TacoCat’s Travels #124 (Japan 6.0): Exploring Yokohama Chinatown! 🍲

August 2021 · 5 min read · Yokohama

Hey Hive!

So if you missed the last post, we started going on another journey to Japan after we finished our final semester of college back in January 2019! And it coincidentally was around Valentines' Day too! We initially talked about wanting to visit South Korea but a Delta Airlines deal kinda changed our plans so.. to Tokyo once again!

But this time we were staying somewhat outside Tokyo in an area called Omorimachi! And last week, we took an early flight out and arrived at our Airbnb by evening and just explored our neighbourhood looking for snacks.

13 February 2019. Wednesday.

So after a long day of flying and traveling to our apartment, we retired early last night so we could get up relatively early the next day, and we actually went out for lunch at noon!

I actually don't remember where this is from. Maybe Matsuya or Sukiya? But I don't remember Matsuya had hotpot dishes like this. But it was pretty cold out today so I wanted something to warm up my belly.

I remember it being super filling and tasty though! I think it looked spicy but it wasn't. And the cheese was pretty good with the gravy.

Sean had the same idea of wanting to warm up, so he bought a different hotpot. I think his is the more standard pork hotpot with tofu.

I think Sean's soup was slightly more tasty though. And I definitely drank more of his soup than mine if I recall correctly.

Anyway, after our bellies were full it was time to go out and explore! We had a special place in mind for today so we headed to the train station.

And on the way there, I thought this wall mural looked so cool!

The stained glass window looked so nice too!

In the nearby canal we also saw a lot of fish and ducks all gathered in one area for some reason. I can't tell if it's the water being clean that we could see the fish so clearly or is it just because the fish is dark against the green water.

But yes, we were on the streets of Yokohama! And on the way to a very special district.

And on the way there we came across one of our favourite stores - P's First! It's a pet shop which always has such cute puppies in the window!

Look at that mini shiba just napping!

On the way we also stopped by a donki hote and found some cute shiba merch!

But we just stopped by to get some drinks before heading out again, and after walking for a bit, we arrived at our destination - Chinatown!

Yokohama Chinatown is the largest of Japan's three Chinatowns! After the port of Yokohama had been one of the first Japanese ports to be opened to foreign trade in 1859, it became the residence of the many Chinese traders who settled down in the city. Today, there are more businesses than actual residents living in the area. And there's a large number of Chinese stalls and restaurants lining the entire avenue and various festivals such as Chinese New Year are also held there. (Cr: Japan-guide)

They even had a very unique design for the SEGA arcade there! At least, I think it's an arcade.?

There are 4 colourful gates that signify the entrance to Chinatown, and this was one of them!

Just after the gate we saw a Sushi Zanmai! And I would've been tempted if not for the big lunch we just had.

There was even an old retro-styled bus driving through the street that looked so cool!

It was nice to take a relaxing stroll through the street. It definitely did feel like we were in a different place.

I'm not sure if I can say it felt like we were in China since I've never been, but it definitely felt different with all the Chinese stalls sellling authentic Chinese snacks.

There were even lanterns overhead since it was right around Chinese New Year period!

The many many signboards did make it seem more Chinese than Japanese though, which I guess is the point.

And there were so many stalls selling Chinese snacks like bao/steamed buns! And they had such cute designs like this panda!

There was even this dimsum stall with a buff dim sum man.? Of course, in classic Japanese fashion; you always need a mascot!

We also came across this huge souvenir store!

There was this cool building that look like a temple! I think it was a Cantonese restaurant though, but the architecture definitely made it stand out.

Here it is from the front:

In front of the restaurant, we came across a lady walking her 2 cute doggos in a pram! They were so adorable with their little sweaters!

And just like any Chinatown, there was an alley of traditional Chinese clothes on racks for sale!

But I think that's gonna be all for this week! Tune in next week to see us explore more of Yokohama Chinatown! In the meantime, here's a nice pic I took of Sean!