Going abroad without leaving Japan? Shin-Okubo Korean town

photo by jun560

Japan’s largest nightlife district, Kabukicho in Shinjuku city. Shin-Okubo is located just one station away toward the north from Kabukicho. In contrast to the neon-lit streets of Kabukicho, usual Japanese residential streets are there once you get out of Shin-Okubo station… well, this is not true. If you go on Okubo street after the overhead rail track bridge on the right of Shin-Okubo station, a number of Korean restaurants, grocers or other shops are standing side by side for next a few meters long. Here is the largest Korean town of Tokyo city. While it is rather new area compare to a few other Korean town in Tokyo, Shin-Okubo grew to the largest Korean town of Tokyo during the Korean pop culture frenzy raised in Japan. So, what are the best attractions of Shin-Okubo?

1. Korean gourmet

You may have been to a Korean restaurant in your country at least once as a large number of Korean immigrants have settled in many countries all over the world. However, just like Japanese cuisine in other countries, Korean cuisine is also a little different from its original or every shops serve similar dishes in areas other than Asia. As for Shin-Okubo, many Korean students live here in addition to Korean immigrants who have been living in Japan for generations. So, you can have genuine Korean food in this town. Korean cuisine is known for a wide variety of healthy dishes using lots of vegetables. Okubo street and Shokuan Dori is full of Korean restaurants that serve barbecue pork, spicy stir-fried chicken with cheese, Korean noodles and many more popular dishes. Also, there are many Korean grocery shops. It will be fun to buy Korean ingredients from these shops and try your own Korean dish at your home.

2. Korean cosmetics

The Japanese often refers to the proverb “White skin conceals the seven faults” which means that women’s white skin make them look more beautiful. As can be imagined from this, Japanese females have been longing for beautiful translucent skin since the old time. Shelves of Japanese drug stores and cosmetics section in department stores are filled with new products that appear one after another. However, nothing can compare with Korean ladies’ passion for skin care. In addition to standard skin lotions and moisturizers, there are many types of special care products such as face sheet masks using ingredients extracted from snails or venomous snake, which came into trend a few years ago. Unique Korean cosmetics are very popular in Japan too. There are many Korean skin care shops on Okubo Street and Shokuan Dori, or on alleys between the two streets. Looking around those skin care shops is so much fun that you will forget the time.

3. K-pop item stores

It has been more than 10-years since a variety of K-pop entertainments started flowing in Japan and the first K-pop craze happened. Music, TV programs and drama series, K-pop culture has taken root in Japan rather than going away as a temporary frenzy. K-pop is also popular and attracting lots of attentions in other countries and there is even Asian channels which broadcast many Asian idols’ music videos including K-pop. In Shin-Okubo, you see many K-pop item stores that sell Korean idols original items. When Korean entertainments just started coming into Japan, majority of visitors were middle-ages females, but now all age groups visit this suburb in late years.

4. Not limited to Korean things

Once you come to Shin-Okubo, you will see this town is not just about Koran culture. Among many Korean shops and restaurants, there are Thai, Indian, Nepalese, Indonesian and Taiwanese restaurants Also, the alley nest to a Matsumoto Kiyoshi drug store by Shin-Okubo station is called “Islam Alley”, and halal food stores and spice shops gather on this alley. You can find uncommon ingredients in Japan such as authentic spices in these stores.

Anyoung haseyo!

Once you step out from Shin-Okubo station, you feel as if you are traveling in South Korea. It is so easy to spend the whole day just by walking around with “Hotteok” pancake from a food stall in your hand. Just one station away from Shinjuku, Shin-Okubo is a handy place to enjoy foreign culture in Japan at weekends or on the way home from work.