Stand on the rooftop garden of Ōsanbashi Pier as the light drops behind the Minato Mirai skyline, and you get the city in a single frame: a working international port on one side, a wall of towers on the other. Yokohama has been Japan's window to the outside world since its port opened on June 2, 1859, and that history is still legible in its neighbourhoods, its waterfront and its museums.
This guide suits travellers who want a port city rather than a checklist: harbour views, a historic liner, a hill district of old foreign residences, and one of the country's largest Chinatowns. It assumes you are basing yourself in Yokohama for at least a day, and that you are happy to walk between waterfront sights and take a train or bus for the rest.
Everything below is drawn from the source material for this guide. Where a place has opening hours or an admission charge, they are given as recorded there; check before you travel, as these change.
Top things to do in Yokohama
1. Ōsanbashi Pier
Ōsanbashi Pier is the main international pier at the Port of Yokohama, where cruise ships dock. It was architecturally renovated in an abstract modern style in 2002, and it provides a view of the Minato Mirai skyline.
The rooftop garden is open to the public and is at its best during sunset. Access is free and the pier is open around the clock, so it works as a first stop or a last one.
2. Landmark Tower
The Landmark Tower stands in the Minato Mirai 21 district, near Minato Mirai Station. It continues to be the tallest building in Yokohama, and its 69th-floor observation platform gives good views all the way to Tokyo, with Mount Fuji visible on clear days. The elevators are said to be the fastest in Japan.
Admission to the observation platform is ¥1000 for adults. Opening hours are Sunday to Friday 10:00–21:00 and Saturday 10:00–22:00. For a classier experience, try the cocktail lounge on the 70th floor, where drinks start at around ¥1000 each, or have dinner on the 68th floor.
3. Yamashita Park
Yamashita Park sits on the waterfront, and from it you can see the whole port of Yokohama. There is a lot of greenery, and it is a short walk from Motomachi-Chinatown Station, JR Ishikawachō Station and JR Kannai Station.
It is also one of the main spots for street performance. Performers appear here, and in Granmall Park in the middle of Landmark Tower and Queens Square in Sakuragicho, every weekend; the fire performance in particular is dynamic.
4. Hikawa Maru
The Hikawa Maru is a passenger liner moored at Yamashita Park in Yamashita-cho, Naka-ku. It made 238 voyages across the Pacific to Seattle and Vancouver between 1930 and 1960, and served as a hospital ship during World War II. The ship has also been used for movie and TV location shooting, including the 1997 film Moonlight Serenade and the 2005 NHK drama Haru to Natsu.
It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:00. Admission is ¥300 for adults, ¥200 for seniors and ¥100 for children. Pair it with Yamashita Park, which it sits in.
5. Chinatown
Chinatown, or Chūkagai, is located next to Motomachi-Chinatown Station and a short walk from Ishikawachō Station on the Negishi Line. It is the largest Chinatown in Japan and dates back to the Opening of Japan in 1859.
It is unabashedly touristy these days, but there are plenty of Chinese grocery stores and places to buy a cheap cheongsam dress or jade knick-knacks. Combine it with a walk up into Yamate, which begins near the same station.
6. Yamate
Yamate is the neighbourhood where foreigners settled and still settle. You can make a pleasant walk from the Italian garden near Ishikawachō Station to the French park near Motomachi-Chūkagai Station.
The route takes you along some nice houses that were previously owned by rich foreigners; nowadays these houses can be visited freely. A nice cake shop can be found here as well. The foreigner cemetery is also along this route and houses a small museum with pictures of the Motomachi shopping street in the old days and cartoons showing how the Japanese saw foreigners.
7. Marine Tower
Marine Tower stands at 15 Yamashitacho, Naka-ku, and is considered by some to be the tallest on-land lighthouse in the world. It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Yokohama's port opening.
In clear conditions, visitors can see Mount Fuji from the 100-metre high observation deck. Admission is ¥750 for adults. It is a short distance from Yamashita Park and Hikawa Maru, so it fits naturally into the same stretch of waterfront.
8. Yokohama Port Opening Memorial Hall
This is a historic red-brick building near the waterfront, completed in 1917 to commemorate the opening of the port. Nicknamed the "Jack Tower," it features an elegant clock tower and distinctive early 20th-century Western-style architecture.
Today it serves as a cultural venue and event space, with parts of the interior occasionally open to visitors. Because access to the interior depends on what is on, treat it as a building to see from the outside and to step into if the doors happen to be open.
9. Cup Noodles Museum Yokohama
This museum at 2-3-4 Shinko, Naka-ku, is dedicated to the creation of cup noodles by Momofuku Ando, with exhibits about the history of instant noodles. It is open Monday to Sunday, 10:00–18:00, and admission is ¥500 for adults.
