Shopping in Yokohama: Markets & Districts

This is where Yokohama residents shop day to day. The West Exit has Takashimaya and the Joinus underground mall, and the East Exit has Sogo, Porta underground mall and Lumine. The station building NEWoMan and CIAL add fashion and food floors above the platforms. The department store basements (depachika) sell Kanagawa sweets, bento and gift boxes, and around 6 pm the prepared food there often gets marked down. Expect crowds and plenty of commuter noise on weekday evenings.

Best for: Department store food halls, gift boxes, everyday fashion and rainy-day shopping underground

This is the waterfront business district, built from the 1980s onward on reclaimed dock land. Landmark Plaza sits at the base of the Yokohama Landmark Tower, Queen's Square connects directly to Minatomirai Station, and MARK IS Minatomirai is next to the Yokohama Museum of Art. The malls are clean and spacious, with national chains and a few upscale brands, and the harbour-facing terraces pick up a salt breeze in the evening. Families from across Kanagawa come here on weekends.

Best for: Chain fashion, outdoor and lifestyle brands, family shopping with bay views

Motomachi runs about 600 metres along the base of the Bluff (Yamate), close to Motomachi-Chukagai Station on the Minatomirai Line, and its character traces back to 1859 when it grew up serving foreign residents. Brick paving, a ban on heavy traffic, and the strong smell of butter from the bakeries give the street a distinct feel. Long-running local names hold their ground here: Kitamura for leather handbags, Mihama for women's shoes. Weekends bring well-dressed shoppers from across Yokohama.

Best for: Yokohama-made leather goods, shoes, jewellery and European-style bakeries

Chinatown is a grid of streets inside ornate gates, a two-minute walk from Motomachi, and the main drag fills with steamers along Chukagai Odori selling pork buns and xiaolongbao from the street. Most shops carry Chinese teas, dried goods, spices, cookware and cheap trinkets, and the air smells of star anise and roasting chestnuts. Parts of it feel touristy. The side lanes are where Yokohama residents go for oolong, dried shiitake and Shaoxing wine.

Best for: Chinese tea, cooking ingredients, kitchenware and street snacks

These two customs warehouses date from the early 1900s and now hold shops and restaurants. Building No. 2 has most of the retail, with small boutiques selling Yokohama-themed goods, homeware, jewellery and design gifts, while the plaza between the buildings hosts seasonal event markets, which are covered in the market list below. Prices are a bit higher than in the station malls because you're paying for the setting.

Best for: Design-led gifts, Yokohama-branded souvenirs and waterfront browsing

Isezakicho was Yokohama's main entertainment street before the war, and today the pedestrian mall between Kannai and Hinodecho Stations is a working-class shopping strip with older bookshops, discount stores, drugstores and pachinko parlours. Further south, near Chojamachi, Thai, Korean and Chinese grocers serve the city's immigrant communities. Rough around the edges and much cheaper than Motomachi.

Best for: Drugstore cosmetics, discount goods and international groceries

This covered shotengai near Hakuraku Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line, in Kanagawa Ward, is a Showa-era arcade of greengrocers, fishmongers, tofu makers and small cafes that gets almost no tourists. On summer evenings local groups have run a night market here (yoichi), so check the date before you go.

Best for: Neighbourhood food shopping and a look at everyday Yokohama life