Hi there!
I got off a Princess cruise that ended at the Yokohama cruise port in March 2023.
This was a cruise that originated in the US.
Yokohama was the final destination.
Before arriving in Yokohama, we went to 2 other cruise ports in Japan, Kobe and Toba.
Your experience may vary!
👆 The free shuttles from Yokohama cruise port to a nearby train station.
👆 I arrived at the Daikoku Pier cruise port in Yokohama. This is a screenshot of my location as taken from the cruise ship upon arrival in Yokohama.
Overall, it was a pretty easy and quick process to get off the ship in Yokohama.
There was a free shuttle from the Yokohama cruise port to a train station.
Then from there, you can follow along on google maps and be on your way on the local train!
If you’re staying in Tokyo and/or Japan for a few days, I think it will be very worth it for you to get a suica card or pasmo card. These are types of IC cards and do the same thing so it’s not important which type of card you specifically get.
But they are basically cash cards that will allow you to easily pay for local trains and buses in the Tokyo and Yokohama area (and other cities in Japan including Kyoto and Osaka) without having to buy individual train tickets or bus tickets! It’s easy to buy this at the first train station you go to. You can buy it at the ticket machine.
I have found my US credit card does not get accepted at train ticket machines, so it’s a good idea to have cash. You can find ATM machines around Japan, including at convenience stores.
If you end up with money left over on the card at the end of your time in Japan, you can use IC cards at convenience stores too. (Like 7/11, Lawson, Family Mart, etc. You should go to these convenience stores as part of your Japanese experience anyway! This is an easy place to get quick food.) Some vending machines also accept IC cards.
If you will be doing checked luggage, then you need to be all packed up the evening before disembarkation day so you can place your luggage in the hallway.
👆 If you don’t want to carry luggage off on your own, you will leave it out the evening before disembarkation day. Otherwise, you can also carry your luggage off the cruise ship on your own.
👆 6:15am at the Yokohama cruise port on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
👇 There was a free shuttle from Yokohama cruise port to near a train station. The shuttle drop-off was at Yamashita Pier. From there, it was around a 5 minute walk to a subway station. Google maps makes it easy to navigate public transportation in Japan! Also have the google translate app on your phone. There’s a camera feature. If you point the camera at Japanese words, then it will translate it into English for you! See an example of the google translate app using the camera!
👆 Follow the crowd to the train station! …If you trust where the crowd is going that is! 😆 Really though, you won’t be alone!
👆 Arriving at the Motomachi Chukagai Station. (See the map of the walk from Yamashita Pier to the nearby subway station. See the map of drive from the cruise port to Yamashita Pier.)
Cruise disembarkation day instructions
So 2 days before disembarkation day in Yokohama, we were given instructions in the form of a letter to the cabin.
Princess shuttle transfer from Yokohama cruise port to airport (paid transfer)
If your flight from Tokyo is on the same day you arrive in Yokohama, then I would also expect a paid shuttle to the airport to be offered through Princess. These would be shuttles to both Haneda airport and Narita airport.
You should be able to purchase this transfer through your Princess account before you get on the cruise ship. You can book a transfer only, or if your flight is later, then you can also book an excursion that includes Tokyo sightseeing and an airport transfer.
A Princess transfer to the airport is also something you can book once you are on the cruise ship.
I was on several Princess cruises in 2023, and there was always a letter delivered to my stateroom a few days before the last day of the cruise about post-cruise transfers to the airport.
Below is the letter delivered to my stateroom on my cruise to Yokohama.
👆 You can book a Princess transfer from the Yokohama cruise port to the airport in Tokyo.
And that’s to give you a little idea of what it might be like on disembarkation day in Yokohama!
More about the Diamond Princess:
HAPPY CRUISING INTO YOKOHAMA CRUISE PORT!