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By Root 4439 0

loves fun. Put them together and you get the food theme park! An industry pioneer is the Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Hakubutsukan (; 471-0503; 2-14-21 Shinyokohama; adult/child ¥300/100, most meals from ¥900; 11am-10pm). This museum of rāmen continues to show the history and culture of these Chinese-style noodles that (it’s fair to say) Japan is bonkers about. Downstairs, nine rāmen restaurants from around the country were hand-picked to sell their wares in a replica of a 1958 shitamachi (downtown district).

The concept has been copied many times since, not least here in Yokohama. In Chinatown, the eight-storey Yokohama Daisekai (Daska; 681-5588; 97 Yamashita-chō; adult/child ¥500/300, mains from ¥900; 10am-9pm) models itself on Shanghai’s gilded age of the 1920s and ‘30s, with silks, carvings and crafts, performances of jazz and Chinese opera, and three floors of restaurants. To beat the crowds, visit on weekdays.

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Ryūsen (651-0758; 218-5 Yamashita-chō; mains ¥900-1500; 7am-3am; Ishikawa-chō) You can’t miss friendly old Mr Ma sitting outside his small but welcoming Cantonese and Shanghai-style eatery with red awning and English menus, as he has done for years. The walls outside and inside are covered with photos of reasonably priced, tasty-looking dishes like fried cashew nuts and chicken (¥1050).

Manchinrō Honten (681-4004; 153 Yamashita-chō; mains from ¥1100, dinner for 2 ¥8400; 11am-10pm) One of Chinatown’s oldest and most popular Cantonese restaurants, with a respected Hong Kong chef. Expect specialities like wok-fried seafood with XO sauce and shrimp with mayonnaise, plus yum cha (dim sum; ¥480 to ¥700). Look for the stone lions out the front; there’s an English menu.

Yamate Jyuban-kan (; 621-4466; 247 Yamatechō; mains/courses from ¥2000/3500; 11am-9pm) Overlooking the Foreigners’ Cemetery in Yamate, this French restaurant with English menus serves consistently good cuisine in a building that’s like a mansion from the American south. A casual cafe occupies the 1st floor, while upstairs is the classic restaurant, dishing out longstanding favourites like the Kaika steak set. Reservations recommended; look for the French flag outside.

Drinking & Entertainment

Cable Car (662-5303; 200 Yamashita-chō; drinks from ¥650; 6pm-2am Mon-Thu, to 4am Fri & Sat, to midnight Sun; Nihon Ō-dōri) The idea is a bar from 1890s San Francisco, with polished wood surfaces, a long bar and 300 cocktails. Pub-style food options include Cajun-style ebi-furai (deep-fried shrimp; ¥1350). There’s an English sign.

Windjammer (662-3966; 215 Yamashita-chō; live-music cover ¥400-600, drinks from ¥650; 5pm-1.30am; Kannai) The setting feels like the inside of a yacht (especially after the potent Jacktar cocktail, ¥1050). All the better to listen to live jazz nightly, from 8pm; look for the English sign.

Zaim Café (227-8051; 34 Nihon Ō-dōri; drinks from ¥600; 11.30am-11pm; Nihon Ō-dōri) This bohemian space in a 1920s-era Japan Cotton Corp building run by the Yokohama Arts Foundation often has live blues and jazz acts to enjoy from the comfort of an eclectic group of old sofas. The menu includes light meals like maguro don (tuna on rice, ¥1000). There’s an English sign.

Motion Blue (226-1919; 3rd fl, Akarenga Sōkō Bldg 2; most tickets free-¥8200; 5-11.30pm Mon-Sat, 4-10.30pm Sun; Bashamichi) Yokohama’s hottest music club books jazz, fusion, world music, J-pop and more. It’s in the Akarenga Sōkō.

Nana’s Green Tea (664-2707; Akarenga Sōkō Bldg 2; drinks around ¥550; 11am-9pm) Contemporary takes on traditional Japanese drinks: latte of frozen maccha (powdered green tea; ¥450) with whipped cream, drinks with azuki beans, and a steaming bowl of zensai (azuki- bean soup).

Sirius (221-1111; 2-2-1-3 Minato Mirai; cover charge after 5/7pm ¥1050/2100; 7am-1am; Sakuragi-chō) Elegant cocktail lounge on the top (70th floor) of the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. The place to go for a view over cocktails such as the Two Hearts, with apple and cherry syrups, Calpis and fresh apple, topped with champagne (¥1900). Also open for breakfast and lunch buffets.