Yokohama with kids (Japan for families)
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We had 10 days in Yokohama, Japan, with our kids. It was a fun time, in which we had almost springy warm days and one super snowy day. We had gotten better from our flu and it was a lovely time! So read on for our guide to Yokohama with kids (Japan for families)!
Yokohama is a big city in the district of Kanagawa, very close to Tokyo. A trip from Yokohama to Tokyo (or vice versa) takes only 30 minutes by train, and it could easily be a day trip, though, I’d recommend you spend a little longer because it’s very worth it!
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Things to do in Yokohama with kids
There are many places to visit in Yokohama, and even though we did have a great time with a lovely weather there, we didn’t get to see enough!
Minato Mirai is the commercial area of Yokohama – everything is beautiful.
There are many shopping malls (everywhere, actually), and they are a great rest from the cold (or the hot and humid summer weather), but there’s a lot more than that. Everything we did, we did on foot. It was enough for us, as we loved it dearly!
Below are our favorite Yokohama Attractions.
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A visit to Minato Mirai
Minato Mirai is the business center of Yokohama. It’s all new and shiny and very very commercial. It’s also a lot of fun.
We spent most of our time there because we were in the area already.
You know all those photos of Yokohama at night? That’s the place.
And it does get a lot prettier at night – if you’re visiting, it’s worth to stay until after nightfall because when everything (including the Ferris Wheel) lights ups, the scenery changes!
I am the crazy reflection lady, you did know that, right? This boat is actually a museum, but my kids weren’t interested. You can see the Ferris wheel on the back
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Ride the Ferris wheel at Cosmo World, the Cosmo Clock
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t. Well, I don’t like heights and the slow-moving Ferris wheels are my nightmare.
BUT all the kids except #3 and Angelo rode it.
It costs ¥700 per person and it takes around 20 minutes to go one round. The maximum height of it is 108 m (354 feet). Horrifying.
The best thing about it is the clock. Visible from a lot of places, so no need to keep checking the phone.
At night, the Cosmo Clock becomes a beautiful light show arena, and it’s worth to spend a few moments watching it. It’s in Minato Mirai area, easy enough to find!
The whole Cosmo World is an open area, you pay per attraction you ride, and there are a few. We didn’t because we’d go to Tokyo Disney next.
That’s Minato Mirai during the day and seen from Yokohama Bay. See the Ferris wheel? OK, 3 reflection photos in a row…
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A walk in the Yokohama Bay Area
We had a lovely day in the Yokohama Bay area. It’s beautiful and very crowded. We walked from Minato Mirai and it was fairly quick, even with kids. We went to Yamashita Park and back, which was tiring at the end of the day, but it was a great exercise and a very nice walk.
It was a Sunday and we saw SO MANY cute and strange dogs during our walk! It was great.
We had ice cream from the vending machine, stopped to dog-watch, watched the huge number of tourists (Japanese and foreigners) taking photos in the area, and it was lovely.
There are boat tours too, for those interested.
It was a beautiful afternoon, and the kids were all impressed with the parkour boy who had just done a few impressive jumps around.
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An afternoon at Yamashita Park
Our Bay area walk ended in Yamashita Park and it was lovely. So many families enjoying the Sunday sun, tourists having fun with the vending machines, people walking the dogs!
We even caught a boy training his parkour skills and it was a show in itself.
The park is beautiful, and it must be incredible during autumn of spring! Take a picnic and enjoy a sunny day at the park!
Fourth reflection photo in the same post. But Yokohama offered some amazing reflection opportunities, so I HAD to. It’s almost a reflex.
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A stroll through Yamate & Motomachi
To go back home, we went through Yamate & Motomachi. It’s a neighborhood where expats and foreigners live most. The architecture of some houses is very European, and it’s fun to see the difference between those and the traditional Japanese houses.
We didn’t do much, just walked around, really, and it was nice, but the kids were tired and they started complaining, so we didn’t stop to see anything too closely.
And I may rename this post to ‘The reflection city of Japan’. It’s almost a disease. This photo was taken from World Porters. Best place for photos, if you ask me.
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World Porters to eat, rest, shop
It’s a mall – a big one, but a mall. I only can differentiate this one because it’s just by Cosmo World and we went there to have ice cream often.
We went around a few times and even tried going to the movies, but there wasn’t anything on that A) we hadn’t watched or B) was in English.
To be really, really honest, there are like 3000 malls in Yokohama, and they’re all very alike. Enter any if you’re hungry, thirsty, or tired. They’re warm and they have food and places to sit.
We love trick art. It’s just so much fun! Inside the Trick Art Museum in Landmark Plaza.
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Landmark Plaza
This one is also a mall, like the other 2999, BUT it has Donguri no Mori, which is a store that sells Ghibli goods.
Right beside it, there’s a Pokemon Center. There’s also a Snoopy store, a Disney Store, a Moomin stand, and a Jump shop. So, for the character nerds, that’s one cool mall to be.
And, for the rainy days, there’s a trick art museum there too. It’s smaller and very much like the one in Odaiba, but if you’re there already…
That was our list of what to do in Yokohama with kids, but it’s pretty much the same for those without kids that don’t drink or do drugs or club. Well.
To eat in Yokohama
There are many places to eat well in Yokohama, as well as in Japan as a whole, but I’ll put down our favorites here because, well, sometimes it’s helpful.
