Yokohama and a Sushi Class in One Day

Yokohama is Japan's second-largest city and one of the easiest day trips from Tokyo. It has a harbour promenade, a large Chinatown, red-brick warehouses and museums, and it feels quite different from Asakusa's temple lanes and old shopfronts. Many travellers want both on the same trip. If you are also planning a hands-on sushi class in Asakusa, you can fit the two into one day, as long as you plan the class first and treat Yokohama as the flexible part.

This guide covers how to get between the two, how much time to leave, and two simple ways to build the day. It is a planning guide, not a live timetable, so check a route app on the day.

Getting between Asakusa and Yokohama

Japan's national tourism organisation says you can reach Yokohama Station from central Tokyo by JR or private railways in an hour or less. From Asakusa, there are two practical approaches.

Toei Asakusa Line and Keikyu. The Toei Asakusa Line runs through onto the Keikyu Line south of Sengakuji. Some trains from Asakusa continue directly onto the Keikyu Main Line through Yokohama; on others, you change at Sengakuji or Shinagawa. Check the destination shown on the train, because some through trains head to Haneda Airport instead. At the Asakusa end, Toei Asakusa Line Exit A5 is about a five-minute walk from our studio.

Ginza Line and JR. Take the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line from Asakusa to Ueno or Kanda, then change to a JR line that runs to Yokohama Station. This route has one transfer but frequent trains. At Asakusa, Ginza Line Exit 7 is about a two-minute walk from the studio.

Either way, plan for roughly an hour door to door, plus extra time if you start from Minato Mirai or Chinatown rather than Yokohama Station. From Yokohama Station, the Minatomirai Line runs to the harbour area and to Motomachi-Chukagai, the station for Chinatown.

The quickest walk to the studio is from Tobu Asakusa Station's North Exit, about 30 seconds. Our guide to getting from Asakusa Station to the sushi class and the access page show each route.

Build the day around the class

The class has a fixed start time; Yokohama does not. Book the class first, then decide which half of the day goes to Yokohama.

Our signature sushi and matcha class takes about 90 minutes. You learn to prepare sushi rice and make nigiri and maki in English, eat what you made as a full meal, toast with sake and finish by whisking matcha. Please arrive 10 minutes before the start. Because the class is a real meal, plan it at lunchtime or dinner time rather than adding another big meal next to it. Our guide to planning meals around a sushi class helps with that.

Count back from the class start: the walk from the station, the train ride, transfers and a margin for crowds. From Yokohama, leaving your last stop about an hour and a half before the class is a comfortable buffer.

Plan A: Asakusa first, Yokohama in the afternoon and evening

This is the easiest version, because the fixed appointment comes first and the long journey happens afterwards with no deadline.

• Morning: walk around Senso-ji and Nakamise before the busiest hours. Our guide to Senso-ji and a sushi class on the same day suggests a route.
• Late morning or midday: the sushi class, which doubles as lunch.
• Afternoon: travel to Yokohama. Walk the harbour from the Red Brick Warehouse towards Yamashita Park, or visit a museum.
• Evening: Yokohama's harbour is popular after dark, and Chinatown is busy at dinner time if you are hungry again.

If you choose the Cup Noodles Museum, note that it is closed on Tuesdays (and on the following day when Tuesday is a national holiday) and over the New Year period, and its last admission is an hour before closing. Its make-your-own cup noodle workshop uses numbered tickets on the day, so arrive early if that is your main reason to go.

Plan B: Yokohama in the morning, sushi for dinner

This works well if you are staying in Yokohama or southern Tokyo, or want an evening class.

• Morning: Sankeien Garden, with historic buildings from across Japan set in a traditional landscape, or a walk through Motomachi and Chinatown.
• Early afternoon: lunch in Yokohama, kept light.
• Mid-afternoon: travel to Asakusa with a generous margin, and use any spare time around Asakusa.
• Evening: the sushi class as dinner.

The risk in this version is running late on the way back. If a delay looks likely, contact us with your reservation details as soon as you can. A message does not automatically move the start time or change the cancellation terms, so build the margin in from the start.

Practical tips

• IC cards: a Suica or PASMO card works on all the lines above, including the transfer between Toei/Keikyu or Metro/JR.
• Weekends: Chinatown and the harbour are busiest on weekend afternoons and evenings; the morning is calmer.
• Weather: most of Yokohama's harbour sights are outdoors. On a wet day, swap the promenade for museums. Our rainy-day Asakusa plan covers the Asakusa side.
• Arriving by cruise ship: if you are docking in Yokohama with only a day ashore, read our cruise port day guide instead, because the all-aboard time changes the plan.

Other easy pairings

If Yokohama feels too far for one day, Asakusa pairs easily with places on the same lines. Our day plans for Nihonbashi and Ginza both use direct trains from Asakusa, and you will pass through them on the Toei Asakusa Line or the Ginza Line on the way to Yokohama.

Before you book

Choose the date when Yokohama is most flexible for you, then pick the class time that fits Plan A or Plan B. Check live sessions and the current price on the signature class page. Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the class, and you can mention any dietary needs when you book.