36 Hours in Yokohama | Jazz Bar, Art Deco & Stunning Harbour Views | JAPAN TRAVEL VLOG

36 Hours in Yokohama | Jazz Bar, Art Deco & Stunning Harbour Views | JAPAN TRAVEL VLOG

Welcome to Yokohama, Japan’s gateway to the west (and also to the rest of the world) It’s home to the largest Chinatown in Japan We’re staying at the Hyatt Regency Yokohama This hotel in in a great location The main spots are all within walking distance The room is clean and modern Most importantly it doesn’t feel 👻 The bathroom is semi-open and of course, a Japanese toilet with all the functions and buttons The shower and bath area Good selection of amenities The pyjamas are comfy Decorated with a beautiful traditional gold-plated folding screen that you have to pay 200,000 yen for if you damage it Yokohama is a port city, so let’s go explore the harbour During the Edo period, Japan closed itself off from the world Then in the 1850s, American ships arrived, asking Japan to open its ports To limit foreign influence on Edo (old Tokyo),
the shogunate made Yokohama one of the first treaty ports Yokohama was only a small fishing village back then but now its skyline has completely changed The harbour is such a beautiful place for a walk Let’s head in the direction of the large ferris wheel There’s air-cabins! Maybe we can ride those later This is one of Yokohama’s oldest Western-style building The bricks were made locally, giving it a distinctive deep red colour Originally built to store imported goods, it’s now a shopping complex I loved looking through all the souvenirs and beautifully presented food products Miniature food earrings These strawberry babies are so cute! The prices are on the higher side though The cakes here caught my eye The fruit tarts or strawberry shortcakes in Japan are always delicious The pumpkin and nut autumn tart looks really good too Their Halloween special I couldn’t resist It’s 30 minutes until sunset I really like the vibe of Yokohama It’s relaxed but still lively Yokohama is also where some unique yōshoku dishes were born Yōshoku is basically Japanese-western fusion food and tonight I want to try the ‘doria’ The restaurant has an old-school, retro charm I got the bacon and asparagus doria It’s a baked rice dish with a creamy sauce Definitely a comfort meal Delicious with tabasco sauce and for dessert, I have to try my fruit tart! So many different types of fruits on it I really enjoyed it This Tully’s coffee is located in a beautiful historical building It has large windows overlooking to the tree-lined promenade Got their breakfast set for 965 yen (~6.3 USD) Our first stop of the day is a rather special museum It’s abit of an overcast day though The Hikawa Maru is a luxury liner built in the 1930s It’s now permanently docked in Yokohama as a museum You can catch a glimpse of what luxury travel was like in the 1930s In first-class, you’ll have nannies who’ll look after your kids in the playroom while you enjoy your meal in the dining saloon The ship is decorated in Art Deco, the defining style of its era It’s giving the Great Gatsby vibe This is the reading room where you can write letters This is the lounge where social events like dances will be held You’ll recieve an invitation like this to join The elegant Art Deco design is everywhere This is a first-class cabin & a ‘deluxe’ cabin Charlie Chaplin was one of its famous passengers The ship is named after the Hikawa Shrine in Saitama & carries the miniature of that shrine In WWII, Hikawa Maru was converted into a hospital ship It struck mines three times, yet somehow, it never sank Unlike her 2 other sister ships which were sunk It’s the only surviving liner built in Japan before WWII! It’s considered a valuable industrial heritage and this is the less glamorous 3rd class cabin In front of the Hikawa Maru, there is a beautiful rose garden Its in full bloom at the end of October Hotel New Grand is another heritage site featuring elegant Art Deco design It’s the only classic hotel remaining in Yokohama and has a lot of history Visitors are welcome to see the elegant lobby and peaceful courtyard This hotel is also the birthplace of many yoshoku dishes, like the doria You can still try the original recipes at the hotel’s restaurant It’s a fun museum where you can learn the history of instant noodles… eat instant noodles… and also make and customise your own! First, draw your designs using the markers provided First, draw your designs using the markers provided I wanted to make it super colourful The green spoiled it 😓 Then you get to choose your unique flavour combination I’m going with the original soup cheese garlic chip umami roasted pork and shrimp Then it gets sealed! Bubble-wrapped and ready for transport The rest of the museum is about how Momofuku Ando invented instant noodle I initially came just for the cup noodle-making experience but ended up loving the exhibits too He went from a humble noodle shack to a multi-billion dollar industry At age 94, he developed instant noodles that could be eaten in space Let’s have lunch at this Ghibli-theme cafe You’ll spot Ghibli characters everywhere The food here will definitely make you smile A mini herring and pumpkin pot pie from Kiki’s Delivery A mini Calcifer 🥺 Soda jelly for dessert Somehow I feel like its more beautiful in the rain It’s really pouring down tonight though I know just the place to go to on a rainy night A cozy jazz bar! All wooden interior, filmed to the brim with vinyls I love it already Regulars can order a bottle and keep it for 3 months They actually do a very wide range of drinks This bar has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary The master opened this establishment when he was 27 years old There’s over 4000 records in here All the wooden chairs, tables and floorboards are handmade I really enjoyed all the music played, I think I Shazam-ed almost every song This is definitely my favourite jazz bar so far Yokohama was one of the first places where jazz was introduced to Japan It sparked the rise of jazz kissas all across the country So it felt right to end my trip here

Yokohama, I didn’t know you were chill like this ✨

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Timeline
(00:49) Hotel tour
(02:35) Exploring the harbour
(04:29) Red Brick Warehouse
(06:55) Cafe de la Paix
(08:24) Tully’s
(09:15) NYK Hikawa Maru
(12:48) Future rose garden
(14:02) Hotel New Grand
(15:35) Cup Noodle Museum
(18:53) Cafe Lapis
(20:17) Chinatown in the rain
(21:01) Minton House jazz bar

Date visited: 30-31st October 2025

Equipment:
– Filmed with iPhone 16 Pro
– Edited with Capcut
– Kraftgeek Tripod https://tinyurl.com/mr7kjdp7 (affliate link)
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Music from
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– Epidemic Sounds: Free trial https://share.epidemicsound.com/3c6yfc
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