Hyatt Regency Yokohama

Rooms and decor

The Park View King measures 32 sqm and runs about $231 a night. The big window faces Yamashita Park, so you look out over green trees, the black-and-red Hikawa Maru and Yokohama Bay about 200 metres off. The look is modern Hyatt Regency — cream, brown, grey and gold — with a King bed at 200x200 cm, 300-thread percale sheets and a thick, soft carpet. The bathroom is a roomy 8 sqm with a separate jacuzzi tub, a rain shower and a double vanity, and the toiletries are Kiehl's, made in New York. There's USB-C charging at the headboard, an iPad to run the smart room, and Wi-Fi at 400 Mbps.

Food and amenities

For dinner, walk straight into Chinatown — the largest in Japan, with four gold gates (Goodwill, Yanping, Shiyou, Chaoyang) and more than 600 Chinese restaurants. The pick is Manchinrou, a Cantonese house going since 1892: a half Peking duck runs $44, the meat tender and the skin crisp in the Beijing style, and they wrap the pancakes for you. The hand-pleated dim sum comes as an eight-course set at $67 a head, finishing with mango pudding and almond tofu. Come back at lunch the next day for Yokohama Choki Ramen, a pork-and-seaweed bowl in the Yokohama style at $8, and a fresh-made niku-man pork bun for $3.40 at Edosei, open since 1894. Back at the hotel there's Milano Grill, the Harbor Kitchen cafe open till midnight, and a fitness centre.

Location and getting there

From the station it's an easy approach. From Motomachi-Chukagai you walk through the Chinatown Goodwill Gate — a red-and-gold Chinese arch standing 15 metres tall — past streets of old sweet shops, and you're at the hotel in about 3 minutes. The next morning, it's a 3-minute walk to Yamashita Park, a 700-metre waterfront park that opened in 1930, with the Indian Water Tower and the Girl in Red Shoes statue. Board the Hikawa Maru museum ship for $2 — a trans-Pacific liner from 1930 that Charlie Chaplin once sailed on, with its original first-class cabins, engine room and captain's quarters. Walk 10 minutes more to Yokohama Marine Tower, 106 metres tall, where $7 gets you a 360-degree view of the city.

Things to know before booking

It's 2 km from Minato Mirai, so the waterfront and Pacifico mean a 5-minute Minato Mirai Line ride rather than a walk — fine, but worth knowing if that's where you're headed. There's no indoor pool, where the Royal Park and the Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu both have one, so skip it if a swim matters. And because it's new, it has fewer total reviews than the InterContinental, which has been open for 30 years — the 8.9 score is strong but built on a smaller base.

Our take

The Hyatt Regency Yokohama has the best location in the Chinatown group — new in 2020, a Hyatt-brand hotel, a 5-minute walk to Chinatown's 600+ restaurants and 3 minutes to Yamashita Park. The 8.9/10 from 664+ reviews backs it up, and at $218 to $231 it runs about $14 to $27 under the Royal Park. It's the pick for Chinatown food lovers, families who want a new Hyatt, World of Hyatt members, and anyone who'd rather be near Yamashita Park and Chinatown than Minato Mirai.