Shin-Okubo is a neighborhood north of downtown Shinjuku that's known as Tokyo's Koreatown. Recently, it's evolved into a bustling multicultural community with residents from across Asia. In this episode we'll learn about a unit of 100 musketeers that cultivated azaleas here, discover the town's reputation for musical instruments, and visit a Japanese language school that supports exchange students. We see how locals are working to foster an inclusive community.
There's a Tokyo neighborhood that young people are flocking to.
Shin-Okubo.
It's known as the city's Koreatown.
We're a group from South Korea.
The streets here are filled with Korean pop culture and food.
It's also home to a number of other ethnic enclaves.
Customers are from all countries.
International. Very diverse.
We'll learn about Shin-Okubo's roots in the 17th century...
its history as a famous spot for azaleas...
and its reputation as the go-to place for musical instruments.
How did it grow to become such a culturally diverse neighborhood?
This time on "Dive in Tokyo,"
we explore Shin-Okubo.
Shin-Okubo – A Rich Tapestry of Cultures
Shin-Okubo is an area of low-rise buildings just to the north of Shinjuku.
Two train stations sit along a major thoroughfare running east to west.
This street has historically been at the heart of the community.
Our reporter today is originally from South Korea.
Hello, everyone. I'm Daum Kim.
I'm a PhD student researching on how we can reduce prejudice
towards ethnic communities using digital platforms,
which is also a YouTube channel.
And today I'm here at Shin-Okubo,
which itself is known for ethnic enclaves.
And we're going to explore different parts,
but first we're going to see that side.
So let's go check it out.
We head to the eastern side of Shin-Okubo Station,
which is bustling with tourists.
This area gets especially crowded on the weekends.
Now, here you can see more Korean signs like...
What it says over there is,
"If it's delicious, it's zero calories."
This one, it says, over there.
This is one of the country's largest Koreatowns.
It's home to many stores catering to fans of Korean pop culture
which has become a global phenomenon.
Let's see what they have in this department store.
So these are like K-Pop goods.
What does Shin-Okubo mean to K-Pop fans?
This place feels like South Korea.
So I can experience the culture without having to travel far.
There are even live music venues showcasing K-Pop idols.
Sometimes you can run into performers walking around promoting their shows.
So I just met the Shin-Okubo K-Pop idols.
And it's quite exciting to see like how K-Pop is spreading in Japan and around the world.
The local Korean community took root here shortly after World War II.
Then in the early 2000s,
interest generated by the Japan-Korea World Cup
and a wave of hit Korean dramas made the area a tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, the western side of Shin-Okubo has a multicultural feel to it.
So, I came to this other side of Shin-Okubo,
and the vibe is completely different.
Even the smell is different here.
You can smell different spices.
There are a variety of Asian markets and restaurants,
even a store selling clothes from Nepal.
Here is a Turkish kebab stand.
We asked one of the regulars about the neighborhood.
Many of us come to this country alone.
But when I come to this area I don't feel lonely.
The people give me energy.
It seems something has caught Daum's eye.
And... Oh, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. This is Korean.
This says in-yeongwan underneath.
And this looks like a different cuisine.
This two-story building houses four restaurants,
each specializing in a different type of cuisine.
I wonder where we are.
Hello.
- Are these all separate restaurants?
- Yes, all different.
That's an Uzbek restaurant. This is a Bangladeshi halal restaurant.
I see!
Here on the first floor,
customers can order dishes from both restaurants.
Do you share a culinary connection?
Not really. They use a lot of spices. We use salt.
Next, we visit a halal market that caters to the local Muslim population.
Let's see what's inside.
Wait, they also have sweets!
Customers are from all countries.
India and Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nigerian, Japanese.
He says more and more Japanese customers come seeking out halal ingredients.
We turned the corner and suddenly it was like we were in another country.
I was surprised!
Shin-Okubo's modern history has been shaped by a mix of cultural influences.
But its roots actually stretch back much further.
So next, we go in search of traces of its past...
beginning with nearby Okubo Station.
So, we are around 300 meters away from Shin-Okubo Station.
We literally just walked down here.
And one thing that I notice is that there is a mural right in front of me.
Okay. So it says "teppo gumi."
So I see some old guns with the samurais.
It must be pretty old.
It's said the town's history began with a group of musketeers.
There's a local shrine that's associated with them.
Kaichu Inari Jinja.
We're met by two men who work with the shrine
to keep the legacy of the musketeers alive.
Kaneshige Tokutaro and Takahashi Tatsuro.
There's a description here.
It says "Edo Shogunate Hundred-Member Gun Squad."
The shogunate had a gun squad stationed here from the 17th century.
This is Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period.
He stationed a unit of 100 musketeers here
to guard the western approach to the capital.
The neighborhood came to be known as Hyakunin-cho,
which translates to "hundred-person town."
That name is still in use today.
