Tourist and City Bus Services in Yokohama

There are a number of useful city bus and sightseeing bus services that you can use to explore Yokohama. Yokohama Station has bus terminals on both the east and west sides of the station. However, the most useful services for tourists depart from the East Exit Bus Terminal. This bus terminal is located inside the Sogo department store building which is a five minute walk from the East Exit of the station.

City Bus Services

Yokohama Municipal Bus operate all of the city bus and sightseeing bus services listed in this article. Buses are entered through the front door and you pay your fare on entering the bus. When you want to exit the bus, get off at the rear door.

City buses have a flat rate fare per single ride of 220 yen for adults and 110 yen for elementary school children (12 years old or younger). Children under 1 year of age can ride for free, and up to two pre-school children (aged 1-6) can ride free of charge if accompanied by a paying adult. You can also use prepaid IC cards such as PASMO or SUICA to pay for your fare. Simply swipe your card across the card reader on entry.

Useful City Bus Services from Yokohama Station

All of the following city bus services depart from bus stops 1 or 2 in the A Bus Lane of Yokohama Station’s East Exit Bus Terminal. The number of the bus with its final destination in English is displayed at the front of the bus. Buses are listed below with the names of the stops for popular tourist destinations.

Bus 8 departs from bus stop 2.

• Get off at the Nihon Odori Eki Kenchomae stop for the Osanbashi Pier.
• Get off at the Chukagai Iriguchi stop for Yamashita Koen Park and China Town.
• Get off at the Yamashita-futo Iriguchi stop for the Yokohama Doll Museum.
• Get off at the Sankeien Iriguchi stop for Sankeien Garden.

Bus 26 departs from bus stop 1.

There are two 26 bus services that depart from bus stop 1. One is bound for Yokohama Symbol Tower and the other is bound for Umizuri Sanbashi. You can see the destination in English at the front of the bus. These two buses mostly follow the same route, except the Umizuri Sanbashi bound bus does not go as far as Symbol Tower. If you want to see the Symbol Tower (a famous lighthouse) you have to take the Symbol Tower bound bus.

• Get off at the Osanbashi stop for Osanbashi Pier.
• Get off at the Yamashita Koen-mae stop for Yamashita Koen Park.
• Get off at the Marine Tower-mae stop for Yokohama Marine Tower.
• Get off at the Yokohama Ningyo-no-ie-mae stop for Yokohama Doll Museum.
• Get off at the Symbol Tower stop for Yokohama Symbol Tower (Symbol Tower bound buses only).

Bus 58 departs from bus stop 2.

• Get off at the Nihon Odori Eki Kenchomae stop for the Osanbashi Pier.
• Get off at the Chukagai Iriguchi stop for Yamashita Koen Park and China Town.
• Get off at the Yamashita-futo Iriguchi stop for the Yokohama Doll Museum.

Bus 148 departs from bus stop 2.

• Get off at the Chukagai Iriguchi stop for Yamashita Koen Park and China Town.
• Get off at the Sankeien Iriguchi stop for Sankeien Garden.

Sightseeing Buses

Yokohama Municipal Bus also operate some flat fare sightseeing buses which are useful for tourists. There are three “Burari” buses and one “Akai Kutsu” bus that follow different routes around Yokohama’s key sightseeing attractions. The flat fare for each ride is the same as for city buses: 220 yen for adults and 110 yen for children. Regular city bus discount passes can also be used on all of these sightseeing buses.

Burari Sightseeing Buses

There are three Burari buses following routes N, S, and A. All three of these buses depart from the A Bus Lane at Yokohama Station’s East Exit Bus Terminal. The N Route Burari bus is the only one that runs every day. The other two buses only run on Saturdays and holidays. On tourist brochures the three Burari buses are advertised as brightly decorated buses colored yellow, green, and blue. Though there are some Burari buses that are decorated in these colors, sometimes regular city buses are used for these routes, so you should check the information displayed at the front of the bus when it comes to your stop.

N Route Burari-Nogeyama-Dobutsuen Bus

This bus is bound for Nogeyama Zoo and departs from bus stop 4 at the East Exit Bus Terminal. On the way to the zoo it stops at Sakuragicho Station which is a useful jumping off point for the main sightseeing area in Yokohama. This is the only Burari bus that runs on weekdays.

