Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A short walking video around Yokosuka, specifically locations from Shenmue such as Dobuita Street and various places nearby, filmed on Sunday 5th July 2026. Filmed with an Insta360 Go Ultra and Insta360 Mic Air.
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa prefecture, about 60km or an hour or so south of Tokyo. It's known for being home to a US naval base, but more importantly, the setting for the first Shenmue game!
The major hub for the game is Dobuita Street, a shopping street in the city centre. Shenmue is set in 1986/87, and this combined with the computing power of the Dreamcast means that the Dobuita Street of 2026 is a fair bit different to the one in-game, but still somewhat recognisable. The area is aware of the game's popularity, and for a few years now has produced a "Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide" which can be found at the local tourist info spots which points out several of the real places that inspired locations in the game. Some of the stores featured in the game were based on real life counterparts, many of which are still in business to this day. There are fewer winding backstreets in real life compared to Shenmue, but there are plenty of bars and "sailors", due to the presence of the US naval base.
In the game Ryo walks from his house in Yamanose to Dobuita Street in a couple of minutes. In reality, those kind of small towns and suburbs surrounding Yokosuka in the hills are a more considerable distance away from Dobuita Street, but it's easy to imagine the houses on the hills above Yokosuka as being where those (imaginary) towns would be.
All in all, Yokosuka isn't a terribly exciting place, for a Shenmue fan it's worth visiting for a day to see all the sites, but beyond that there really isn't a lot to do.
Timetamps:
0:00 Starto
1:12 Dobuita Street starts here
2:04 Tom and Jack: Just some random bar. Of no interest to Shenmue apart from the fact it has "Tom" in the name.
2:42 Bar 605, which has a side shutter that makes it look a lot like the Hirata Tobacco kiosk in the game. I have no idea if this used to be a tobacco kiosk back in the day, but it really does look like it, and is on the corner of the main road where the bus runs, both in-game and real life, though the bus stop is further down the street in real life, possibly it was moved but not sure.
3:24 Taisho Mishin Shishuten, an old patch and embroidery shop that has been there for ages and clearly represented in game as Mary's.
3:53 Mikasa Vol.2, the inspiration for the Water Dragon thrift stores in-game. The Water Dragon Vol.2 store clearly takes the name from this. It sells Sukajan, the shiny souvenir jackets you see sold in Japan. This place claims to be the original store for them, not sure if that's true.
4:24 Finding the Shenmue Sacred Spot guides, in both English and Japanese.
4:58 Dobuita Station Yokosuka, a sort of souvenir shop combined with a tourist info spot.
7:43 Rose Co., another tourist shop. There's a lot of these on Dobuita Street, I went in a lot more off-camera.
13:01 "Kakita Military Survival Goods", the real world analog to Kurita in-game. The most obvious reference.
13:38 Prince Co., not represented in-game as such but typical of the Sukajan shops on the street. The sign says it was founded in 1947 so definitely would have been present in 1986. As mentioned, a shop called "Jupitor's Jackets" (bad translation) had a real world equivalent called Jupiter close in 2015, but it's not on Dobuita Street, and Google Street View goes back to 2010, where it looks just as closed as it does now.
16:27 Honey Bee, which according to the guide is the inspiration for Funny Bear Burgers, a small stall in the game that has no real significance. If the guide didn't point this out, I would never have made any connection.
18:26 The bus stop Ryo uses to go to the Warehouse District. The geography doesn't quite match the game but this is obviously the equivalent.
19:46 The other half of Dobuita Street, nothing of note here.
24:15 The guide says this florist, Hanamatsu, is the inspiration for Aida Florist where Nozomi works. It's much bigger in real life, and it's not on Dobuita Street but one of the side streets behind it.
25:19 Odakicho park, according to the guide the inspiration for Suzume park. Not where it is in-game at all, and just a generic playground.
28:30 Ryochoin, a Buddhist temple. Not in the guide but people think it looks like the Hazuki Dojo. It does, but there are thousands of buildings that look like this in Japan, especially temples.
32:14 The approach to the shrine on the right here really looks a lot like the entrance to Yamanose as you're returning home. Again, Japan has a lot of places that look like this, but considering where it is, the vibe is very strong.
32:48 Suwa Grand Shrine, the basis for Yamanose shrine. The shrine in-game is pretty tiny and better represents what a smaller town/suburb like Yamanose would have (if it existed), but this one is way bigger. It's a nice tranquil place too.
