Things to Do in Yokohama in December

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Stay in Yokohama in December

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December in Yokohama is dry, bright and cold, and the year-end calendar matters more than the weather. From about December 29 to January 3, many museums, gardens and small restaurants close for the New Year holiday, so a trip planned for the final week of the month can hit locked gates. Before that shutdown, the first three weeks of December are one of the calmest stretches of the year along the waterfront. Days peak around 12°C (54°F) and nights fall to about 3.5°C (38°F), while winter pressure patterns keep the skies over Tokyo Bay mostly clear, giving crisp views of Mount Fuji from high floors in Minato Mirai on many mornings.

Christmas in Japan is a couples' holiday, not a family one. On December 24, the hotels and restaurants around Minato Mirai and the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse fill with dating couples, and room rates on that night rise well above the rest of the month. Ginkgo trees along Nihon Odori and in Yamashita Park still hold gold leaves into the first week of December, and the maples at Sankei-en tend to last about as long.

Our honest verdict is that December is a good month here, but not the best one. It lacks the cherry blossoms of early April and the mild evenings of late October, but a visitor arriving between December 1 and December 22 gets dry pavements, short queues in Chinatown and harbour illuminations that switch on around 17:00, when the sun has already set.

Why visit in December

Only 54mm (2.1 in) of rain falls across roughly 5 wet days, so walking routes from Yamashita Park to Motomachi rarely get rained out.
Cold, dry air brings Mount Fuji into view from Minato Mirai's high floors on most clear mornings, something the hazy months of June to September rarely allow.
The Christmas Market at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse runs until December 25 and has German-style stalls selling mulled wine beside the harbour.
Weekday crowds in Yokohama Chinatown drop after the autumn tour-group peak, and the steamed-bun stalls on Chukagai Odori have shorter lines.

Worth knowing

Most public museums, including the Yokohama Archives of History, close for the New Year holiday from about December 29 to January 3.
Sunset comes at about 16:30, so outdoor sightseeing in Kamakura or at Sankei-en has to finish by mid-afternoon.
Hotels in Minato Mirai with bay views often sell out for December 23 to 25, and rates on those nights run far above the monthly norm.
Wind off Tokyo Bay at Osanbashi Pier makes the 12°C (54°F) daytime high feel several degrees colder after dark.

Best for

Think twice if

Weather measured 12° / 4°C 54mm rain · 5 rainy days · 64% humidity rains perceptibly ~0.9h/day · 91% of mornings dry

Crowds medium

Pack Pack a mid-weight insulated coat, a scarf and gloves for evenings at Osanbashi Pier, and bring a layer you can peel off easily: trains and department stores in Minato Mirai run at around 24°C (75°F).

Expect cold, clear, mostly dry weather, with humidity around 64%. Rain tends to arrive as short fronts rather than long spells. Mornings in Yamate and on the Bluff can feel frosty, though real sub-zero temperatures are rare in central Yokohama, and the seasonal north wind picks up along the waterfront after sunset.

Year-round climate

Averages from the last 5 years.

Monthly climate averages for Yokohama
Month	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)
Jan	10	1	38
Feb	11	2	63
Mar	15	6	155
Apr	19	11	172
May	22	15	205
Jun	26	19	185
Jul	31	24	159
Aug	32	25	143
Sep	28	22	196
Oct	22	15	147
Nov	17	10	81
Dec	12	4	54

Best things to do in December

Christmas Market at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

festival

Wooden stalls fill the plaza between the two 1910s brick warehouses, selling ornaments, sausages and mulled wine beneath a large illuminated tree.

It runs from late November and closes on December 25, making December the one full month you have to catch it.

Booking tipGo on a weekday before 17:00, because weekend evenings after December 15 bring entry queues at the plaza gate.

Mount Fuji view from Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden

viewpoint

From the 69th-floor observation deck at 273 m (896 ft), you look west across Kanagawa toward Mount Fuji and east over Tokyo Bay.

December's low humidity clears the horizon, and Fuji carries a full snowcap by now, unlike the hazy summer months.

Booking tipArrive at opening on a morning after a cold front, when visibility is usually at its best.

Blue-hour harbour walk from Osanbashi Pier to Minato Mirai

photography

The wooden deck of Osanbashi Pier looks out over the Minato Mirai skyline, the Cosmo Clock ferris wheel and the lit Red Brick Warehouse across the water.

Sunset comes at about 16:30, the illuminations are fully on by 17:00, and you can shoot the night skyline well before dinner.