A ship at the bay. Well, I’m not a food photographer, and I almost NEVER remember to take a photo before it’s half eaten. I like to eat…
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Hard Rock Cafe
We went there because it was the only empty place with tables for 7. We were meeting one of Angelo’s friends and, well, we went in.
Service is good, and the food is very much the same as anywhere else in the world.
It’s also very full of foreigners, probably craving a food that didn’t include fish, miso soup, and rice. It’s in Landmark Plaza, also, so if you have the time…
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Yankees
It’s on the top floor of Certe mall. It’s a small and shabby mall, and the restaurant looked a bit weird, but we went in because we were just too hungry. Turns out the food was delicious and the service was lovely. It was great – albeit pricey.
Chinatown in all its glory. Who doesn’t like Chinese food? And that’s Angelo amazed at what he’s seeing.
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Tully’s Cafe
A coffee shop that’s everywhere in Japan. The coffee is lovely, and all the other beverages we’ve tried. It’s a lot like Starbucks. It’s a warm and lovely place to rest tired feet and use the (pretty decent) free wi-fi.
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Baskin & Robins 31
The North Americans may be familiar with it, but for the non-Americans, it’s an ice cream shop. We love it and go whenever we can, because of Love Potion. (Love Potion is a flavor with heart-shaped pieces of chocolate)
It’s fun for kids, and their ice cream cakes are delightful!
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Ishigamaya Hamburger
It’s a Japanese hamburger chain, and it’s delicious.
* Japanese hamburger is just the meat of the regular Western burger, usually served with rice, salad, miso soup, and the usual Japanese stuff. They sai ‘Hanbah-goo’, while the actual hamburgers are called ‘Bah-gah’.
They speak a lot and there are many little things that make it difficult for foreigners to fully get it, and Angelo said he’d never go there because there are just too many little instructions he couldn’t understand. But the food is lovely, and if you’re feeling like you can handle it, try!
Not for vegetarians.
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Ooofukuya Ramen
It’s a ramen shop in World Porters. We ate there once and the ramen was good but the names are all weird and we found a bit hard to find what we wanted. The fun about ramen shops in Japan is that the orders are on a machine. You choose, pay, and the machine prints the tickets. You give the tickets to the staff and they bring you your ramen.
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Meron-pan ice cream
While we were having our Baskin & Robins ice creams, Angelo went to get him a melon-pan filled with ice cream. Melon-pan is a melon flavored bread, very common in Japan.
The sign said, in Japanese, what’s roughly translated into ‘The world’s second-best melon-bread’, which we found funny.
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Ueshima Coffee
A nice and a little bit weird coffee shop. Everything was different from the usual, a hipster twist of the regular coffee shop. It was very crowded, but it was nice and comfy.
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Cafe Lexcel
Good fresh roast coffee, with a huge variety. Angelo went along with his friend and he said it was great coffee.
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Starbucks
Because sometimes all we need is something familiar. But the seasonal hot drinks are great. And, if you’re in Japan during spring, you’ll have EVERYTHING decorated with sakura (the cherry blossoms). So so so so pretty!
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Toritatsu Kannai Bashadou-ten
This is a little shop selling Karaagê, which is Japanese fried chicken. We stopped by on a snowy day to grab our dinner. There’s the biggest variety of fried chicken I’ve ever seen, and they were all good. It’s a fun way to eat without needing to cook while paying very little. Try the one with cheese and the one with beni-shouga (the red pickled ginger). Yum!
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Chinatown
We didn’t eat there because it was too full of people and lines everywhere, but there are so many options there! Consider visiting between mealtimes and enjoy the Chinese street food, that seems to be the best in Japan!
This street reminded us of Canada – if it wasn’t for the Japanese signs there… Canada was also great.
Where to stay in Yokohama
We spent our days in this very good apartment in the Minato Mirai area. It’s a beautiful apartment, very new, everything technological and futuristic. It was a great place. Except that there was no internet. There was the internet, but it was limited data and it was shared between who knows how many apartments, so of course, when we arrived, the data was all used up. It was super annoying, as all our other options were also very limiting and we didn’t manage to do much work-wise. The good thing is that the apartment was very warm and comfortable AND that we had a great time in Yokohama.
Click here to grab a discount on Airbnb, if you’re new to it! We receive a discount on our next booking too!
To finish it…
We loved Yokohama! It’s one of the places where we can stay for longer without fearing we’ll get bored.
It’s beautiful, it’s friendly, it’s easy to walk around, there are many options for every kind of day. Lovely all over!
If you’re planning a trip to Japan, I recommend you add a few days in Yokohama just to fall in love too! Don’t forget to check on all the other stuff we have on Japan, because it’s a lot!
- City / Country
- Minimun Stay
- $ ~ $$$
- Child-friendlyness
- Best local transport option
- Safety
- Do we recommend it?
- Yokohama / Japan
- 2 days, but even a day trip from Tokyo is better than nothing!
- $$
- Super child-friendly!
- Walk, but there are many options, from taxis to buses and trains – they all work perfectly!
- Super super safe!
- YES!
And that’s the end of this post. I really hope you like reflections and that it was useful!
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[…] Yokohama is a beautiful city, super close to Tokyo. It’s easy to do on a day trip, but it deserves a little longer. December is a great time to be there – it’s winter, when the skies are clear and blue, and it rains just a little. It’s not nearly as crowded as the rest of the year and, if you’re lucky, you get to have a few days of snow! […]
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