10 Best Places to Find Local Food in Yokohama

Noge is a drinking district in Yokohama's Old Town that retains the atmosphere of the Showa period. Just a 5-minute walk from JR Sakuragicho Station, there are about 600 restaurants here, including many izakaya (Japanese-style bars). You might be a little thirsty after enjoying chicken liver, tsukune (grilled chicken meatballs) and torikawa (chicken skin) at a popular yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurant. Fortunately, there’s beer on tap.

You'll also find many cheap, retro-style Japanese bars offering standard appetisers such as motsuni (tripe stew), sashimi and pickled cucumber sticks, all of which go well with Japanese sake, beer and beer-flavoured drinks like Hoppy. Noge also has stylish wine bars and Spanish-style restaurants with excellent seafood.

A foodie adventure in Yokohama isn’t complete without visiting Yokohama Chinatown, which is also Japan’s largest Chinatown district. Start your walking tour after a hearty breakfast of chuka gayu (Chinese rice porridge). Then, explore places like Ma Zhu Miao (Maso-byo) and Guan-di Miao (Kantei-byo) in the middle of Yokohama Chinatown.

If you’re starting to feel a bit hungry, order some xiaolongbao (grilled soup dumplings), nikuman (steamed meat buns) or egg tarts as you wander. You could quench your thirst with a tapioca drink made with Taiwanese tea. For dinner, many restaurants in Yokohama Chinatown offer dim sum dishes like Mabo-dofu (a very spicy Sichuan dish of tofu and minced meat), boiled gyoza dumplings, soup dumplings and shumai (steamed meat dumplings).

Yamashita Park, established in 1930, is one of the first seaside parks in Japan. Running alongside Yokohama Port for about 700 metres, it's a popular spot for enjoying a stroll while watching the NYK Hikawamaru (a luxury cruise ship) and other ships come and go. Standing across the street from the park is Hotel New Grand, the birthplace of the tomato-based spaghetti Napolitan, one of Yokohama's popular western-influenced dishes. You can try this classic local dish at the hotel, which dates back to 1927. 

Zou-no-hana Park, located to the west of Osanbashi Pier, was inaugurated to celebrate the port's 150th anniversary. It has a lawn area that spreads out across an open, sea-facing space. Events regularly take place at the onsite Zou-no-hana Terrace. You can also find a cafe offering take-out services.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse is a commercial complex of brick warehouses built between the late Meiji and early Taisho periods. The warehouses often host limited-time events such as a modified Oktoberfest in an event square between the buildings.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse #2 has plenty of restaurants and cafes. On the 3rd floor, you can find seafood, pizzas, French and meat dishes. From March to November, take in the panoramic ocean views from the balcony. The ground floor offers shops and cafes where you can enjoy Yokohama’s famous fusion dishes and Kiyoken's shumai (steamed meat dumplings). On weekends, try the shumai at portable wagon stalls stationed in the square.

Minato Mirai 21 is an oceanfront area that covers Nishi Ward and Naka Ward in Yokohama. You can enjoy a variety of innovative cuisines, along with great views of the ocean. The Yokohama Landmark Tower is a 70-storey-high skyscraper offering local and international restaurants, some of which offer panoramic views of Yokohama Port and Minato Mirai. The observatory (which has its own cafe) on the 69th floor commands a spectacular night view of Minato Mirai.

One of Yokohama's largest commercial centres, MARK IS Minato Mirai is full of restaurants, cafes and markets. Food events regularly take place at the rooftop garden, located on the 5th floor. Minato Mirai 21 is also dotted with stylish cafes and restaurants with patio tables overlooking the ocean.

The Yamate area around Harbour View Park (Minato-no-Mieru Oka Koen) has a history as a foreign settlement, and its western-style buildings make excellent backdrops for photos. From the park, you can enjoy a panoramic view of Yokohama Port and the Yokohama Bay Bridge. Visit the English Rose Garden to see seasonal flowers throughout the year.

Yamate 111 House is a beautiful Spanish-style building with a red roof and white walls behind the garden. You can enjoy tea, cakes, beef stew and other dishes in the annexed tea room. The area around the park has several western-style buildings with a retro atmosphere, taking you back to the good old days of Yokohama.

Isezakicho is not only famous as the place where popular musical group Yuzu used to perform on the street. It's also where you can find Isezakicho Shopping Street. Lined with long-established shops founded in the Meiji and Taisho eras, this broad, spacious street is also popular as a promenade.

Located just a 1-minute walk from Kannai Station, 1-Chome and 2-Chome are known as Isezaki Mall. You can try all sorts of interesting food here, from Yokohama's local specialities like iekei ramen (house-style ramen) and gyunabe (beef hotpot) to rice bowls topped with sashimi, pizzas, grilled chicken, soba noodles and bread. For dessert, check out cafes that offer traditional wagashi (castella sponge cakes) and flans.

Kirin Brewery Yokohama Factory, a 5-minute walk from Namamugi Station on the Keihin Kyuko Line, offers a brewery tour in which you can taste freshly-made Kirin Ichiban draft beer and Kirin Ichiban black draft beer. Popular soft drinks such as Gogo-no-Kocha black tea and Kirin Lemon are also available, so families can enjoy the tour as well. The factory tour is free, but you need to book ahead.

On the factory premises, there's a stylish building reminiscent of Yokohama in the Meiji period. It has an onsite bar that offers craft beer and dishes including Yokohama-style western food and jingisukan (Japanese-style grilled mutton).

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is a food-themed amusement park within a 5-minute walk of Shin-Yokohama Station, where the Shinkansen bullet train stops. Here, you can find outlets of famous ramen restaurants across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu.

The ground floor has an exhibition where you can learn about the history of ramen, which dates from the Muromachi period to the present, as well as a hands-on corner where you can taste ramen ingredients and soup. The basement floor houses Yu-yake Shoten, an old-fashioned sweet shop selling long-forgotten traditional confectionaries like fugashi (dried wheat gluten snacks), curry-flavoured rice crackers and suika (vinegared squid).

Bashamichi was named after the horse-drawn carriages (basha) that carried foreigners along this paved street after the opening of Yokohama Port. The street and the area around Bashamichi Station on the Minato Mirai Line is an excellent place to enjoy lunch with views of antiquated buildings. Along the brick-covered sidewalk of Bashamichi, you’ll spot roadside trees, gas lamps from Britain and massive historical buildings, which retain the atmosphere of Yokohama during the mid-19th century.

If you’d like some refreshments, try the stylish coffee shop at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History. This striking domed building dates back to 1904 and houses fascinating displays. Bashamichi is also known for its variety of restaurants serving Japanese, Chinese and Western dishes.