How I Spent 2 Days in Yokohama, Japan [Where To Stay, Things To Do]

Yokohama, Japan, is an often overlooked and underappreciated city. Just south of Tokyo, many travelers skip this wonderful city in favor of other destinations like Osaka and Kyoto — but they’re making a mistake.

Once a small fishing village, Yokohama rapidly developed into an important port city after Japan opened its borders to international trade in the 1850s. Today, Yokohama is best known for its modern buildings and scenic waterfront, and it is the headquarters of several major Japanese companies.

Although I have visited Yokohama once before, this was my wife’s first time. So, I was excited to explore the city with her, even if I had visited some of its tourist sites before.

Here’s an in-depth look at how we spent 2 days in Yokohama.

Arriving in Yokohama

Although Yokohama is Japan’s second-largest city, it does not have an airport. The closest airport to Yokohama is Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND), one of the world’s largest airports, which serves both domestic and international flights, including flights from the U.S.

You can fly nonstop between several U.S. airports and Haneda Airport on 6 different airlines:

The easiest way to get from Haneda Airport to Yokohama is via the Keikyū Airport Line. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes and costs ¥370 (about $2.50). Alternatively, you can take the Airport Limousine Bus, which costs ¥650 (about $4.50) and takes about the same time.

Where To Stay in Yokohama

Minatomirai

Minatomirai is Yokohama’s modern waterfront area, home to many of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. This includes the Landmark Tower, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama Port Museum, the Cup Noodles Museum, Pia Arena MM, and the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse.

The area also has some of Yokohama’s most luxurious hotels, including the InterContinental Yokohama Grand, the Westin Yokohama, and the Hilton Yokohama. There are also many local and cost-effective hotels.

Yokohama Station

Yokohama Station lies northwest of the city center proper. The neighborhoods around the station buzz 24 hours a day with many places to eat and shop. The area is incredibly convenient for getting around. The Yokohama Station area is not exactly a sightseeing destination, but there is a good chance you’ll spend some time here, as it is generally the entry point to Yokohama.

There are Western hotel chain properties around Yokohama Station, including the Four Points Flex by Sheraton Yokohama West and the Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers.

Yamashita Park

Lastly, there is also the area around Yamashita Park. The harbor promenade has several tourist attractions, including Chinatown, the Yokohama Marine Tower, the Yokohama Doll Museum, Yokohama Bay Hall, and Yokohama Stadium.

The area has many less expensive local hotels and guesthouses. However, those looking for more luxury options can stay at Yokohama’s only Hyatt hotel, the Hyatt Regency Yokohama, next to Yamashita Park.

Day 1

After arriving in Yokohama from Tokyo, we checked in at the Hilton Yokohama. After dropping off our bags and freshening up, we were ready to explore.

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

Our first stop in Yokohama was the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum near Shin-Yokohama Station. The museum opened in 1994 and displays the history of ramen in Japan, including Momofuku Ando’s invention of instant ramen.

The museum’s ground level provides extensive insight into the history of ramen, with different displays of noodles, soups, toppings, and bowls used across Japan.

The museum also offers a reservation-only ramen-making class where visitors learn traditional noodle-making techniques.

The basement level of the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum also features a replica of 1958 Shitamachi, complete with 9 ramen shops from various regions of Japan, each featuring a ramen dish from a different area.

Guests visiting the ramen shops can purchase meals using the vending machines near each shop’s entrance. Unfortunately, the shops were extremely busy during our visit, with wait times of over an hour. So we found ramen elsewhere.

The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is a less than 10-minute walk from Shin-Yokohama Station. It is open weekdays between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. and on weekends and holidays between 10:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Entrance tickets cost ¥450 (about $3) per adult.

Nissan Motor Corporation Headquarters

Next, we headed to the Nissan Motor Corporation headquarters, which was founded in Yokohama in 1933.

The headquarters featured the Nissan Gallery, a public showroom and museum that showcased Nissan’s history (including racing and vintage cars), current models, and future technologies. The cars on display showed the evolution of Nissan and its cars from their early days to what they have planned for the future.

The showroom had many current and classic Nissan automobiles from worldwide markets. However, one of the defining displays was that it had the futuristic Nissan Hyper Punk prototype, an all-electric compact crossover concept car designed for digital creators and artists.

The exterior of the Nissan Hyper Punk featured a polygonal, origami-inspired design with sharp angles and illuminated accents, giving it a futuristic, cyberpunk aesthetic. Meanwhile, the interior blended Japanese aesthetics with technology, including onboard cameras, headrest biosensors, and AI machine learning.

The headquarters also featured a large shop selling various Nissan-branded merchandise, including clothing, automobile accessories and tools, and toy car models.

The Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery is less than a 7-minute walk from the east exit of Yokohama Station. It is open on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and on weekends and holidays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. There is no admission charge to visit the showroom.

NISMO Showroom

Next, we headed to the NISMO Showroom, a museum, tuning shop, and showroom dedicated to NISMO. NISMO, short for Nissan Motorsport International Limited, is Nissan’s performance and motorsport division, best known for tuning Nissan’s cars for high-performance racing.

NISMO vehicles typically feature upgrades in suspension, aerodynamics, engine tuning, and exclusive styling elements, which have led to their long history in GT and rally racing.

The showroom featured exhibition vehicles, including flagship rally cars, both from the past and from the present. In addition to the vehicles, there was an extensive collection of trophies, helmets, and uniforms.

Hot Tip:

Check out the NISMO website to see which cars are on rotation during your visit period.

Additionally, the NISMO Showroom was connected to the world-famous NISMO Omori Factory. The factory specializes in Skyline GT-R and NISMO parts, including performance parts, exhausts, wheels, and body kits. It also emphasizes tuning and overhauling the RB engine.