S Route Burari-Sankeien Bus

This bus departs from bus stop 2 at the East Exit Bus Terminal and has stops at Sakuragicho station, Akarenga Soko (Red Brick Warehouses), Chukagai Iriguchi (for China Town), Sankeien Garden, and Yamashita Koen Park. This bus only runs on Saturdays and holidays.

A Route Burari-Akarenga Bus

This bus departs from bus stop 1 at the East Exit Bus Terminal and has stops at Minatomirai Station, Yokohama Cup Noodles Museum, and Akarenga Soko. Minatomirai Station is a useful jumping off spot for Minato Mirai 21, Yokohama Landmark Tower, and Yokohama Museum of Art. This bus only runs on Saturdays and holidays.

The Akai Kutsu Bus

The Akai Kutsu Bus is a flat fare sightseeing bus that runs a circuit of the main tourist locations in Yokohama. There are two courses for this bus: the M Route and the C Route. The M Route bus makes a 37 minute circuit of the Minato Mirai 21 area. The C Route bus makes a 65 minute circuit of China Town, Motomachi, Yamashita Koen Park, and Minato-no Mieruoka Koen Park. C Route buses are more frequent with three or four departures per hour between 10.00 and 19.00, but M Route buses only make one departure each hour.

The flat fare for each ride is the same as for city buses: 220 yen for adults and 110 yen for children. These buses do not depart from Yokohama Station, but from bus stop 4 at the bus terminal in front of Sakuragicho Station. However, this station is just a 3 minute train ride away from Yokohama Station on the JR Negishi Line or 4 minutes on the Municipal Subway Blue Line.

If you plan to ride the Akai Kutsu bus three times or more, it makes sense to buy one of the discount tickets listed below which will give you unlimited rides on this bus and on other transportation services

Discount Tickets

There are a number of discount tickets and passes that can make sightseeing in Yokohama more economical. The following discount tickets can all be purchased at the information counter at Yokohama Station’s East Exit Bus Terminal on the B1 level of the Sogo building.

The Minato Burari Ticket

This ticket costs 500 yen for adults and 250 yen for children. It covers unlimited rides on all city and sightseeing buses (with one exception) and also covers a limited area on the Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line. Subway stations covered by this ticket are: Yokohama, Takashimacho, Sakuragicho, Kannai, and Isezaki-chojamachi. The one exception is on the N-Route Burari sightseeing bus. The Minato Burari Ticket covers rides up to and including Nogeyama Zoo on the N-Route, but if you use the bus to travel to stops beyond the zoo, you will have to pay extra.

The Minato Burari Ticket Wide

There is also a “Minato Burari Ticket Wide” which covers the same bus and subway services as a regular Minato Burari Ticket but also includes Shin-Yokohama Station on the Blue Line. This ticket costs 550 yen for adults and 280 yen for children. You can buy either of these tickets at Blue Line subway stations, at the Information Counter at the East Exit Bus Terminal, or at other bus terminal information counters.

Yokohama Bus One Day Pass

This pass costs 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children and covers all city bus and sightseeing bus routes. You can buy this at the East Exit Bus Terminal Information Counter or on board a bus.

Yokohama Subway & Bus One Day Pass

This pass costs 830 yen for adults and 420 yen for children and covers all city bus and sightseeing bus routes, and all stations on the Yokohama Municipal Subway lines. You can buy this pass at any subway station as well as at the East Exit Bus Terminal Information Counter, or on board a bus.

Useful Downloads

Download the Tour Around Yokohama for detailed information on the Burari and Akai Kutsu sightseeing buses and the Minato Burari Ticket. This PDF also includes a useful “Minato Burari” map of the main sightseeing area and a “Burari Connection Map” of the different sightseeing bus routes. Both the Minato Burari Map and the Burari Connection Map can also be downloaded separately.

Download the Yokohama Municipal Bus Route Map for a more comprehensive map of the Yokohama area and details of useful city bus services from both Yokohama Station’s East Exit Bus Terminal and the Sakuragicho Station Bus Terminal.

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.