Is a day trip to Yokohama worth it?

Yes! Yokohama is so beautiful and full of activities. If you are searching for French style cafes, English gardens and studio Ghibli hot spots than you must include a day trip to Yokohama. You will have beautiful pictures from your trip as Yokohama has gorgeous scenery everywhere you go.

Is Yokohama walking friendly?

Yes I walked the whole day in Yokohama and I was fine.

Is Yokohama Good For Tourists?

I was able to talk English all the places I went for example at Yamate Italian Garden House there was two ladies at the entrance and one of them spoke English. The only time I had trouble was going into a store to find an Australian plugin adapter the lady we asked directed us to someone in the electronics department and I just showed him a picture and he immediately found it for us. Then when I went to pay the lady from before asked what we were looking for was called so she could remember for the next time a tourist came in asking for one.

The main station in Yokohama is Yamate Station but you want Ishikawacho Station. As our trip at the top of the hill and then walking down to the port where Gundam Factory and other tourist spots. Walking not far is Les Bien-Amies which means beloved in French. The logo is of a charlotte cake and they have an amazing pastry selection and a list 10 different teas all with different bitterness. Pastries I chose were the strawberry charlotte, Crème Brulé and orange tart, as well as tea that was called candy. They played French music and the lady at the counter helped with our tea choice.

We paid with card but it is not the case for many other cafes in Yokohama so keep cash on hand before you go in as the custom in Japan is to pay after your meal even if it is a soda.

20th Century Houses

There are many 20^th century architecture houses in Yokohama with gardens and cafes. That is where we are going now to Yamate Italian Garden house. Only a 5 minute walk from the station. They give you a map of the other houses you can visit and they are all free admission. This house is known for the beautiful flowerbeds, water features and views overlooking Yokohama.

Sadatsuchi Uchida (1865-1942), a prominent diplomat during the Meiji and Taisho eras. The house was originally built in Nanpeidai in Tokyo’s Shibuya district in 1910. It was moved to its present location in 1995 after Uchida’s granddaughter, Hisako Miyairi, donated it to the city of Yokohama because she wanted to preserve it. (reference the japan times)

It is similar to the dorm in the Ghibli anime From Up On Poppy Hill. You can also visit the Bluff 18 Ban-kan house, which is just nearby. As well as miniature replicas of the all the houses. Like Berrick Hall.

The hydrangea are everywhere as it is summer.

Eileen’s Café

A Japanese favourite, melon soda float at Eileen’s Café. Remember the café is cash only. Remember in Japan tourists can only get cash out at 7-elevens.

Walking down to the bottom is the ruins of Alfred Gerards Springtime house. It is filled with goldfish and the gardens are still maintained. Some of the other 20^th century houses are ruins now as they did not survive the 1923 earthquake.

Miyazaki’s Florist

This is Miyazaki Florist which is seen in the anime as well and has been in business since 1890’s. The owner was very nice and I picked up some dried flowers.

Meat Shop

You can find The Meat shop in the anime on the corner of Motomachi shopping street and Daikan Zaka next door to Burger Jo’s. Try the famous beef coquets from the film. They fry them fresh when you order. It is cash only like many places in Yokohama. I did notice there are a lot of burger places in Yokohama.

Gundam Factory

Then we watched the Gundam Factory Robot, it was meant to be taken down in 2023 but is staying for 2024 so this is your sign to go see it as it won’t be around forever. Check the schedule for performance times as they close some days to maintain the robot.

Harbour View Park Observatory

Harbour View Park Observatory is where the flags from the movie from up on poppy hill are found. Umi raises the flags every morning for her missing sea captain father. The flags that Umi raises mean U and W in international flag language. The two letters mean, “I wish you a pleasant voyage”.

The Harbour View Gardens have amazing flowers. This flower is called scent of Yokohama.

This how we ended the day looking out at the Yokohama Bay Bridge.

Other places to see in Yokohama

Noodle Cup Museum

Rose Garden Café it is in Harbour View Gardens

If you love Japanese flavours than try my Strawberry Matcha S’mores Cookie Recipe.