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BackYokohama Travel Guide
Website:
www.city.yokohama.jp
Festivals:
Chinese New Year (Feb)
Yokohama Port Festival (May 3)
Just a quick 30 minute rapid express train ride south of Tokyo is Yokohama, Japan's second largest city. The sightseeing and things to do all fall within the general downtown area; outside this zone you won't find much going on.
A relatively new city, Yokohama received its impetus as being a neighboring city to Tokyo, and became the largest port city in Asia in the 1900s. However after the Great Kanto Earthquake and WWII it was completely destroyed twice. But this has not stopped the city from rebuilding again and becoming a huge city and power house in the economy.
As a generality the people of Yokohama are considered to be more cool and relaxed than those in neighboring Tokyo.
While expensive in its own right, many people move to Yokohama because it is less expensive than Tokyo, and subsequently do the Yokohama-Tokyo commute every day.
For the traveler Yokohama offers an entire day of exploring and fun. The majority of it will be in the downtown's core, in and around Minato Mirai 21. (Harbor of the Future)
Yokohama Restaurants & Food [view all]
Experience Local dining
The Must Eats section for Yokohama doubles as Yokohama Attractions! As they are all Food Museums! Cowabunga dudes!
Kirin Beer Village (FREE)
Beer enthusiasts unite and rejoice, but don't expect an actual village of pubs and beer. Instead it is a small museum and public tours of the breweries, and of course plenty of sampling of the goods. The tour lasts about an hour, and are done every 30 minutes.
Mor Information:
Kirin Beer Village Google Map
Kirin Beer Village Official Website
Phone: 045-503-8250
Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
If there is only one thing you have time for in Yokohama then it MUST be the Ramen Museum. You'll get to sample the best of ramen from: Sapporo, Asahikawa, Fukushima, Tokyo, Yokohama, Wakayama, Hakata, and Kumamoto. With an admission fee of only $4 USD, it is a rather good deal. And for the die-hard ramen-addicts you can get a 1 year pass for only $9 USD, not bad!
More Information:
Ramen Museum Google Map
Ramen Museum Official Website
Cup Noodles Museum
And you thought you were finished with ramen after glutting yourself at the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum? tsk tsk tsk! Your adventure has just begun, you ramen neophyte. Now make room in your stomach if at all physically possible and take a stroll on down to the Cup Noodles Museum
The Museum is RATHER large, impressive and is everything the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum should be.
The Museum hosts several ramen-esque art galleries, historical and educational. As well as several interactive activities. For example: making your own ramen, making your own ramen box, and lastly the Noodles Bazaar where you can take a sampling.
Depending on what you want to do at the museum there will be different fees or none at all (the noodles bazaar has no fee)
Cup Noodles Museum Official Website
Cup Noodles Museum Official Website
Cup Noodles Museum Pamphlet
Yokohama Sightseeing & Attractions [view all]
Our top picks of things to see and do
Chinatown
Don't come to chinatown hoping to get your fix of General Tso's Chicken! Where's your imagination?! While there are some cross-over restaurants which offer Japanese-Chinese and American-Chinese food, you'll find in the main lots of traditional eateries, offering the real deal. So push a side that egg-foo-young and get some real Chinese cuisine.
Aside from Chinese food you'll find plenty of nick-knack shops where you can marvel at all the fun things and bunk.
Hikawa Maru
Located next to the ever so spacious Yamshita Park is the dry docked Hikawa Maru, an impressive steam ocean liner from built in 1929. It now serves as a museum. The inside is beautifully restored and best of all admission is only 200 yen.
Kantei-byo Temple
While you're prowling the streets of Chinatown, hunting for General Tso's Chicken, (shame on you!) Take a moment and marvel at the beauty and mystique of this Chinese temple. The temple is as flashy as it is ornate, having been rebuilt several times it looks practically brand new.
Landmark Tower
The Landmark Tower is Japan's tallest building however, the Tokyo Sky Tree dwarfs it. But the Sky Tree is not a building per se, but a 'structure'. Therefore the Landmark Tower still holds its title. It also formerly held the title of fastest elevator in the world. There isn't much for the traveler to do with the Landmark Tower, save for standing from a far admiring it. For those who have a buck or two it has a fantastic hotel, with the cheapest room coming in around $210 USD. But who are we kidding? You're probably just going to sneak in to try out the elevator.
Minato Mirai 21 (Future Harbor 21)
Being quite possibly the best part of Yokohama, Minato Mirai is in the center of all the action. It is right on the bay (being itself a harbor) It has a small amusement park, an excellent shopping mall, wicked restaurants, it also has the most charming walks and look outs to the sea. This charming spacious quality has made the harbor a favorite place for couples to gather for a good old fashion walk. Just south of the harbor is Yamashita park.
Among others you'll find the following here: Cup Noodles Museum, Manyo Club, Red Brick Warehouse, Cosmo World, Queen's Towers, Landmark Plaza, Nippon maru Port and Museum, Yokohama Museum of Art, Mitsubishi Museum, Landmark Tower.
Getting there is easy enough, just take the Minato Mirai line to Minato Mirai station. Piece of cake.
Yamashita Park
A spacious and charming park located just outside of Chinatown. Yamashita Park is home to the Hikiwa Maru steamboat as well as the Yokohama Marine Tower, a small steel tower which looks over the park.
As a side note, for those of you who are familiar with good ol' Osaka, the Yokohama Marine Tower strikes a certain resemblance to Osaka's Tsutenkaku Tower.
Yokohama Shopping [view all]
Lalaport Yokohama
The only place you need to concern yourself with when looking where to shop in Yokohama. From their website: "The largest large-scale commercial facility in the prefecture, located near the Kanagawa Tsurumi River. The building, with its lush green vegetation and vast open space, is home to a new Daimaru business dedicated to food, along with the general supermarket Ito Yokado, a culture school, a craft center for the baby-boomer generation, popular local apparel shops, high fashion brands, and a multitude of shops that meet a wide range of needs and wants."
Transportation
By Shinkansen
Take Shinkansen to Shin Yokohama Station. Get off and transfer to the Yokohama Subway line, and take subway to Sakuragicho station. This will put you right in the middle of the action.
By Plane
Yokohama International airport is about as far from Yokohama as is Haneda. One is best off going to Haneda and taking the Keikyu Line's Airport Express which will take 30 minutes and cost 470 yen.
By Train
There are many ways to access Yokohama by Train. Coming from Tokyo you would want the JR Shonan Shinjuku Line, 30 minutes and 540 yen from Shinjuku.
Coming from Osaka, you can take the shinkansen from Shin Osaka to Shin Yokoyama. Cost: 5340 yen, length: 2hours 2minutes
To get exact times and prices for any station in Japan to Yokohama check out
TrainRouteFinder by Jorudan Co. Ltd.
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/
Map
Yokohama Hotels & Accommodations [view all]
Cheapest and best places to stay
Hotel Monterey Yokohama
Affordable and rather nice hotel with a killer view. Located at Yamashita Park, right in the heart of the action. Doubles start at 5300 yen.
6-1 Yamashitacho, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
+81 45-330-7111
Toyoko Inn Yokohama Sakuragi-cho
Clean, simple and affordable hotel. Located next to Bashamichi Station on Minato Mirai Line, putting it within walking distance of the Landmark Tower. Single Room starts at 5950 yen.
6-55 Hon-cho Naka-ku Yokohama
+81-(0)45-671-1045
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