And the local preservation society has in its possession
dozens of old matchlocks from that era.
It's made of iron so it's quite heavy.
You have to be careful not to point it at anyone.
You hold it like this.
Once every two years, they perform a reenactment of the unit's departure ritual
in dedication to the shrine's deity.
The event is a blast from the past.
Samurai clad in traditional armor parade through the streets
celebrating Shin-Okubo's roots.
We hope to preserve our history and pass it on to future generations.
They say that the presence of the musketeer unit
literally shaped the local streets.
Check out this street.
It's been here for centuries.
- Notice how long and narrow it is.
- Yes, I see it.
This area is made up of long, narrow streets.
It's said the layout has remained largely unchanged since the 17th century.
Here is an old map of the neighborhood.
The musketeers lived in long, thin houses.
Everything was arranged to make the area difficult to attack.
We believe it was designed this way for security reasons.
The network of backstreets had the effect of deterring large-scale redevelopment,
which is why today the neighborhood is home to a variety of smaller businesses.
The musketeer unit also planted the seeds for another local attraction.
Azaleas.
We head to a nearby park to meet with two locals who can tell us more.
They're wearing those v-pulls?
They're the color of azaleas.
Asai Haruo and Morita Tadayuki
work with the district council to make the community a better place.
They cultivated azaleas here back in the Edo period.
And in honor of that tradition we call our azaleas "Okubo azaleas."
Under the Edo shogunate,
Japan enjoyed over 200 years of peace and stability.
The members of the musketeer unit began cultivating and selling azaleas
in their spare time as a way to supplement their income.
They grew the flowers in private gardens,
turning the wood charcoal and lime they used to make gunpowder into fertilizer.
Gradually, the neighborhood developed a reputation as an azalea viewing spot.
The second half of the 19th century
saw the opening of several azalea gardens,
culminating in a visit by the emperor in 1899.
The fact that the emperor came to see means it must have been incredible.
Then, following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923,
there was an influx of displaced people from hard-hit areas.
Residential development led to the closure of the azalea gardens.
In the early 2000s,
Asai and others decided to launch an effort to bring back the lost azaleas.
They've been working with the park staff
and other locals to plant the seeds of the future.
Nowadays there are many aspects to the Okubo area.
It's become diverse.
What if azaleas could be the thing that ties our community together?
That's my vision.
In the postwar era, Shin-Okubo also began to develop an ear...
for music.
Along these streets, you'll find stores selling instruments,
recording studios and more.
Can you hear the sound?
Right here.
We've come to a shop that can tell us more
about the area's history with musical instruments.
Hello. How do you do?
This is the current proprietor Takahashi Daisuke,
and his father Ichiro.
They specialize in repairing wind instruments.
The family business was founded after the war by Takahashi's grandfather Haruo,
whose services were in high demand.
He fixed instruments for members of the American occupation forces.
And also for the few Japanese jazz musicians out there at the time.
He'd go out to Shimbashi and Yurakucho to do business.
Shortly after the war ended,
music halls and clubs catering to occupation forces
opened in areas like Ginza and Shimbashi.
Haruo grew the business by repairing instruments for musicians
who were part of that scene.
Then in the 1950s,
Shinjuku became the center of a new nightclub scene
catering to Japanese music fans.
The shop became busier than ever.
Shinjuku is close by.
So musicians would come by in the morning.
They'd need their instruments ready for their 5 p.m. soundcheck.
So dad would try to get the repairs done by then.
Soon thereafter, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra set up a base of operations here,
followed by more instrument repair shops and retailers,
and Shin-Okubo became a town of music.
The neighborhood's international character
was also cultivated by historical influences.
To find out more, Daum meets up with a locally-based journalist,
Murohashi Hirokazu.
Since moving here in 2018,
he's been exploring these streets and interviewing local international residents.
He's even compiled his experiences into a book.
How did Shin-Okubo become so international?
This area has a lot of international students.
There are Japanese language schools and vocational schools for foreigners.
Those students give this town an international flavor.
He says there's a place that's served as a gateway
for many international students.
Here it is.
The Tokyo Japanese Language Education Center.
This education center is run by the Japanese Student Services Organization.
Good morning.
Thank you for your time.
This is Hata-san, who'll be showing us around.
Hata offers to show us one of the classrooms.
Sorry to interrupt, everyone.
I've brought along some guests. Please welcome them!
Feels like I'm back in school!
Hello everyone. My name is Kim. I was once an exchange student too.
Nearly 200 students from 43 countries are currently studying here.
About 60 percent are here on scholarship from the Japanese government.
They're here for a variety of reasons.
As a kid I watched Japanese shows and became interested in the culture.
Japan has really cool robots.
I want to study robotics.
The education center stands on the former site of a public organization
founded in 1935 to teach international students Japanese.
Hata brings out some old photos taken shortly after its inception.
Here is a classroom in session back in 1938.