Late foliage at Sankei-en

garden

This 1906 garden in Honmoku brings together historic buildings moved from Kyoto and Kamakura, set among ponds, maples and ginkgo.

The maples around the three-storey pagoda often hold their colour into the first week of December, by which point the Kyoto crowds have peaked.

Booking tipVisit before December 10 if you want the leaves, and check the garden's year-end closure dates before you plan anything for late in the month.

Christmas Around the World in the Yamate Western houses

culture

Each of the historic Western-style residences on the Yamate Bluff is decorated in the Christmas style of a different country.

The displays are set up only for December and taken down after Christmas.

Booking tipEntry to the houses is free, and weekday mornings are the way to avoid the camera crowds in the smaller rooms.

Early-December day trip to Kamakura

day trip

Kamakura is about 25 minutes from Yokohama Station on the JR Yokosuka Line, with the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in and the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine.

Early December sits between the November foliage crowds and the huge New Year shrine visits, and the lanes near Hase are noticeably quieter for it.

Booking tipAvoid Kamakura from December 31 to January 3, when Tsurugaoka Hachimangu draws some of the largest New Year crowds in the Kanto region.

New Year's Eve ship horns at Yokohama Port

festival

At midnight on December 31, the ships moored in Yokohama harbour sound their horns together to welcome the new year.

It happens once a year, and the sound carries across Yamashita Park and the waterfront.

Booking tipClaim a spot along the Yamashita Park railing by 23:15, and dress for a wind chill near freezing.

What to eat in December

In season: fruit

Mikan (Japanese mandarins)
Kanagawa-grown mikan from the Odawara and Miura areas peak in December, sold by the bagful at station kiosks and supermarkets.

On menus now

Oden
Fish cakes, daikon and eggs simmer in dashi at the small izakaya of Noge through the winter, and December is when locals start ordering it every night.
Toshikoshi soba
Buckwheat noodles eaten on December 31 to see out the year: soba shops across Kannai post year-end hours and takeaway orders from mid-December.

Street food peaks

Nikuman (steamed pork buns)
The steamer baskets outside shops on Chukagai Odori in Yokohama Chinatown come into their own when the air drops toward 5°C (41°F) and the steam hangs visibly in the cold.

Festival food

Glühwein at the Christmas Market
Mulled wine in souvenir mugs is the signature drink at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse market, an outdoor affair that turns properly cold by 18:00.
Christmas strawberry shortcake
Japanese Christmas cake, a sponge with cream and strawberries, is pre-ordered at Motomachi and Yokohama Station bakeries and collected on December 24 and 25.

Regular events in December

Minato Mirai Christmas illuminationsFree

Light displays across Minato Mirai, Queen's Square and the Kishamichi Promenade, switched on nightly from dusk.

Mid-November to December 25

Christmas Eve Mass at Sacred Heart CathedralFree

Evening Christmas services at the 1933 cathedral on the Yamate Bluff, seat of the Catholic bishop of Yokohama, with some services in English.

December 24

Joya no Kane at SojijiFree

At Sojiji in Tsurumi, a head temple of Soto Zen, the temple bell is struck 108 times to clear the year's worldly desires.

December 31, from about 23:00

Year-end closures (nenmatsu)Free

Many public museums, gardens and family-run shops close for the New Year holiday, while convenience stores and large malls stay open.

About December 29 to January 3

Best places this December

Yamashita Park
park
Waterfront park where the ginkgo along the promenade turns gold into early December and the moored ship Hikawa Maru lights up at night.
Yamashita-cho
Yokohama Chinatown
food district
Japan's largest Chinatown, with over 500 shops and restaurants, is the city's best cold-weather food street.
Chukagai
Yokohama Marine Tower
viewpoint
The 1961 tower beside Yamashita Park has an observation deck looking over the lit harbour and Chinatown after dark.
Yamashita-cho
Osanbashi Pier
viewpoint
International cruise terminal with a free rooftop deck and the classic head-on view of the Minato Mirai skyline.
Kaigan-dori
Motomachi Shopping Street
shopping street
Boutique street below the Bluff whose shopfronts get Christmas decorations and whose bakeries take Christmas cake orders.
Motomachi
Noge
nightlife district
Tight grid of standing bars and izakaya near Sakuragicho Station, where oden and hot sake sell out on cold nights.
Noge
Nogeyama Zoo
zoo
Free zoo founded in 1951 on the hill above Noge, with low December visitor numbers and red pandas that are more active in the cold.
Noge
Yokohama Archives of History
museum
The 1981 archive near Kannai covers the 1859 opening of the port, and makes a good heated stop before its late-December closure.
Kannai

