Where I Eat in Yokohama Chinatown: Shanghai Yakisoba at Banraitei
Yokohama Chinatown has hundreds of restaurants packed into a few blocks. For a first-time visitor, that's the problem — every street has another red sign, another menu board, another person trying to wave you inside.
I eat at different places in Chinatown, but one I keep going back to is Banraitei. My dad was the one who first took me there. Here's why I like it, and what to order.
Skip the restaurants with staff calling you in
Walk down the main street and you'll see staff outside restaurants handing out menus and calling people in. My advice: keep walking.
The places that are genuinely good don't need to do that. They already have people queuing. That's a simple rule, but it's the most useful thing I can tell anyone visiting Chinatown for the first time.
Banraitei
Banraitei sits slightly away from the busiest streets, so it's a calmer walk than the main gate area. It's run by a family that has been making noodles since before the Second World War, and their own noodle factory is right across the road. You can taste that in the food.
It's popular, so be ready to wait at busy times. It's worth it.
What to order: Shanghai yakisoba
Order the Shanghai yakisoba. That's really all you need.
It's a plate of thick noodles stir-fried in soy sauce, and it's simply great. The noodles are the star, and it's the kind of dish I find myself craving again every so often. The portion is big — easily enough for one hungry person, and enough to share if you're planning to snack your way around Chinatown afterwards.
The menu has plenty of other dishes, but if it's your first visit, start here.
After lunch
Banraitei is a short walk from Motomachi and Yamashita Park, so it fits easily into a wider day in Yokohama. If you'd like the whole route — the order I'd walk it in and where to stop along the way — I put my go-to Yokohama day trip into a PDF guide.
Want recommendations tailored to your trip?
Chinatown is only one part of Yokohama. If you'd like a day built around what you actually enjoy — food, history, a slower pace, an onsen at the end — I make personalised day trip itineraries for Kanagawa. ¥5,000, delivered as a PDF within 7 days.
Quick Tips
- Getting there: About a 5-minute walk from Motomachi-Chukagai Station on the Minatomirai Line
- Location: Banraitei on Google Maps — check here for the latest opening hours
- What to order: Shanghai yakisoba
- Waiting: It's popular, so expect a queue at peak lunchtime
- Avoid: Restaurants with staff outside calling you in