The NISMO Showroom is easily accessible by car. You can also take the Keikyū line from Yokohama Station to Keikyū-Shinkoyasu Station and then take Bus 19 to Shinko Station.

The NISMO Showroom is only open on weekends between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., but there is no admission fee.

Nogeyama Zoo

After several hours admiring Nissan automobiles, we headed to the Nogeyama Zoological Gardens. Opened in 1951, Nogeyama was the first zoo in Yokohama.

Nogeyama Zoological Gardens is on a hilltop in a quiet residential neighborhood. It is an excellent way to escape the crowds and enjoy the peaceful greenery. The zoo is home to about 100 species of animals, including birds, monkeys, reptiles, and cats. The zoo’s main attraction is the red pandas, native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.

On our visit, the zoo also had several giraffes, and because of the design of their enclosures, we could get quite close to them.

The Nogeyama Zoological Gardens are less than a 10-minute walk from Hinodecho Station and less than a 15-minute walk from Sakuragicho Station. The zoo is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and has no admission fee.

Hot Tip:

Viator, one of our favorite websites for booking activities, offers many guided tours and excursions in Yokohama.

Day 2

After an incredible first day filled with car showrooms and the zoo, we wanted to explore more of Yokohama’s local areas.

Cup Noodles Museum

We started the day by visiting the Cup Noodles Museum, this time, hoping to find some delicious ramen. The Cup Noodles Museum features 4 stories of exhibitions and attractions and teaches the history of instant noodles and Momofuku Ando, who founded Nissin Food Products and invented the world’s first instant ramen noodles.

After years of diligent work and perfecting his craft, Momofuku invented Cup Noodles, transforming instant noodles into the iconic, global food it is today.

The museum has a massive display of over 3,000 product packages, which shows the development of different types of ramen.

The museum also offered a hands-on food education approach, including the Chicken Ramen Factory workshop, where participants can experience making their own instant ramen noodles, packaging them, and taking them home to eat.

There was also the popular My CUPNOODLES Factory workshop, where guests could create their own original Cup Noodles by mixing and matching a variety of soup flavors and toppings.

Hot Tip:

The My CUPNOODLES Factory and Chicken Ramen Factory workshops are often busy and sold out. Make a reservation or book a guided tour to ensure your spot.

The museum also had Noodles Bazaar, a food court designed like an Asian night market. Here, guests could purchase a variety of noodle dishes from around the world.

Of course, we decided to have a bowl. As you’d expect, the bowl of ramen was delicious.

The Cup Noodles Museum is an 8-minute walk from both Minatomirai Station and Bashamichi Station. It is open Wednesday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is closed on Tuesdays.

The museum has a ¥500 ($3.50) admission fee. The optional Chicken Ramen Factory workshop costs ¥600 ($4), and the My CUPNOODLES Factory workshop costs ¥500 ($3.50).

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

Next, we headed to the Red Brick Warehouse, a historical building complex that once served as a customs warehouse. It has been converted to a community center with a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues for film festivals, musical competitions, and plays.

The defining feature is the shopping mall, which features more than 40 unique shops and restaurants. The shops sell a variety of merchandise and souvenirs, including jewelry and various goods.

Osanbashi Pier

Next to the Red Brick Warehouse is the Osanbashi International Passenger Terminal, also known as Osanbashi Pier. This is one of the piers where international cruise ships dock when they visit Yokohama.

The 1,300-foot pier has numerous walking paths and open green spaces, allowing locals to hang out, even when not boarding a ship. You can go to the top of the pier, which offers unobstructed views of the Minatomirai skyline.

Osanbashi Pier also offers incredible views of the Yokohama Bay Bridge, which crosses Tokyo Bay.

Osanbashi Pier is less than a 5-minute walk from Nihon-Odori Station and less than a 15-minute walk from Kannai Station. It is open to the public, and there is no admission fee.

Yokohama Chinatown

Next, we headed to Yokohama’s Chinatown, which is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It was initially settled by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century, when the port of Yokohama opened to foreign trade.

Today, it boasts over 300 restaurants and shops that sell various goods, including Chinese teas, herbs, and silk products. Some shops also offer services like fortune-telling and acupuncture massages.

Yokohama’s Chinatown features several important religious temples, Chinese schools, and community centers, but is most famous for its fantastic street food. This includes ramen, roasted chestnuts, egg tarts, steamed buns, and bubble tea.

It also hosts many celebrations and traditional performances for various festivals, including Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, and the Double Ninth Festival.

Yokohama’s Chinatown is a 3-minute walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Station and less than a 10-minute walk from Ishikawacho Station.

Sky Garden (Landmark Tower)

Lastly, we headed to the Landmark Tower, the third-tallest building in Japan, to visit the Sky Garden observation deck on the 69th floor. The 273-meter observation deck is the highest in the city and provides 360-degree views of the city, and, on clear days, Mount Fuji.

The Landmark Tower contains elevators that can reach speeds of 41 feet per second, which were the fastest in the world when they were installed. The elevators can reach the 69th floor in approximately 40 seconds. Although the ascent speed has since been surpassed, the elevator’s descent is still the fastest in the world.

From the observation deck, we could see how spread out the city of Yokohama truly is.

We could also see many of Yokohama’s tourist sites, including Yokohama Stadium, home to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars baseball team. 

Landmark Tower is a 3-minute walk from Minatomirai Station and a 5-minute walk from Sakuragicho Station.

The Sky Garden at Landmark Tower is open daily between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. Admission tickets to the Sky Garden observation deck are ¥1,000 (about $7).

Final Thoughts

Yokohama has nice museums, showrooms, and Japan’s biggest and best Chinatown. It is one of Japan’s most underrated cities and is often overlooked by travelers. Still, I recommend you not miss out on Yokohama, as the city has plenty to offer.