The back story
Yokohama: the port city
The harbour skyline of Minato Mirai, the gardens of Sankeien, Chinatown and the cruise terminal: Japan’s second city, half an hour away.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © 名古屋太郎 · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia CommonsYokohama, about half an hour from Tokyo by train, grew from the port opened to foreign trade in 1859. Its waterfront district, Minato Mirai, has the Landmark Tower and the old Red Brick Warehouses; Chinatown is a dense grid of restaurants and shops; Sankeien is a garden of historic buildings; and Ōsanbashi is the city’s cruise pier.
Getting there
JR, Tōkyū and Keikyū trains run from Tokyo, Shibuya and Shinagawa to Yokohama in about half an hour.
The waterfront
Minato Mirai, the Red Brick Warehouses and the Ōsanbashi cruise pier, along the promenade.
Stay into the evening for the harbour lights.
Gardens and Chinatown
Sankeien Garden, with old buildings moved from across Japan, and the lanes of Chinatown.
Our advice: walk the promenade from Minato Mirai to Yamashita Park at dusk.
Why it's on our list
- Getting there
- The waterfront
- Gardens and Chinatown
What’s nearby
Distances from Yokohama: the port city are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Haneda Airport16 kmCar or taxi 59 min
- The Shibuya crossing24 kmCar or taxi 86 min
- Tokyo Tower25 kmCar or taxi 90 min
- Meiji Jingū26 kmCar or taxi 92 min
- The palace gardens29 kmCar or taxi 101 min
- Sensō-ji33 kmCar or taxi 115 min
- Tokyo Skytree33 kmCar or taxi 116 min
Main railway stations
- Shinagawa Station22 kmCar or taxi 79 min
- Shibuya Station24 kmCar or taxi 87 min
- Shinjuku Station27 kmCar or taxi 97 min
- Tokyo Station28 kmCar or taxi 100 min
- Ueno Station32 kmCar or taxi 112 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
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