YOKOHAMA

CHINATOWN

Yokohama is about 50 minutes south of Tokyo station and is a wonderful spot to check out due to the many activities including a great Chinatown. For Mandarin speakers, you’ll have great luck coming across Mandarin speakers here especially in Yokohama. There’s so much you can do in Yokohama so plan a day or 2 around it. YOKOHAMA CHINATOWN has a ton of street food thats inexpensive as well that you should check out. Shen jian baos, xiao long baos and dan tat sold for roughly $3-$4 USD.

ACTIVITIES IN YOKOHAMA

Visit the CUP NOODLE MUSEUM YOKOHAMA so you can make your own noodles! You’ll get to knead the dough, run it through the noodle, bag it and everything for $6 USD. This class requires reservations so please check the website for available dates/time.

To make your own personalized Cup Noodle where you can draw on and add your own toppings, it will cost you $3 USD. The top floor has a few noodles stalls around the world you can explore where small samples are sold for about $3 USD. There is SHIN-YOKOHAMA RAMEN MUSEUM where you can explore different types of noodles for an admission fee of $3 USD plus cost of food.

KAWAGOE

FOOD IS LIFE

Kawagoe is about a hour and a half north and is known to be an old town area which is the most charming area ever. Super cute though it has been getting overrun with tourists. AVOID VISITING WEEKENDS at all costs! It gets EXTREMELY BUSY with all the tourists. There’s tons of food to check out, sights to see and places to shop at including the official Ghibli merch store DONGURI. Donguri is the official shop of all things Ghibli so this is a must for Ghibli lovers! Though Donguri has some shops throughout Tokyo, this shop is particularly cute with the architecture. A must that I can recommend you check out is a kakigori spot called KORE GA KAKIGORI. Probably the best Kakigori spot I’ve ever come across so far!

KAMAKURA AND ENOSHIMA

KAMAKURA is a hour of Tokyo Station and is slowly becoming a town that many will make a day trip for. You can see the giant BUDDHA STATUE at KOTOKU-IN TEMPLE. Explore the area of Kamakura and then head to ENOSHIMA ISLAND which is a 40 minute train ride away. Enoshima Island offers a different look to many about Japan. Enoshima Island has a ton of street food and you can explore a few of the caves. You can spend a whole day exploring here so make a trip out of it! Though I do not have any suggestions for food, it’s mostly because I went for the day and ate wherever was nearby.

TOCHIGI

YAKULT LOVERS UNITE

Yakult lovers will want to stop by the YAKULT CAFE! There is a cafe, spots for photo ops and you can even get facial treatment! The Yakult cafe is not close by any means unfortunately. It roughly 1 hour 15 minutes by train, will cost $35 USD one way or you can drive for 2 hours and rent a car for roughyl $40 USD. The nice thing about renting a car is we were able to stop by a COSTCO so I could check out the food court! Click the link of the IG Reel for my Costco food experience.