In which quarter house in Yokohama?

Discover Japan, between traditions and modernity: here is a selection of the different neighborhoods where to stay in Yokohama!

Tempacular poison Tokyo On the island of Honshu, Yokohama is the second most populous city in Japan after its capital, with 3.71 million inhabitants (3,718,913). The capital of the Kanagawa Prefecture, it is only forty kilometers south of Tokyo and its economy is essentially turned towards the maritime trade and port activity (it is the first port of Japan). Yokohama, whose Nissan stadium will host some of the rugby World Cup matches in XV in 2019, has a rich historical and cultural heritage. As such, it houses many historic buildings that must be visited. A city open to the world, it is also one of the most cosmopolitan in Japan. As often in Japan, accommodation will be expensive, your main budget post.

Subdivided into 18 districts, we will only look at the neighbourhoods closest to the city centre: here is our presentation of the areas where to sleep in Yokohama.

Chinatown

Yokohama is home to Japan's largest Chinese neighborhood. Located close to the port, it is one of the most important tourist attractions of the city. Founded in the 1850s following the opening of the city to trade with Hong Kong and Shanghai – despite the isolationism imposed by the Shogunat – it is bordered by four Chinese doors of different colors. You will find dozens and dozens of shops and no less than 500 restaurants and shops where to eat Chinese specialities for cheap. Not far, Buddhist temples (Masobyo and Kanteibyo) mark the streets from which the effluves of the restoration stands exhale the street itself. The neighborhood is groubling, but it is a central area ideally located where to sleep in Yokohama: between the port, the Yokohama Stadium, the parks (Parc Yokohama, Yamashita Park, Minatonomieruoka Park).

Motomachi and Yamate

Located in Chinatown in the Naka-ku district, there are Yamate and Motomachi, two dynamic districts, one resulting from the influx by thousands of expatriates seduced by the exotic character of the neighborhood, and the other seductive local and tourist by its commercial soul. Yamate's hill is peached on a promontory that offers stunning views of the rest of Yokohama.

At the turn of your walks, stroll through the Minatomieruoka Park (park of view on the harbour), which dominates the port and allows you to have the most beautiful view of the Bay Bridge. The area is home to the foreign cemetery of Yokohama, which hosts 4,000 tombs of strangers who have lived there, and which contributed to the opening of Japan on the world. Among other things, Buddhist temples, museums – Yamate Museum, Iwasaki Museum -, many restaurants and shops. If you enjoy the quiet neighborhoods or if you are expatriated with children – Yamate is home to many schools - this is where we have to stay in Yokohama.

Minato Mirai 21 and Sakuragicho

Minato Mirai 21 and Sakuragicho represent both the business district of Yokohama and the location of the central station of the city, an ideal drop point where to stay in Yokohama if you want to take the Shinkansen train to discover other cities in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Fukuoka or Sapporo). The Minato Mirai 21 was built on the occasion of the Yokohama exhibition in 1989, and symbolizes Japan’s smashing entry into modernity: skyscrapers, large shopping malls. Conversely, the Sakuragicho district still symbolizes the old city, the preservation of traditions and historical Japan.

In this central area where to stay in Yokohama, do not miss visiting the Museum of Fine Arts of Yokohama, the Museum of Industry Mitsubishi of Minatomirai, the Yokohama Landmark tower – a skyscraper of 70 floors with restaurants, shopping centers and a panoramic observatory on the 69th floor where you reach by the fastest elevator in the world - the museum of the sea Note that the Japanese are very fond of amusement parks, there are dozens of them where to entertain their children. It is a central area where to stay in Yokohama but the cost of living is high.

Main photo credit : Pixabay – Auntmasako