Yokohama - Port Guide

Where is the ship/how to get to the sights?

The ship docks about 15 minutes walk from the start of the sights of Yokohama. You walk straight along the pier to the start of the city, where the train station is if you want to go to Yokohama central station. Or you can walk around the bay from the port and reach many sights easily by foot. If you don’t have time to go into Toyko, there are plenty things within walking distance in Yokohama. Harbour area, shops, plenty local restaurants and wifi spots within 10 minutes walking from the ship. There are drug stores, banks, ATMs, money change places within a few minutes walk from the ship, so if you only have a little time, you can still get practical things done here, and also enjoy a taste of the place without having to go far. In the terminal, if any locals ask you to fill out a Market Research survey about your time in Tokyo, it only takes 5 minutes and they are very nice, and even give you a souvenir present for spending the time on it, if you have it.

Weather

Winter Oct-Feb cold 5-12 degrees Celsius, with snow possible Nov-Feb. Spring: Mar-May 10-18 degrees. Summer: 15-25 degrees. Rain possible year round.

Sights & Sites

Cosmo Clock
Cosmo Clock 21 – Tallest Ferris Wheel with a clock in the world. Take a 15 ride to see unparalleled views of the city.
The Cup Noodles museum – You can learn about the history of the cup noodle, as well as make your own personalized recipe of them in this interactive museum. Family fun. (Closed on Mondays).
Yokohama City Central Market – Fish market with tasty fresh sushi for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Tuna filleting demonstrations happed on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
The Red Brick Warehouse buildings along the waterfront which were once customs house, and have been converted to have a lot of quirky shops in them as well as art galleries, places for live music, and local jewelry sellers. It is a very cool arty area with nice places to eat and drink also.
Brew pub –
Tea Ceremony – In Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, in their tearoom. Situated on 65^th floor of Yokohama Landmark’s Tower.
Shopping centre – Queen’s Square shopping centre has a lot of modern Japanese as well as international shops. It also has nice restaurants inside.

Shopping/Souvenirs

Yokohama is quite large with a lot of shops to buy souvenirs. The red brick converted warehouses on the waterfront are a good spot to buy artsy souvenirs such as hand crafter jewelry, photographs, paintings and sculptures as well as checking out the wars in the retro vintage shops for clothes and accessories from the 1950s-80s.

If you only have two hours

It is easy to walk to a lot of sights in Yokohama from the ship. Pick up a ‘50 Things to Do in Yokohama’ map with info from the terminal if possible to see where the nearest places are. It is also attached on the bottom here as a PDF. You can walk around the bay to see the Red Brick Warehouses, stop in at the Elephant Café along the waterfront if you want Wi-Fi and a nice coffee, or check out the Breuheusen for a beer, Wi-Fi and happy hour 4-6, which is just around the corner from the ship.

What is it known for?

Yokohama was known as the sea gateway to Tokyo, but has flourished in its own right becoming a less bustling place to visit and relax by the sea. It has lots of lovely cafes, places to enjoy tea ceremonies, and brew pubs, as well as a good amount of shops and a lot of live music and arts here.

Food & Drink

There are plenty of places to try local foods here. From ramen in side street cafes, to sushi in very good quality places in the mall, and local made treats in cafes along the waterfront, Yokohama offers local culinary treats as well as plenty international restaurants. We ate in a sushi joint in Queen’s Square shopping centre having one of the set lunches, which was very tasty.

Wi-Fi

There is free wifi in the terminal for everyone. The password is on signs around the room. Most restaurants, and cafes in the city have free wifi if you buy a coffee or something. There is also free wifi closeby in Zou No Hana Cafe which means Elephant’s Nose Cafe.

ATM/Money exchange

There are many ATMs throughout the city, at least one on every block. Banks will exchange money, and money exchanges are around on most main streets.

Karen’s Top Tip

Take a map from the staff in the terminal and take a walk around the shore side. The 50 Things to do in Yokohama (which is shown below) is very useful. It has a map and gives info on all the things to see and do. Pick where you’d like to go to on the map and follow the route around to the places you’d like to see most. Since things aren’t far away, you can see a lot with not much time of Yokohama.

My experience here

I was in the port of Yokohama on the ship’s first stop here with a rehearsal right in the middle of the day. So, after spending the morning in Harajuku (more on that later), I spent the afternoon in Yokohama. The good thing about Yokohama, is that things aren’t far away so you can still see things without much time. I followed the map around to see the Ferris wheel, noodle museum (which was closed on Mondays, like quite a few museums are in Japan, check ahead for opening times if there’s somewhere in particular you’d love to visit in case it is closed), the red brick buildings, the mall, had sushi in the mall, then walked along to the brew pub, then past the park, and back along to the ship. At the top of the mall, there is the hotel, where you can do a tea ceremony, which costs $15 per person.

My Most Memorable Moment

My most memorable moment in Yokohama was being at the top of the Yokohama Landmark Tower, in the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, looking out on the city. (You can go to the 65^th floor for free, but pay to go up to the 68^th floor not much above it). There was a tea ceremony you could do here on floor 65, which cost about $15 and usually lasts about an hour. We didn’t actually participate in it, as we only had 25 minutes before it closed, and were also getting close to the time when we would have to be back at work, and we wanted to enjoy it fully and not be rushed. We thought we’d return another Yokohama port day to do it when we had more time. There is so much to do in Tokyo and the area that we never had another Yokohama day, so never actually got round to it. However, despite us not having time to participate that day, the lady working there showed us around though, and the views were amazing. You sit on tatami mats with decorative stones and fountains with peaceful music at the top of the building looking out on the sprawling skyline of Yokohama blending into Tokyo in the distance, and follow the ancient traditions of the tea ceremony guided by your hostess dressed in full kimono. The most lasting impression I have of Yokohama was viewing the sprawling skyline of the city with Tokyo in the distance, from this high tower, feeling the peacefulness of the Feh Shui-ed area for the ceremony in quiet except the soft music, while looking out on huge cities. Next time I will stop there!