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61°F / 16°C
(Clear. Cool.)
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Yokohama is one of Japan’s most important international ports, and with a population of 3.4 million, the nation’s second largest city. It is a vibrant city, with an incredible diversity of attractions, including first-class hotels, fine dining restaurants and incredible shopping opportunities. That combination draws an average 2.5 million people from Tokyo alone every weekend. To find out why, let us start with Yokohama’s exciting shopping scene.
Your Yokohama Shopping Tour starts at the JR Yokohama Station and two of the most scintillating shopping districts in Japan—the area around Yokohama Station and Minato Mirai 21. The area around the station was Yokohama’s premier commercial district when Minato Mirai 21 was just a gleam in an architect’s eye, and it continues to be a shopper's heaven. You can shop in huge department stores, chic malls and underground arcades. Stroll through the elegant Yokohama Takashimaya Shopping Center, wander through Lumine, or lose yourself in Porta Plaza.
When you have had enough of the downtown shopping district, move on to Minato Mirai 21—Yokohama’s futuristic waterfront wonderland. Simply take the JR Keihin-Tohoku or the JR Tokaido Line to Sakuragi-cho Station, one stop to the south. Or better still, to get a truer sense of how life in Yokohama revolves around its international port, take a short cruise on Yokohama’s water taxi, the Sea Bass. Finding the Sea Bass is easy: Just follow the signs to the pier from Sogo Department Store. The Sea Bass offers two short cruises to Minato Mirai 21. The slightly longer cruise takes you past Minato Mirai to Yamashita Park and the Hikawa-Maru, a luxurious passenger liner that is now a museum with a classy restaurant. The shorter cruise takes you through the harbor directly to the Minato Mirai Pukari Pier. Once you disembark, you can get a bird’s eye view of Yokohama and its surroundings from the Sky Garden Observatory on the 69th floor of Japan's tallest skyscraper, Landmark Tower.
Minato Mirai 21 is Yokohama’s "Harbor City of the Future," and to really do it justice requires at least a full day. For the purpose of your shopping expedition, however, let the world’s fastest elevators whisk you 900 vertical feet in just 40 seconds and start exploring Landmark Plaza’s 190 shops and boutiques. Walk next door and you will find hundreds more shops, boutiques and restaurants in the immense Queen’s Tower shopping complex. Then, when you are ready to sit down in style, why not take a seat on the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, at Yokohama Cosmo World?
Perhaps the best Yokohama Sightseeing Tour starts at Ishikawacho Station on the JR Negishi Line. It will take you through two of Yokohama’s finest neighborhoods and end with a stroll in Yokohama’s spiritual heart, the seaside Yamashita Park. To begin, walk out of the rear exit of Ishikawacho Station, turn left and walk straight. You are now strolling along Yokohama's Golden Mile, the Motomachi shopping district. Along both sides of the street you will see fashionable boutiques, exciting antique shops, trendy restaurants and inviting coffee shops. After you have walked about four blocks from the station, you will encounter the smell of fresh bread from Uchiki Pan, the oldest working bakery in Yokohama. Across the street you will see the entrance to the Gaijin Bochi, the historic foreigners’ cemetery. Next to the cemetery are Motomachi Park and the historic Ellisman Mansion. This mansion is perhaps the best place to see how the wealthy foreign community in Yamate lived during the golden years, before the catastrophic 1923 earthquake destroyed that world forever.
The Ellisman Mansion is also the perfect place for a rest before you climb the Bluff to Harbor View Park. This park has an elevated viewing platform that offers a panoramic view of Yokohama. This is the spot for the best night view of Yokohama. By now you are probably quite hungry, so it is time to walk down the adjacent French Hill, cross the overhead walkway, and enter nearby Chinatown. Enjoy strolling through the streets and savor the varied aromas. Here you can choose from more than 160 restaurants offering cuisines from every region of China. If you prefer Cantonese, try the classic Heichinro. For Beijing style, try Kaseiro. There is something here to suit every taste. After dinner, walk out through Choyo Mon, Chinatown’s East Gate, cross Honcho-Dori, and walk straight towards the bay. You will soon be rewarded with the beautiful Yamashita Park. The park was built on debris dumped into the bay following the 1923 earthquake. The park is thought by many to be the romantic heart of Yokohama City, and is the ideal place to end a day’s sightseeing adventures.
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