At the time, they had students from 15 countries and regions, mostly in Asia.
So this area has a history of welcoming students from overseas.
The number of international students coming to Shin-Okubo
further grew in the 1980s.
The Nakasone administration proposed a plan
to increase the number of international students to 100,000.
Soon you started seeing more students around here.
He says that the International Students Institute
helped pave the way for more Japanese language schools in the area.
Accessibility and affordable rent made Shin-Okubo
a popular town for exchange students.
Today, there are over 50 Japanese language schools
in the greater Shinjuku area.
The exchange students bring youthful energy to this town.
This center carries on the legacy of the International Students Institute.
It's a big part of the community.
Thank you for your time. This was illuminating.
Murohashi says Shin-Okubo's international make-up
also has to do with the neighborhood's proximity to Shinjuku,
specifically, the bustling Kabukicho district.
This is Shokuan-dori Avenue.
- Shokuan-dori?
- Yes.
As Japan experienced rapid growth and then the bubble economy,
Kabukicho became a center for nightlife.
Many foreigners from Asia began working there.
Kabukicho lies to the south of Shin-Okubo
on the other side of Shokuan-dori.
In the '80s and '90s,
the area became an adult entertainment district
with bars and clubs open until late at night.
Many of the workers were from East and Southeast Asia.
After work they'd come home to Shin-Okubo.
At the time many of the workers lived here.
From Kabukicho, it's a short five-minute walk to Shin-Okubo.
For foreign residents working in Shinjuku,
the neighborhood offered convenience and affordable housing,
so they made it their home.
Since the 2010s,
the area has welcomed many new halal markets
serving mainly residents from South Asia.
Why are there so many different nationalities represented here?
It's said that this area diversified after the great 2011 earthquake.
Why is that?
In the aftermath,
many Chinese and Korean students stayed away due to fear of radiation.
Meanwhile, he says, the number of students
from Vietnam and South Asian countries like Nepal increased.
That led to more stores and restaurants catering to their needs.
As the area became more multicultural,
new places of worship began to pop up.
This temple is at the center of the local Taiwanese community.
And this building here houses a mosque.
This area is home to people of different nationalities and religions.
Each community needs a place to gather and pray.
One of the local places of worship is a Hindu temple.
- I know it well, so let me show you inside.
- This right here?
It looks like a regular house!
Look closely here.
This Hindu temple just opened this past May.
Welcome! Hello.
Hi, how do you do?
Nandy here is from Bangladesh. He manages this temple.
Nandy has been living in Japan for 23 years.
These are Hindu deities.
On the left is Shiva.
Next to him is his wife, Parvati.
Shiva is one of the three main gods of Hinduism.
Five years ago, Nandy established Tokyo's first temple
dedicated to Shiva to serve as a gathering place for his fellow Hindus.
But it wasn't long before they outgrew the space,
and so he built this temple to accommodate more people.
It even includes a kitchen and a meditation space.
I saw this group gathered in a cramped space.
They saw that I was curious and invited me in.
That's how I met Nandy.
I've been coming here ever since.
I've watched this temple grow.
Are the people who come here mostly Hindu?
Yes, mostly Hindus.
But we also get some Muslims, as well as Japanese people.
All are welcome.
Come and you will find spiritual bliss.
Murohashi believes spaces like these
help make Shin-Okubo a comfortable place to live for international residents.
There's an infrastructure here supporting foreign residents.
So I think the foreign population will only grow.
My hope is for Japanese people and foreigners to live side by side.
I want everyone to be happy.
Lastly, Daum and Murohashi meet with another local resident
who recommends Nepali food for dinner.
Masuda Kayoko was born and raised in Shin-Okubo.
She's a master of Japanese tea ceremony
who also owns several buildings in the area.
And she's a regular at this restaurant.
I sometimes have them deliver to my office.
You must really love this place!
Masuda regularly holds tea ceremony classes
to teach international residents and visitors about Japanese culture.
She also supports enterprising locals.
When Magar Manish wanted to open a restaurant,
she helped him rent this space,
and has been recommending the place to her tea ceremony students ever since.
I wanted to open a new shop.
I requested this place.
And she said OK, but you have to do everything.
So I did. With lots of support.
I've had all sorts of experiences.
Sometimes there are issues and disagreements.
But you have to be open and understanding.
That's what this neighborhood has taught me.
People like Masuda and Murohashi
are helping build bridges between local residents,
so that together they can create a more inclusive sense of community.
Honestly, for me, Shin-Okubo was a place to have spicy Korean food.
But I was curious why it has such a diverse characteristic.
And this time hearing the Japanese people
talking about how Shin-Okubo has evolved,
like the stories of the gun squad and all the flowers,
I could see how the Japanese local people were not just connecting
but were blending in with the ethnic communities.
So I think Shin-Okubo at the end is indeed a melting pot of culture.