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Insulated coat or down jacketEvening lows near 3.5°C (38°F) feel colder still with the bay wind at Osanbashi Pier and Yamashita Park. Shop
Scarf, gloves and a knit hatThe illuminations and the Christmas Market are evening activities, and you will stand outside for an hour or more after 17:00. Shop
Easy-to-remove mid layerTrains, malls and department stores in Minato Mirai are heated to around 24°C (75°F), so a heavy sweater under a coat gets uncomfortable fast. Shop
Lip balm and hand creamDecember is one of Yokohama's driest months, and the heated indoor air dries skin quickly. Shop
Compact umbrellaAbout 5 rainy days fall in December, usually as passing fronts, and a cold drizzle at 8°C (46°F) soaks through fast. Shop
Heat packs (kairo)Convenience stores sell disposable pocket warmers, and one in each pocket makes the midnight wait at Yamashita Park on December 31 bearable. Shop
Coin purseStalls in Chinatown, temple offering boxes at Sojiji and some Christmas Market vendors work best with coins and small notes. Shop
Phone power bankCold weather drains batteries faster, and a long night-photo session along the harbour will compound that. Shop

Insider tips

Locals in Yokohama pre-order Christmas cake at Motomachi bakeries in early December, because walk-in stock on December 24 is often gone by mid-afternoon.
The rooftop of Osanbashi Pier gives you the best free harbour view, with no paid deck required, and it stays open late into the evening.
For Fuji views, go up on the morning after a winter storm passes: the north wind clears the air, and the mountain can look close enough to touch from Minato Mirai.
Stock up on train snacks and supermarket bento on December 30, because many small restaurants in Kannai and Noge close from December 31 to January 3 and convenience stores become the fallback.
The year-end sale season starts at Yokohama Station department stores after December 26, while the famous New Year lucky bags (fukubukuro) go on sale on January 1 or 2.

Avoid these mistakes

If you are planning a museum-heavy itinerary for December 29 to January 3, check each venue's year-end schedule: the Yokohama Archives of History and many others close for the holiday.
Leaving a Minato Mirai bay-view room for Christmas Eve until November is too late: those rooms are gone or priced for couples who reserved in summer, so book by September or stay in Kannai.
Starting a Kamakura or Sankei-en visit at 14:00 is cutting it too fine: with sunset around 16:30, you lose the light and gates start closing before you finish.
If you dress for the 12°C (54°F) daytime high and then stay out at the harbour after dark, the wind off Tokyo Bay makes it feel near freezing.

Practical tips for December

Book any Minato Mirai hotel for December 23 to 25 at least three months ahead, and lock in New Year's Eve dinners in Chinatown by early December. Before you finalise a late-December plan, check year-end closure dates for Sankei-en, the Yokohama Archives of History and the Yamate houses. JR and the Minatomirai Line run late trains on the night of December 31 in some years, so check the railway announcements in mid-December before counting on them after the midnight ship horns. Tipping is not practised in Japan, including at hotels and taxis in December. Banks and post offices close from December 31 to January 3, so withdraw cash beforehand, though 7-Eleven ATMs keep running through the holiday. Useful local background is on Wikivoyage at https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Yokohama#Get_around and https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Yokohama#Cope.

FAQ

Is December a good time to visit Yokohama?

Yes, especially from December 1 to 22, when the weather is dry and clear, Chinatown is quieter than in autumn, and the Christmas displays in Minato Mirai and on the Yamate Bluff are running. The late-December New Year shutdown is the main reason December ranks 5th of 12 rather than higher.

What is the weather like in Yokohama in December?

Cold and mostly sunny, with low humidity and only 5 rainy days totalling 54mm (2.1 in). Snow in central Yokohama is rare in December, though frosty mornings do happen in hilly Yamate.

Is Yokohama crowded in December?

Weekdays in early December are fairly calm, but crowds peak on December weekend evenings at the Red Brick Warehouse market, on the night of December 24 in Minato Mirai, and at midnight on December 31 around Yamashita Park.

What is open in Yokohama over New Year?

Convenience stores, large malls around Yokohama Station and many Chinatown restaurants stay open from December 29 to January 3. Most public museums, banks and many small family-run restaurants close, and trains run on a holiday timetable.

Can you see Mount Fuji from Yokohama in December?

Often, yes. December is one of the most reliable months for Fuji views from Yokohama Landmark Tower Sky Garden and Yokohama Marine Tower, especially early in the morning after a cold front has passed.