Rokkakubashi Shopping Street
Continuing from Day 1 Part 1 of my trip, we visited Rokkakubashi Shopping Street on the second day.
It is a nostalgic shopping street that is full of small stores (around 170 in total), many of which are owned by people born in the neighborhood.
There are many small and cute stores along the shopping street such as this antique watch shop that sells, trades in and repairs antique watches.
Cat lovers should not miss this store that sells everything feline related.
There’s even a guitar shop here, the owner said he can fix and restore your worn , broken and out of tune instruments to make them play their best!
I love little shops that sell hand made knick knacks like this. You are supporting local artisans and craftspeople and not large big box stores.
Raijindo (Hall of the Thunder God) is a famous senbei shop here. There are more than 60 kinds of senbei in the store and almost everything is hand-grilled one by one here. Great as omiyage (souvenir)!
Denim is such a thick and sturdy fabric that can be used for so many things, so the owner of this shop is turning an old pair of jeans into a one of a kind garment with just a little bit of bleach and handicraft. They even conduct diy classes for those who are interested.
I also love this nostalgic figure shop and saw many of the Japanese characters that were there during my childhood. Peko-chan, the popular mascot for the ‘Fujiya’ confectionary stores in Japan, is one of my favourites!
It is said that Yokohama was the birthplace of ramen, when 19th-century Chinese traders brought with them a noodle dish and somehow, the locals of Yokohama built on this recipe to make it their own. I got to try Yokohama style ramen at the shopping street; it was one that is heavy on the pork bone shoyu soup and filled with thick noodles and other toppings.
We headed to Coffee Bunmei in the center of Rokkakubashi for some coffee after a heavy ramen meal. The atmosphere resembles an old and retro kissaten from the olden days.
Using top quality beans, the owner prepares Bunmei blend coffee using the siphon (vacuum pot) method. There are four types of blend coffee to choose from: Bunmei (shop original), Hakuraku, Royal and Queen (620 yen). The coffee was both full-flavoured and smooth.
Coffee Bunmei
Add: 1-9-2 Rokkakubashi, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama
Hours: 12:00pm – 8:00pm / Closed on Wednesdays and third Tuesdays
Rokkakubashi Shopping Street
Getting Here:
Just near “Hakuraku Station” (West Exit) : Tokyu-Toyoko Line
1.5km away from “Kishine-Koen Station” : Yokohama Munisipal Sabway Blue Line
1.8km away from “Higashi-Kanagawa Station” : JR Keihin-Tohoku/Negishi Line
Yamashita Park
Yamashita Park is the first seaside park in Japan located right in front of Yokohama Port. The park includes a grass field, a rose garden, the “Little Girl With Red Shoes On” statue, the “Guardian of Water” statue which is a gift from San Diego, a sister city of Yokohama, and the “Kamome no Suihei-san (Seagull Sailor)” song monument, water stairs and a stage. The former cargo and passenger ship Hikawamaru is anchored here.
The cherry blossoms around the park are a particularly splendid. There are many flower beds and also a rose garden in the park.
Yamashita Park
Getting Here:
3min. walk from “Motomachi-Chukagai Station” (Minato-Mirai Line)
Akaikutsu Loop Bus Marine Tower-mae bus stop/Yamashita Koen-mae Bus stop
Sea Bass boats
From Yamashita Park, we took the Sea Bass boat to the Red Brick Warehouse.
Minato Mirai area
It was great experience to be on board the Sea Bass boat. It works just like a water taxi but part of the walls and ceiling of the bus are made of glass so I was able to take in the view of Yokohama bay.
The over 100-year-old red brick warehouse is the symbol of Yokohama and also a representative tourist spot of this area. Inside the building there are many unique shops and restaurants. Outside, throughout the year, numerous events take place.
Yokohama’s World Porters is a shopping mall with over 200 stores. The mall itself is uniquely divided into six different floors, each containing a variety of goods and services.
The first floor is where you will find most of the F&B outlets. We tried the sushi at Magurodonya Miuramisakiko and loved it! Tai-Parfait is another popular food kiosk here.
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped pancake traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste. However, with Tai-parfait, it’s now available with fruits, ice cream, original cream and various toppings. We tried three variations and all of them tasted so good!
Goodies Yokohama is a souvenir shop that is situated in the ground floor of World Porters. Here are some of the must buy items from Yokohama (as shown in the picture).
The rooftop garden of Yokohama World Porters boasts the best night view in all of Yokohama. The Roof Garden is open and entirely free to enter until 10:00 p.m., so it’s the perfect spot to conclude your wonderful day at Minato Mirai.
There are also go kart and mini-golf at the World Porters Roof Garden.
World Porters
Getting Here:
From the Minato Mirai Line
5 minutes walk from Minato Mirai Station or Bashamichi Station on the Minato Mirai Line.
From Sakuragicho Station
10 minutes walk from Sakuragicho Station on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line or Municipal Subway through Kishamichi Esplanade.
From Kannai Station
15 minutes walk from Kannai on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line or Municipal Subway through Bashamichi Avenue.
Noge District
Noge is a charming Yokohama neighbourhood of tightly packed bars and restaurants that stretches along an area inland from JR Sakuragicho Station.
For dinner, we visited Hachi, a kushiage specialty restaurant. They offer many varieties of kushiage such as yuba gobo maki, truffle korokke and Nodoguro fish. I love the unique selection of 5 dipping sauces, and how the waitstaff explained to us on how to do pairing.
Noge’s maze-like streets are crammed with small eateries and drinkeries of all kinds, karaoke joints, yakiniku grills and izakayas.
Noge
Getting Here:
3min. walk from “Sakuragicho Station” : JR Kehin-Tohoku/Negishi Line, Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line
3min. walk from “Hinodecho Station” : Keikyu Line
This concludes my two days trip to Yokohama. It is a city which is extremely close to Tokyo, yet it seems to get overlooked by many tourists. The city actually has a lot to offer, especially the shopping streets that I have visited for the past two days.
