3 lovely gardens in Yokohama to easily visit!

Kon’nichiwa!

While Yokohama is most famous for Minato Mirai and Chinatown, you can also make a walk around some gardens a part of your day in Yokohama.

The gardens I highlight here include the most famous gardens of Yokohama (Sankei-en Garden), as well as smaller gardens that can make for a nice visit alongside other things to do that are in the area. If you’re looking for an easy-going activity, you can add in some time at one of these Yokohama gardens.

All of the gardens listed below are easy to reach by bus or train, and you can use the same IC card that you do for local Tokyo trains to take public transportation in Yokohama. (So this would be like a suica card or pasmo card.) If Yokohama is where you’re staying and starting off your time in Japan, then you can buy an IC card at the first train station you go to.

 

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Now, here are some gardens in Yokohama to know about!

 

If you are only going to visit one garden in Yokohama, Sankeien Garden is it! It not only has the traditional Japanese gardening, but it also is a place to see traditional Japanese architecture. You can easily spend 2-3 hours at this Yokohama garden.

Sankeien Garden is a large area that is one of the most famous attractions of Yokohama and the most famous garden of Yokohama.

It’s also more than just a stroll around to see classic Japanese landscape.

There are also several traditional Japanese buildings that were moved here from across the country, which means which means you can see historic architecture from different regions of Japan all in one garden. For example, a 3-story pagoda from Kyoto and a gassho-style rural house from Shirakawago.

You can also make it your spot to have matcha in Yokohama at the same cafe that serves specialty soba noodles… and you’ll get garden views as you eat.

 

👆 You can get classic Japanese vibes by visiting Sankei-en Garden in Yokohama.

 

👆 Walking around the garden, you can see historic buildings.

 

👆 Sankeien Garden is a place that you can see bamboo trees in Yokohama. If you’re looking for more bamboo trees, you can see some in Tokyo at the Imperial Palace gardens, and you can see some in Kamakura at the bamboo forest tea house.

 

👆 I made a stop at the restaurant to eat the specialty Sankei-en Garden soba noodles and drink traditional Japanese matcha tea with garden views!

 

How to get to Sankeien Garden

You can get a direct bus to Sankeien Garden from bus stops near places like Sakuragicho Station (Minato Mirai) and Motomachi-Chukagai Station (Yokohama Chinatown).

Check the hours and admission fee.

 

👆 I used google maps public transport directions to easily figure out how to get to Sankei-en by bus, and I paid for the bus fare using an IC card. (map + directions) When in planning phase, adjust the departure time to get a better idea. You can use Sakuragicho Station to start your one day in Yokohama!

 

 

The Yamashita Park rose garden (called the “future rose garden”) is a small but colorful garden right along Yokohama’s harbor. Yamashita Park isn’t about traditional Japanese landscapes, but all about the flowers. You can easily spend 20-30 minutes walking around the rose garden and taking a closer look at all the flowers. You can further your walk by walking along the Yamashita Park waterfront.

Naturally, the season makes a difference in what you’ll see. The best time to go to Yamashita Park for the roses will be mid-April to late May and mid-October to early November.

That said, you’ll get an oceanfront walk no matter the time of year you visit Yamashita Park!

 

👆 Seasonally, there are lots of roses to be seen at the rose garden of Yamashita Park! I happened to be in Yokohama when the roses were in full bloom.

 

👆 Welcome to Yokohama! 😁

 

How to get to Yamashita Park rose garden

The closest train station to the rose garden at Yamashita Park is Motomachi-Chukagai Station. From here, it’s about a 5 minute walk to the rose garden.

While you’re in the area, you can visit the Hikawa Maru ship. The ship’s claim to fame is being a luxury ocean liner on the Japan to Seattle route and surviving World War II. If you have a strong interest in maritime history, go for the guided tour of the Hikawa Maru. Otherwise, the ship is now museum-style and you can walk through it on your own. Check the info and hours before you go.

I went to the Hikawara Maru on the morning of my cruise ship departure. I left my luggage at the nearby train station.

Motomachi-Chukagai Station is also the train station for Yokohama Chinatown, so it can make sense to do Chinatown and Yamashita Park together. Likewise, you can get a guided tour of Chinatown, or walk around Chinatown on your own.

All of Yamashita Park (which includes the rose garden) is free to visit.

 

👆 Chinatown has many gates, and the closest to the Yamashita Park rose garden is the East Gate, which is about a 5 minute walk (map + directions). The closest train station is Motomachi-Chukagai Station. Yamashita Park is right along the waterfront, and you can also go to the nearby NYK Hikawa Maru ship museum.

 

 

Higa Garden is a small peaceful Japanese-style garden that is located right next to Yokohama Stadium that’s home to the Yokohama baseball team. (Yokohama is one of the Tokyo area baseball teams.) Being near Yokohama Stadium, it makes for a nice walk right before you attend a baseball game… which is exactly what I did! A simple walk around can be as quick as 5-10 minutes, but you can also sit and stay awhile.

Read the reviews on what a Japanese baseball game is like!

Even if it’s a busy game day right nearby, Higa Garden stays relatively peaceful. (At least it was for me!) It’s quiet and low-key with small paths leading around the pond. There’s a small stone lantern that’s said to be a replica of one located at a Japanese garden in the US, at the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon. You can also have fun looking for turtles!

 

👆 Higa Garden entry.

 

👆 The little stone lantern replica that also exists at the Portland Japanese Garden in the US.

 

👆 I thought the turtles were so cute! Look for them at the Higa Garden pond. I was also excited to see them at the Sankei-en Garden pond, so look for them there too.

 

How to get to Higa Garden

Higa Garden is a 5 minute walk from Nihon-Odori Station and Kannai Station. It’s a 15 minute walk from the Yamashita Park rose garden. And since it’s literally right next to Yokohama Stadium, it’s perfect to visit just before a baseball game too!

Higa Garden is free to visit.

 

👆 Higa Garden is literally right next to Yokohama Stadium (map + directions). It’s also a few minutes walk from Chinatown, and one of the train stations nearby is Nihon-Odori Station.

 

 

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