JAPN Yokohama Day Trip: Chinatown, Waterfront and Cup Noodle Museum
Yokohama Day Trip: Chinatown, Waterfront and Cup Noodle Museum
Chinatown
Yokohama Chinatown is the largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world, with over 500 shops and restaurants packed into a 500-meter square grid marked by ornate gates at ten entrances. The district dates to 1859 when Yokohama’s port opened to foreign trade and Chinese merchants established a settlement. Kantei-byo Temple at the center, dedicated to Guan Yu the god of commerce, glows with elaborate gold and red ornamentation. Nikuman steamed pork buns from Kohinata, Jukeihanten, and Edosei cost 300 to 500 yen and are eaten while walking.
Heichinro, established in 1884, is the district’s oldest restaurant and serves Cantonese cuisine in a grand dining room with prix-fixe lunch sets from 2,500 yen. Shanghainese xiaolongbao soup dumplings, Szechuan mapo tofu, and Cantonese dim sum each have specialist restaurants. The weekend atmosphere fills the streets with food vendors selling sesame balls, egg tarts, and roasted chestnuts. The Yokohama Daisekai food court complex gathers stalls from different Chinese regional cuisines on multiple floors.
Minato Mirai Waterfront
Minato Mirai 21, the redeveloped waterfront district, clusters the Landmark Tower at 296 meters with a 69th-floor Sky Garden observatory charging 1,000 yen, the red-brick warehouse complex Akarenga Soko converted to shops and event spaces, and the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel whose 112.5-meter height and 15-minute rotation provide harbor views at 900 yen per ride. The Cup Noodle Museum, operated by Nissin, costs 500 yen admission and includes a 300-yen experience where visitors design their own cup noodle package and select from 5,460 flavor combinations.
The Hikawa Maru, a 1930 ocean liner permanently moored in the harbor, served the Yokohama-Seattle route and carried notable passengers including Charlie Chaplin. Tours of the art deco interior cost 300 yen. Yamashita Park stretches along the waterfront connecting Chinatown to Minato Mirai on a pleasant walking path. The Yokohama Museum of Art houses collections of modern and contemporary art including Dali, Magritte, and Picasso alongside Japanese surrealists, in a building designed by Kenzo Tange.
Sankeien Garden and More
Sankeien, a 175,000-square-meter traditional garden created by silk merchant Hara Sankei between 1904 and 1908, relocated historic buildings from across Japan including a three-story pagoda from Kyoto, tea houses from Kamakura, and a daimyo’s residence from Wakayama. The inner garden charges 500 yen and outer garden 200 yen. Cherry blossoms in late March, water lilies in summer, and autumn maples create seasonal highlights. The garden feels remarkably secluded despite its location in southern Yokohama.
Ramen Museum in Shin-Yokohama recreates a 1958 Tokyo streetscape in its basement where nine ramen shops from across Japan serve regional styles. The museum chronicles instant ramen’s invention by Momofuku Ando and the evolution of ramen culture. Admission costs 380 yen, and each bowl runs 500 to 900 yen in mini sizes to allow sampling multiple shops. Yokohama’s own ramen style, Iekei, features a thick pork-bone and soy-sauce blended broth with thick noodles, spinach, nori, and chashu.
Access from Tokyo
JR Tokaido Line reaches Yokohama from Tokyo Station in 28 minutes, and the Tokyu Toyoko Line from Shibuya to Yokohama takes 30 minutes, both for under 500 yen. The Minato Mirai Line extends from Yokohama Station through the waterfront and Chinatown areas. Walking from Chinatown to Minato Mirai along the waterfront takes about 30 minutes. A full Yokohama day trip from Tokyo typically starts at the Cup Noodle Museum, walks through Minato Mirai and Yamashita Park to Chinatown for lunch, then returns by mid-afternoon, though the city rewards an unhurried full day.
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