Keikyu train or limousine bus, about 25–35 minutes.
  • From Narita (NRT): Narita Express train or airport bus, roughly 1.5 hours.
  • From central Tokyo: Multiple JR/metro lines to Yokohama Station, about 25–40 minutes.

Where to stay in Yokohama

The easiest areas to stay in are Minato Mirai and Kannai. Minato Mirai has large high-rise hotels with harbor views and is next to the main sights. Kannai has business hotels and many restaurants within a short walk of Chinatown and Yamashita Park. Staying near Yokohama Station suits travelers who want trains in every direction and plenty of shopping. Shin-Yokohama is handy mainly for early Shinkansen departures while Motomachi and Yamate are quieter with fewer hotels. Accommodation ranges from budget business hotels to international chain towers and traditional ryokan are rare. Prices climb during large conventions at Pacifico Yokohama and on busy weekends. Yokohama is easy to visit as a day trip from Tokyo but a night here puts you at the harbor in the evening and can be easier on the budget.

How to get around Yokohama

Central Yokohama is compact so the waterfront sights are easy to link on foot. Yokohama Station is a few minutes by train from the harbor area, where Minato Mirai, Kannai and Chinatown are close together.

Trains and subway:
From Yokohama Station the Minatomirai Line reaches Minatomirai Station in about 3 minutes and Motomachi-Chukagai Station for Chinatown in about 10 minutes.
Tokyu Toyoko Line trains run through onto the Minatomirai Line so you can ride from Shibuya without changing. The Blue Line subway runs through Kannai and Isezakicho.

Buses and taxis:
The Akai Kutsu loop bus and the articulated Bayside Blue bus connect the main sights.
Sankeien Garden is on the southern edge of the center and is reached by city bus. Suica and Pasmo cards work on nearly all trains and buses. A car adds little in the center and taxis are easy to find for short hops.

Food in Yokohama

Yokohama's food scene follows its port history, with Chinese food from the harbor settlement and Western-style dishes that arrived with the foreign community. Convenience stores and food courts in the big Minato Mirai complexes cover quick meals.

Chinatown:
Chinese merchants settled by the harbor after it opened in the late 1850s and Chinatown is the main place to eat, with many Chinese restaurants and stalls selling nikuman, steamed meat buns.
Many restaurants take walk-ins so expect lines at weekends.

Ramen:
Sanma-men, a Chinese-style ramen topped with stir-fried vegetables, is a local specialty.
Iekei ramen, with thick noodles in a rich pork and soy broth, also started in the Yokohama area.

Western-style dishes:
Napolitan spaghetti, made with tomato sauce, sausage and vegetables, was reportedly created at a Yokohama hotel after the war.
Gyunabe, a beef hot pot, is linked to the 1860s when Japan's long ban on eating beef was ending.

Budget snapshot
Costs compared to home

We calculate the average costs when traveling to destinations and compare those with the living costs at your home. With this you can get an estimate of how expensive or cheap the destination is for you.

To customize this, you can set up which location and price level are used for the calculations in your account settings.

-46 %
Daily expenses in Yokohama are around 46% lower than the average across United States. That means you'll spend a lot less on meals and getting around.
Exchange rate trend

The exchange rate price factor shows how expensive or cheap a currency currently is compared to its historical average. It's a quick way to see if a country is currently more or less affordable due to exchange rate changes.

-17 %
Your exchange rate (USD to JPY) is 17% better than in recent years. That means traveling now is considerably cheaper compared to the past.

Travel costs

To help you plan your trip, we provide estimated daily costs per person (when traveling as a pair) for different travel styles. These numbers give you an idea of what you might spend each day at this destination, including accommodation, food, transport and activities.

Additionally, we also provide average hotel costs for different travel styles to give you an estimate for the accommodation only.

Please note that these are only estimates. The real costs depend on booking times, season and other factors.

Daily cost summary

Travel style categories explained:

Backpacker:
Staying in hostels or budget hotels, cooking your own meals or eating cheap and choosing low-cost activities.

Mid-range:
Staying in mid-range hotels, eating at a mix of restaurants and casual spots and enjoying a variety of activities.

Luxury:
Staying in luxury hotels, dining out at high-end restaurants and enjoying premium experiences without worrying about the price.

Backpacker Mid-range Luxury
💵 Total costs per day, including accommodation
$61
$125
$315
🏨 Accommodation per night, per person
$32
$72
$138
🍝 Food per day
$23
$43
$131
🚕 Transportation per day
$6
$9
$46
Food & Drink
🍽️ Restaurant Dinner, per person
$18
🍛 Lunch Set, per person
$6
🍟 Fast food combo
$5
🍝 Preparing your own food, per day
$9.50
☕ Cappuccino
$3.30
🍺 Beer in a restaurant, 0.5 l / 16 oz
$2.70
Transportation
🚌 Public transport ticket
$1.40
🚕 Taxi Ride, 10 km / 6 mi
$29
⛽ Gas, 1 l / ¼ gal
$1.05
Other
🎞️ Movie ticket
$12.50
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's consult
$43
🤧 Cold medication
$12.50
💇 Basic haircut
$21

Safety information overview

General safety
9
Yokohama is very safe with low violent crime and busy streets around Minato Mirai and Chinatown at night. Pickpocketing is uncommon but possible in crowded stations and at events. Natural hazards are earthquakes and typhoons in late summer and early autumn.
Health & Medical
9
Medical care is excellent with major hospitals and many clinics across the city. English is limited outside larger hospitals but pharmacies are easy to find. Summers are hot and humid so heat and dehydration are the main everyday risks. Travel insurance is sensible.
Accessi­bility
8
The waterfront around Minato Mirai and Yamashita Park is flat and most stations have lifts. Hillside Yamate has steep streets and stairs while Sankeien Garden has uneven paths and slopes. Chinatown's narrow streets get very crowded on weekends and holidays.
Tap water
10
Tap water is safe to drink here like in the rest of Japan. Vending machines and convenience stores sell bottled water and cold drinks all over the center. In summer heat it's worth carrying a refillable bottle since waterfront walks can be hot.

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