Top 5 Yokohama | japan-guide.com

The top 5 things to experience in Yokohama – Japan.
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Host & Narrator: Matt Evans
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Producer: Stefan Schauwecker

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The capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama is located just south of Tokyo, facing Tokyo Bay. It’s known for its vibrant waterfront area, stylish ambience and its port, which was one of the first to open to international trade after the country’s long era of isolation. Japan Railways, Keikyu Railway, and Tokyu Railway connect Yokohama with Tokyo, and a ride between the two cities takes under 30 minutes and costs just a few hundred yen. Yokohama is generally referred to as Japan’s second-most populated city, with neighboring Tokyo taking the number one spot. Tokyo is technically not a city however, but instead, a metropolis consisting of dozens of special city wards, cities, towns and villages. So, you could argue that Yokohama with its 3.7 million inhabitants, is technically Japan’s biggest city by population. Yokohama has a relatively short history. During the feudal era, when Japan remained closed off to the outside world, it was just a small fishing village. When the Americans forced Japan to open up, they requested the port of Kanagawa be opened to their ships, as it was located near Edo and along the important Tokaido highway. Instead, hoping to keep foreigners away from the strategically important highway, Japan grew Yokohama into a new port town where foreigners could live in a controlled setting. In 1859, it became one of the first Japanese ports to open to international trade, along with Nagasaki and Hakodate. Today, the old city center, Chinatown, and the hilly Yamate district, where wealthy western merchants once lived in glamorous houses and mansions, retain a sense of what the area once was. With its international history and cosmopolitan atmosphere, the city boasts a unique food scene, cultural attractions, and easy accessibility – making it an ideal side-trip for travelers to Tokyo. Now that we’ve covered the basics, here are our top 5 recommended places to visit on a trip to Yokohama. The Ramen Museum The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum opened in 1994 to showcase the history and culture of ramen noodles. Ramen was introduced to Japan from China in the 1800s when Chinese immigrants began settling and opening restaurants in the port city of Yokohama. From there, the dish spread across the country, taking on regional changes to the broth, seasoning and noodle types, gradually turning into the noodle dish widely enjoyed today. The museum recreates Japanese streets of the 1950s when the popularity of ramen was rapidly on the rise, and contains replicas of old-fashioned storefronts and streetlamps. Visitors to the museum can learn about the history of ramen and see exhibits of ramen-related items. The main attraction, however, are multiple small ramen restaurants from different regions of Japan, each with their own take on the classic dish. Every restaurant also offers Mini Ramen, small portions of their featured dish, an excellent choice for those looking to mix and match. Waterfront Until relatively recently Yokohama’s waterfront was occupied by industry and harbor facilities. However, due to efforts to make the city more attractive, the waterfront area was cleared of industry and given to the people to enjoy, a relative rarity in Japan. Park areas and nice redevelopment lines the entire waterfront in the city center for several kilometers, allowing pedestrians to walk along the waterfront and visit various sites of interest along the way. These include the spacious Yamashita Park, constructed in 1923, and the Hikawa Maru anchored in front of it. The large ocean liner trafficked the Yokohama-Vancouver-Seattle route between 1930 and 1960 and today can be entered and explored. Another attraction is the Yokohama Marine Tower. This 106-meter building was completed in 1961 and serves both as a lighthouse, and observation deck with a 360-degree view of the city. Just north of Yamashita Park is the Osanbashi Pier, one of Yokohama’s international cruise ship terminals, known for its distinctive futuristic design and wide open spaces. The 700-meter long pier features walkways and green areas greatly enjoyed by tourists and locals alike, as well as spectacular views of the Yokohama skyline. Chinatown Chinatown is a neighborhood in central Yokohama; home to a large Chinese population who settled there after the port opened to foreign trade in 1859. The Yokohama Chinatown Is not only the largest in Japan, surpassing those in Kobe and Nagasaki, but also one of the largest in the world. Visitors can enjoy a vibrant atmosphere with colorful storefronts, red lanterns hanging above the street, and vendors selling Chinese food, goods, and souvenirs. The streets are packed with restaurants, and popular dishes such as shumai, a type of Chinese dumpling, shoronpo, a steamed bun with fillings, ramen, gyoza and other Chinese dishes can be enjoyed here. Chinatown is also home to a couple of temples. The most prominent of them, Kanteibyo, is dedicated to the Chinese god of good business. Constructed in 1873 and located in the center of Chinatown, the temple has beautiful colors and wooden details inlaid with gold leaf. Minato Mirai Minato Mirai, literally "Future Harbor," is a waterfront district in Yokohama, redeveloped in the past few decades as the city’s new center. The modern, urban waterfront area boasts many attractions, including the Landmark Tower, Japan’s tallest building from 1993-2014. With the country’s fastest elevator, the tower has a beautiful 360-degree view over Yokohama, Tokyo, and Mount Fuji on days when the weather is clear. Cosmo World is an amusement park with various rides, including a large Ferris Wheel that doubles as one of the world’s largest clocks. Other attractions include The Cup Noodles Museum, where visitors can learn about the history of instant cup noodles through interactive exhibits and even make noodles themselves with their own choice of flavoring. Also worth visiting are the Akarenga warehouses which today house some pleasant shops and restaurants and are a reminder of the district’s history as a busy harbor. With its numerous shopping malls, tourist attractions, park areas and a ropeway, Minato Mirai is a pleasant place to spend a day. Sankeien Sankeien Garden was created by Hara Sankei, a successful silk industrialist. After the opening to foreign trade, in which Yokohama Port played a major role, silk would become one of Japan’s most important export industries. Today, Sankeien is one of the most pleasant Japanese gardens in the Greater Tokyo area and offers not only a pleasant network of trails around its central pond, wooded areas and hills but also over a dozen historical buildings, which were moved here from other parts of Japan, including a pagoda from Kyoto, a feudal lord’s residence, temple halls, teahouses and a gassho-zukuri-style farmhouse from the Shirakawago area. Additionally, the park is a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing in spring and autumn leaves Sankeien is one of the best places to go in the Tokyo area if you want to experience traditional Japan, but can’t make it to Kyoto. We hope this top-5 list gives you some ideas when planning your trip to Yokohama. For more information or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to Japan Guide dot com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide, first hand from Japan. 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