A short walking video around Yokosuka, specifically locations from Shenmue such as Dobuita Street and various places nearby, filmed on Sunday 5th July 2026. Filmed with an Insta360 Go Ultra and Insta360 Mic Air.
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa prefecture, about 60km or an hour or so south of Tokyo. It's known for being home to a US naval base, but more importantly, the setting for the first Shenmue game!
The major hub for the game is Dobuita Street, a shopping street in the city centre. Shenmue is set in 1986/87, and this combined with the computing power of the Dreamcast means that the Dobuita Street of 2026 is a fair bit different to the one in-game, but still somewhat recognisable. The area is aware of the game's popularity, and for a few years now has produced a "Shenmue Sacred Spot Guide" which can be found at the local tourist info spots which points out several of the real places that inspired locations in the game. Some of the stores featured in the game were based on real life counterparts, many of which are still in business to this day. There are fewer winding backstreets in real life compared to Shenmue, but there are plenty of bars and "sailors", due to the presence of the US naval base.
In the game Ryo walks from his house in Yamanose to Dobuita Street in a couple of minutes. In reality, those kind of small towns and suburbs surrounding Yokosuka in the hills are a more considerable distance away from Dobuita Street, but it's easy to imagine the houses on the hills above Yokosuka as being where those (imaginary) towns would be.
All in all, Yokosuka isn't a terribly exciting place, for a Shenmue fan it's worth visiting for a day to see all the sites, but beyond that there really isn't a lot to do.
Timetamps:
0:00 Starto
1:12 Dobuita Street starts here
2:04 Tom and Jack: Just some random bar. Of no interest to Shenmue apart from the fact it has "Tom" in the name.
2:42 Bar 605, which has a side shutter that makes it look a lot like the Hirata Tobacco kiosk in the game. I have no idea if this used to be a tobacco kiosk back in the day, but it really does look like it, and is on the corner of the main road where the bus runs, both in-game and real life, though the bus stop is further down the street in real life, possibly it was moved but not sure.
3:24 Taisho Mishin Shishuten, an old patch and embroidery shop that has been there for ages and clearly represented in game as Mary's.
3:53 Mikasa Vol.2, the inspiration for the Water Dragon thrift stores in-game. The Water Dragon Vol.2 store clearly takes the name from this. It sells Sukajan, the shiny souvenir jackets you see sold in Japan. This place claims to be the original store for them, not sure if that's true.
4:24 Finding the Shenmue Sacred Spot guides, in both English and Japanese.
4:58 Dobuita Station Yokosuka, a sort of souvenir shop combined with a tourist info spot.
7:43 Rose Co., another tourist shop. There's a lot of these on Dobuita Street, I went in a lot more off-camera.
13:01 "Kakita Military Survival Goods", the real world analog to Kurita in-game. The most obvious reference.
13:38 Prince Co., not represented in-game as such but typical of the Sukajan shops on the street. The sign says it was founded in 1947 so definitely would have been present in 1986. As mentioned, a shop called "Jupitor's Jackets" (bad translation) had a real world equivalent called Jupiter close in 2015, but it's not on Dobuita Street, and Google Street View goes back to 2010, where it looks just as closed as it does now.
16:27 Honey Bee, which according to the guide is the inspiration for Funny Bear Burgers, a small stall in the game that has no real significance. If the guide didn't point this out, I would never have made any connection.
18:26 The bus stop Ryo uses to go to the Warehouse District. The geography doesn't quite match the game but this is obviously the equivalent.
19:46 The other half of Dobuita Street, nothing of note here.
24:15 The guide says this florist, Hanamatsu, is the inspiration for Aida Florist where Nozomi works. It's much bigger in real life, and it's not on Dobuita Street but one of the side streets behind it.
25:19 Odakicho park, according to the guide the inspiration for Suzume park. Not where it is in-game at all, and just a generic playground.
28:30 Ryochoin, a Buddhist temple. Not in the guide but people think it looks like the Hazuki Dojo. It does, but there are thousands of buildings that look like this in Japan, especially temples.
32:14 The approach to the shrine on the right here really looks a lot like the entrance to Yamanose as you're returning home. Again, Japan has a lot of places that look like this, but considering where it is, the vibe is very strong.
32:48 Suwa Grand Shrine, the basis for Yamanose shrine. The shrine in-game is pretty tiny and better represents what a smaller town/suburb like Yamanose would have (if it existed), but this one is way bigger. It's a nice tranquil place too.