You can make your own custom designed cup noodles at the museum for ¥300, but get a numbered ticket as soon as you enter, as there is a daily quota. Kids' activities include making chicken ramen in a test kitchen by hand (¥300–500) and an interactive park (¥300). There is a food hall exhibiting international noodle dishes on the 4th floor, with half-size servings at ¥300.
10. Yokohama Museum of Art
The Yokohama Museum of Art is at 3-4-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku. It is open Friday to Wednesday, 10:00–18:00, with last entry at 17:30, and closed on Thursdays and during the New Year holidays.
Its location in Minatomirai makes it easy to combine with the Landmark Tower and the rest of the Minato Mirai 21 district in a single afternoon.
11. Sankei-en Park
Sankei-en Park is a traditional style of park, known as a teien, southeast of Naka Ward and about 35 minutes by bus from Yokohama Station. It opened in 1906 and has many Japanese traditional buildings, 13 of which have been designated as national heritages.
Because of the bus journey, give it a half day rather than squeezing it between waterfront stops.
12. Yokohama Bay Bridge
The Yokohama Bay Bridge is an 860-m-long cable suspension bridge spanning the Port of Yokohama. There is an observation platform attached to it called Skywalk, which is only open on certain days of the week depending on the month.
To get there, take a bus in front of JR Sakuragichō Station. If you cannot find the correct bus, ask for help at the Tourist information center located right in front of the station. Be aware that the bus trip takes quite a while, and there is nothing more to see than the view of Minato Mirai from afar.
13. Yokohama History Museum
The Yokohama History Museum is in Tsuzuki-ku at Nakagawachuou 1-18-1. It introduces Yokohama's history from the Primary period to the Modern period, and next to the museum there are excavations of the Yayoi period.
It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–17:00, and closed on Mondays. Admission is ¥400 for adults, ¥200 for high school and university students, and ¥100 for seniors and elementary school students.
14. Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature
This museum at 110 Yamate, Naka-ku, is located in Harbor View Park and specializes in modern Japanese literature. It holds large-scale exhibitions several times a year and collects materials on various authors, and it has a reading room where visitors can obtain a variety of materials.
It is open Thursday to Sunday, 09:30–17:00, and is reached from Motomachi-Chukagai Station, Exit 6. It fits neatly into a Yamate walk.
15. Keiō University - Hiyoshi Campus and the Hiyoshi Tunnels
This is a campus of the oldest university in Japan, known for its campus' towering maidenhair trees, which turn a lovely yellow in the fall. The Hiyoshi tunnels are underneath.
The tunnels were the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II; naval commanders from these tunnels ordered Kamikaze attacks, directed ground battles such as the Battle of Okinawa, and naval engagements like the Battle of Leyte Gulf during the later years of the war. There are many rooms, and the university allows visits once per month, so plan around that single opening if the tunnels are your reason for going.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at Ōsanbashi Pier, where the rooftop garden gives you the Minato Mirai skyline and the working port in one view. Walk the waterfront from there to Yamashita Park, then board the Hikawa Maru, which opens at 10:00. If the day is clear, add Marine Tower for the view towards Mount Fuji.
Afternoon. Walk into Chinatown for lunch and a look at the grocery stores and shops, then continue up into Yamate for the walk between the Italian garden and the French park, taking in the old foreign houses and the foreigner cemetery along the way. If you still have time and energy, the Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature in Harbor View Park is on the same hill and opens until 17:00.
Evening. Head to the Minato Mirai 21 district for the Landmark Tower. Go up to the 69th-floor observation platform before it closes, then stay for dinner on the 68th floor or a drink in the 70th-floor cocktail lounge, and finish with the lights of the port below.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit Ōsanbashi Pier?
The rooftop garden is open to the public and is very beautiful, especially during sunset. The pier itself is open 24/7 and free to enter.
Do I need to book anything in advance in Yokohama?
Two things are worth planning around. At the Cup Noodles Museum, get a numbered ticket as soon as you enter for the custom cup noodle activity, as there is a daily quota. At Keiō University's Hiyoshi Campus, the university allows visits to the Hiyoshi tunnels only once per month.
Is the Yokohama Bay Bridge Skywalk always open?
No. The observation platform attached to the Bay Bridge is only open on certain days of the week depending on the month. Take a bus in front of JR Sakuragichō Station to get there, and ask at the Tourist information center in front of the station if you cannot find the correct bus.
Where can I see street performance?
There are many street performers, especially in Yamashita Park and Granmall Park, in the middle of Landmark Tower and Queens Square in Sakuragicho, every weekend. The fire performance in particular is dynamic.
Decide which of these you want most — the waterfront at sunset, the hill walk through Yamate, or a day built around Minato Mirai — and start laying out your days from there.