Motomachi ［元町］

Motomachi

Motomachi is a fashionable shopping street where there are many old and new stores that are all very popular. You will find several hundred well-established designer brand boutiques and unique stores lined mostly along Motomachi-dori (avenue).

Motomachi's beginning can be traced back to 1859. The Yokohama Port was opened then, turning Motomachi into a place where business was actively conducted with foreigners passing by since it was located between the foreign residential area of Yamate and the commercial district of Kannai. During the Meiji era, it supported the country’s cultural enlightenment through the opening of many cafes, bakeries, and clothing stores in its area which were considered rare back then.

Although it temporarily went into a decline due to earthquake and war disasters, it was able to recover after the war and turned into the Motomachi Shotengai (shopping street) we now see.
Even today, well-established boutiques, patisseries, and stylish cafes stand next to each other, creating an atmosphere unique to Motomachi. Additionally, many of the patisseries we know and love were actually born here in this area.

A little away from the Motomachi Shotengai are the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery that reminds us of the former foreign residential area and the Minato-no-mieru Oka Park on top of a hill overlooking the Yokohama Port where you can enjoy a nice, quiet stroll.